Wow, talk about being late for a very important date!
Six years later here's your sequel, Alice Through The Looking Glass...
We talk a lot about the billion dollar club today - something all major blockbusters today
are expected to join. But few seem to remember that Alice was one of the very FIRST movies
to join after Titanic, Pirates of the Caribbean 2, The Dark Knight and Avatar. What people
DO seem to remember about Alice in Wonderland was that it was aggressively feminist and
that it was when they first began to notice that commercialism had consumed Johnny Depp.
That first one is due to Linda Woolverton's screenplay, her first live action one after
making her mark at Disney year's ago for scripting Beauty and the Beast. Woolverton made the
same mistake with Maleficent, which also rubbed some audiences the wrong way with its overtly
feminist bent. But still, these movies make money - lots of money - and Woolverton is
not only scripting Alice 2 but Maleficent 2, as well as Disney's upcoming live action
Beauty and the Beast. That last one's still going to be a love story...right? Anyway,
on a side note, it's interesting that Disney is home to the two biggest female screenwriters
working in Hollywood today - Linda Woolverton and Frozen's Jennifer Lee - and that they
both wear their feminism on their sleeve. Depp has also become quite surface-y, turning
into more of a clown than an actor these days - although again, a very rich clown who makes
movie studios very rich too. Or at least he did, as he hasn't had a hit since his last
turn as Jack Sparrow back in 2011. Dark Shadows, The Lone Ranger and Mortdecai were all box
office embarrassments, while Black Mass did not turn out to be the awards contender it
was contended. Perhaps that's why Depp has retreated to old favorites, not only returning
as the Mad Hatter this year but Jack Sparrow next year. Through the Looking Glass will
be the first test to see if those characters are as teflon as Depp and Disney would hope.
The other thing Alice in Wonderland is known for is being classic Tim Burton, and while
the director has moved on to another blockbuster - and another Helena Bonham Carter - director
James Bobin seems to be doing a darn good job taking his place. Bobin helped Sacha Baron
Cohen create his most famous characters on the Da Ali G Show, and then went on to co-create
Flight of the Conchords. In Hollywood they often say it's all about who you know, and
Disney now knows plenty of people in this comedy circle. Bobin directed both recent
Muppet movies with songs by Bret McKenzie, while Jemaine Clement's co-director and co-star
on What We Do in the Shadows is directing Thor Ragnarok. And while Clement's got to
be hurt that Cohen got the call to play Time, he will be voicing a giant in Disney - and
Spielberg's - The BFG. Then oddly, despite being the heroine of a movie franchise that
bears her name in both titles, there's always very little talk of poor Alice. While she's
certainly not lacking for work, perhaps Mia Wasikowska can make a bit more of an impression
this time around. Finally, one has to wonder why this movie, which finished shooting in
October 2014, has been held for over a year!
PLEASE say it was to get the amazing visual effects just right!
Or to find the just right release date!