Alice Through the Looking Glass: Time Travel and Grief

Directed by James Bobin, doors open to more of Alice’s adventures, following the 2010 adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s perennial fantasy-adventure novel Alice in Wonderland.

Alice has become an excellent merchant-ship captain, much like her father before her. She finds herself back in Underland after following her butterfly friend Absolem through a mirror. There, she reunites with her friends and a Mad(der-than-usual) Hatter who is getting weaker after losing hope that he would ever find his family.

After a run-in with Time and stealing a pocketwatch-like device called the Chronosphere, Alice must embark on a journey through the seas of time. She hopes to find out what truly happened to the Hatter’s family, but she does so with a disgruntled Time chasing after her.

Alice tries her best to save the Hightopps (much against everyone else’s warnings) and witnesses firsthand the events that led to Underland’s current state today. Will Alice make it in time to save the Hatter’s family without destroying time as Underland knows it?

Alice Through the Looking Glass is a Victorian rendition of a Doctor Who episode gone bad. A companion (Alice) runs off with the time-travelling TARDIS (Chronosphere), and a panicked Doctor (Time) and their enemies chase after her. After time and space are almost ruined and destroyed, the characters realize the true value of their time, where they are, and what they have become.

The film’s rather heavily CG-dependent scenes showcase a particular magic (and insanity) in portraying Underland and its remarkable cast of characters. However, there is something an au naturale look might do to make the film a bit more tolerable to critics. The score was a mid, at best, as what perhaps is the primary appeal to the story – the film’s take on time travel.

Despite misgivings on the classic “Do-Not-Mess-With-Time” trope and a few misses on other departments, Alice Through the Looking Glass gives a powerful message on time and the act of moving on.