Disney’s ‘Alice through the Looking Glass’: Where it Failed
Ten years ago, in 2010, Disney released its live action version of “Alice in Wonderland.” A sequel of sorts to the original story of “Alice in Wonderland,” the movie defied expectations and brought in over $1 billion worldwide according to IMDb. While the higher prices for 3D screenings was a part of its success, many people hailed Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter as the reason to see the film again and again.
Mia Wasikowska was a passable Alice and helped to capture the growing need for strong female leads on the screen that would culminate in “Frozen” and “Maleficent.” The movie spawned a sequel, “Alice through the Looking Glass,” that bombed at the box office in spite of reuniting the cast, bringing in less than $300 million worldwide on an estimated budget of $170 million according to IMDb. Why did it fail?
3D Novelty Wore off
At the end of 2009, “Avatar” was released in 3D and became the highest grossing film of all time (until it was surpassed by “Avengers: Endgame in 2019 according to Wikipedia). The new 3D effects and glasses created an amazing viewing opportunity, and James Cameron’s movie was filled with the new and exotic; about 80 percent of its revenue came from 3D viewings and premium formats according to “Variety.” Everything came together in a perfect storm. “Alice in Wonderland” was able to take the infatuation with 3D and use it to its advantage. By 2016, when “Alice through the Looking Glass” was released, 3D was old hat.
The Right Alice
Alice, as a character, has always been problematic. She is often reacting to the action of the other characters around her. In “Alice in Wonderland,” Wasikowska was able to lean on her co-stars and provide an appropriate amount of mystery to the atmosphere while taking control at a crucial time and finishing with her own boat in the real world. She didn’t get that boost as men had taken away her boat, and her old fiancé attempted to put her under his thumb. She also winds up in a mental institution, which may be true to life, but the movie was supposed to be a fantasy. Having Alice as the main character made it difficult to tell the stories of the Mad Hatter and the sister-queens.
The Mad Hatter: MIA
In “Alice through the Looking Glass,” one of the stories is about the Mad Hatter and his lost family, but Alice is the main character. Wasikowska gets most of the on-screen time, and people weren’t showing up to see her. They wanted to see the Mad Hatter. But where was the Mad Hatter? In a story that is supposed to be about him, he is barely visible. When he first shows up, he is morose and ill. This is not the Hatter people wanted to see. Later, we see his younger selves. In the end, the story that loses its focus as Alice goes through time to unwind the connection between the queen’s and find the Hatter family.
Johnny Depp’s Star Power
“Alice Through the Looking Glass” was released May 29, 2016. Amber Heard’s accusations of domestic abuse against Depp were front page news at the end of May and beginning of June 2016. While those accusations now appear to be Heard’s projection of her own behavior onto Depp, at the time, the #MeToo movement was gaining steam. Even if the #MeToo movement weren’t as powerful as it became later, the bad publicity and the aspersions cast on Depp devalued his star power, which had already taken a beating with the failure of the Depp-vehicle “Mortdecai” and the bomb that was “The Lone Ranger.”
While “Alice through the Looking Glass” has its flaws, including the inclusion of scenes that should have been left on the cutting room floor, it’s not a terrible movie. It’s just a film that no one asked for. Worse, it missed what was essential to the success of the first film: novelty, an ebullient Mad Hatter, and an empowering story line with an emphatic happy ending; for while Alice end up with her ship, her position and her character growth are stymied. Instead it’s her mother’s growth that leads the way; her mother, who didn’t get enough screen time to be much a part of the story and who grows to help Alice while empowering herself.
