Director: James Bobin.
Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Sacha Baron Cohen, Rhys Ifans, Matt Lucas, Lindsay Duncan, Geraldine James, Richard Armitage, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Stephen Fry, Paul Whitehouse, Barbara Windsor, Michael Sheen.
Score: Danny Elfman.
The whole cast returns from Alice in Wonderland (2010) but with Tim Burton taking a producer seat and letting Muppet Director James Bobin take the reins, no offence. With a couple of additions, one being Sacha Baron Cohen who incidentally previously worked with Bobin on most of his Ali G series. The other addition being Rhys Ifans playing the Hatter's father.
It opens well, and considering it's all about time travel it's paced rather well too. It's incredibly crazy-colourful especially the dress Alice wears to the party. And Bobin does good keeping the same feel as its predecessor, but I think that's got a lot to do with the cast. The colour makes a great contrast for the darker moments which are plentiful.
Sacha plays the personified character of Time and he does exceptionally well. His clockwork castle and minions look impressive, transforming seconds into minutes and minutes into hours; even his Iron Mannish bodyworks look spectacular. My favourite set of the picture. The rest of all-star cast reprise their roles respectful though again, Helena Bonham Carter is amazing.
Has a 'done-before' time travel scenario but that's forgivable ultimately being a family film, it's easy to follow and gives an interesting back story to the former Queen of Hearts, Iracebeth and carries an important moral message about wanting to change the past.
The climatic conclusion with the end of time was fantastic, really enjoyed looking at how everything was getting taken over and coming to a complete rustic stop. Just that scene alone was worth the whole movie. Thought predictable I still enjoyed it.
What did come as a surprising disappointment was Danny Elfman's score, honouring the Burton partnership. I didn't notice any of Elfman's signature works which is normally so enchanting. I have to give it a proper listen in isolation from the film. However P!nk does a catchy end credit song "Just Like Fire".
Carrying much from the first film, it reminded me very much of the Return To Oz (1985) especially of Tik-Tok. Also Labyrinth (1986) and the poor sequels to The NeverEnding Story (1984) (would actually welcome a reboot of Neverending Story.) Depp's MadHatter reminded me of American Comedian Carrot Top!
It's an average film, easy-going entertainment but definitely below par for a Disney movie. Just lacked character investment, I didn't feel any empathy for any of the characters. Maybe I'm becoming too cold-hearted or maybe the old cast just looked, tired.
Running Time: 8
The Cast: 9
Performance: 8
Direction: 7
Story: 5
Script: 4
Creativity: 7
Soundtrack: 5
Job Description: 5
The Extra Bonus Point: 10 for Sacha portraying Time and when the time comes to end.
68% 7/10
