Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)

Alice Through the Looking Glass is the kind of candy-colored fantasy that earns its wonder shot by shot, turning Underland into a living storybook of clockwork castles, impossible colors, and lavish design you can practically feel. It trades brooding darkness for a brisk, family-friendly adventure vibe, with Mia Wasikowska’s steady Alice anchoring the swirl while Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter brings a heartfelt urgency that keeps the spectacle from feeling empty. Director James Bobin leans into playful momentum and big-screen imagination, the sort of movie that invites you to simply surrender to its visual inventiveness and enjoy the ride. If you’re looking for a tightly plotted, subtle character drama this may feel light, but if you want an earnest, PG escapade that looks gorgeous and moves like a dream, it’s an easy ticket to take.

Alice Through the Looking Glass is clearly trying to deliver a big, heartfelt rescue mission with time-travel spectacle and a softer, more emotional focus on the Mad Hatter. The problem is it often feels like a loud, overstuffed theme-park ride where the plot keeps spinning its gears without giving the characters much room to breathe, so the stakes can feel manufactured rather than earned. If you loved the first film mainly for its visual candy and want more frantic fantasy action, you’ll probably get what you came for, but if you’re hoping for Lewis Carroll’s wit, oddness, or coherent storytelling, this may test your patience. Still, the production design is lavish, the cast commits, and it’s family-safe enough for a colorful weekend watch—just don’t expect it to be clever or magical in a lasting way.