Movie News: MIA WASIKOWSKA BACK IN WONDERLAND THROUGH “THE LOOKINGGLASS”

In Disney's new fantasy adventure “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” Mia Wasikowska (“Crimson Peak,” “Alice in Wonderland”) is back as Alice Kingsleigh, the head-strong young woman raised in Victorian London who is a dreamer and a noncomfortist. Now on the cusp of adulthood, she continues to struggle with balancing her inherent curiosity and conforming to other people’s expectations.

“Alice is a great character because she’s very much her own person, and after returning from her travels where she was captain of her own ship has gained more confidence and is filled with a sense of inspiration and excitement,” says Wasikowska.

Adds director James Bobin, “Alice, as written by Lewis Carroll, was very forward-thinking for the time and almost out of place because she’s a strong female character in a very patriarchal, Victorian society…sort of a modern woman in an old-fashioned society.”

Question: Everyone is counting on Alice to help the Mad Hatter. How was it returning to the character and how do you feel about Alice being a strong female character?

Mia: At the beginning of this film she’s been traveling around the world for the last two years and was captain of her own ship so she’s coming from a very powerful place. I just love that she has a really strong sense of who she is and despite the fact that expectations of her are really low when she returns to England, she’s able to hold onto that sense that she’s worth more as a person.

Q: What was your initiation to Lewis Carroll’s books and what do you appreciate more now that you’ve looked closer through these movies?

Mia: I think I first came to like an animated version of the film when I was younger I think my mom showed us the stop motion version of the film and then I read the books I don’t know when the first time but I also read them for the first film and that’s how I was introduced to Alice.

Q: Your career pretty much started with the first “Alice” so what was it like to come back doing the sequel?

Mia: It was really unexpected. I didn’t think it was going to happen and then I was really surprised when Disney started talking about it again but it was nice. Six years had passed and I had been in the world a little bit more and having done the first film and worked with the cast and a lot of the creative team, I knew what I was stepping into the second time around. It was really good because of that.

Q: How do you relate to scenes in the movie about time being against you and females being put in a box?

Mia: There are so many messages in this film that I think are great. Just with the message of time, there were always things we wish were different in the past and the best way to have peace with it is to accept it and move forward and not try to change things. As for the female empowerment message, I guess it’s an anomaly to have a big summer blockbuster that has a female lead. I think it’s strange and that’s unusual. Hopefully that will become normal.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about the wild costumes in the film?

Mia: Coleen Atwood was the designer and is obviously such a genius but also quite evil because they are very uncomfortable costumes but, in this one, I got to wear lots of trousers and things that were a lot more accessible. Alice is really active so everything felt a little bit more (flexible). I had a (captain’s uniform) suit at the beginning and the end and even that Oriental sort of skirt I wear is padded so that was really great.

Movie Review on "Alice Through The Looking Glass" here. 

Presented in Digital 3D™, Real D 3D and IMAX® 3D, “Alice Through the Looking Glass” is now playingacross the Philippines and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures. Like us on Facebook, WaltDisneyStudiosPH; follow us on Twitter, @disney_phil; follow us on Instagram, @disney.ph and use the hashtags #AlicePH and #ThroughTheLookingGlassPH.

Movie Review: Alice Through The Looking Glass

Disney breathes new life to Lewis Carrol's classic in "Alice Through The Looking Glass", produced by the visionary Tim Burton and Directed by "The Muppets's" James Bobin. 

Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) returns to Underland after some adventures of her own, to find her dear friend the 'Mad Hatter' (Johnny Depp) in need of her help as he succumbs to despair upon discovering the fate of his family. Yes, oddly enough the Mad Hatter hails from a family like you and me.

Alice is tasked to go back in time and save the hatter's family but in order to do so she must first "borrow" the 'chronosphere' from Time himself; played to the tee by Sacha Baron-Cohen. 

What follows is a lot of time traveling, a lot of jokes about Time and a surprisingly a big revelation behind the past of the irritable Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and the kind White Queen (Anne Hathaway). 

 

Book purists may have some issues with the liberties taken with the characters but it does have that theme of "madness" and an anything-goes kind of principle. 

7.5 out of 10. The film is a breath of fresh air with jaw dropping CGI effects that seem to jump right out of your dreams. The ambitious story explores the well loved characters and shows them in a relatable vulnerability. Aside from a time traveling adventure, the film also showcases important lessons, which both kids and adults will do well to remember. 

The film has a catchy song from P!nk herself. Check out "Just Like Fire" on Spotify. 

Presented in Digital 3D™, Real D 3D and IMAX® 3D, “Alice Through the Looking Glass” opens across the Philippines on July 06, 2016.

“Alice Through the Looking Glass” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures. Like us on Facebook, WaltDisneyStudiosPH; follow us on Twitter, @disney_phil; follow us on Instagram, @disney.ph and use the hashtag #ThroughTheLookingGlassPH.

Movies: Q&A WITH ANNE HATHAWAY FOR “ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS”

Anne Hathaway returns as Mirana, the mild-mannered, kind White Queen, and the beautiful younger sister to the spiteful Red Queen, in Disney's fantasy adventure “Alice Through the Looking Glass” in Philippine cinemas July 6^th.

In the film, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returns to the whimsical world of Underland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp).

Question: We get to see the backstory of the divide between the sister queens. Was it fun to go back in time and play that younger character with Helena Bonham-Carter (as the Red Queen)?

Anne Hathaway: It was fun to learn that she’s not perfect. I think she’s sort of lovely in the first one but a bit oppressively good so it’s nice to know that, like everyone, she’s got a past and she has regrets and she feels shame, she feels guilt and that you forgive her these things so I actually was really thrilled that we were trying to see what the emotions were about this character who looks so fantastical but then feels so believable.

Q: What kind of relationship did you have with Helena while filming? Did you discuss the scene together?

Anne: I think Helena is one of my favorite people on the planet. I think the world is better because she is on it. She’s so inventive and fresh, literally all the definitions of fresh. She’s got a wonderfully fresh mouth and she’s fearless and vulnerable and open and friendly and I admire her so much so it was really exciting for me to have more scenes with her this time around. Yes, I got to work with an incredible actor but also because I got to talk to her between scenes which I love. I think we had a really nice time crafting a sisterly relationship together and trying to find something that felt true to us and that people would understand.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about the wild costumes in the film?

Anne: I wore no trousers. I loved it, actually. I thought that Colleen Atwood’s costume probably created my character. I had certain ideas about who she was and as soon as I put on the dress, it was like “Oh, she’s there.” I also started to think about the relationship between her and Helena and I thought if you have a family member who has a very large personality, has a lot of emotions, you compensate by taking up less space. I thought here’s somebody who is literally turning herself into almost weightlessness and yet it is still so ornamented so I just thought it was very rich and very airy for my airhead character.

Q: What was your initiation to Lewis Carroll’s books and what do you appreciate more now that you’ve looked closer through these movies?

Anne: I first read “Alice in Wonderland” when I was 19 and in college so I think being nineteen and fairly dramatic I focused so much on how well Lewis Carroll described madness, just the idea that you see the world just a little bit off and I remember feeling very connected to that at that time. And, as you feel when you encounter people who champion that way of living, I felt a kinship and at home and was very pleased with it.

Q: You have been in some family-oriented films like “The Princess Diaries” films. Now that you are a young mom, do you think “This is something that my son can watch”?

Anne: You give me a lot of credit as a mom. When I was seventeen years old, I thought “My kids are gonna watch this someday.” I didn’t think about that when I did `The Princess Diaries' and I got questions about being a role model. It never occurred to me that actors should be role models for a multitude of reasons but, that’s not what I’m interested in so I don’t make films for that reason. If they happen to work out that way sure, I’m thrilled.

I’ve now been in a lot of films where you can have a date night in a theater with your family or you can sit down on the couch in sweat pants and become a human amoeba and just chill out together and feel warm and connected and I’m proud of that in my body of work are stories that allow families to experience them together. I can’t say that I’m going to continue to make them because I have a child now. I just will hopefully continue to make them because I respond to them and seek challenges as an actress.

Presented in Digital 3D™, Real D 3D and IMAX® 3D, “Alice Through the Looking Glass” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures. Like us on Facebook, WaltDisneyStudiosPH; follow us on Twitter, @disney_phil; follow us on Instagram, @disney.ph and use the hashtags #AlicePH and #ThroughTheLookingGlassPH.

Movies + Music: WATCH P!NK'S “JUST LIKE FIRE” MUSIC VIDEO FOR “ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Just like magic, P!nk’s music video for her hit new single “Just Like Fire” from Disney Studios’ “Alice Through The Looking Glass” may be viewed at http://youtu.be/5Nrv5teMc9Y.

You can also stream and/or download the song on Spotify! Just like I did! 

The video was directed by Dave Meyers and features special guest appearances by members of P!nk’s family!

Walt Disney Studios has partnered with three-time GRAMMY®-winning singer/songwriter P!nk on the studio’s upcoming release “Alice Through the Looking Glass.”

P!nk wrote and recorded “Just Like Fire,” an original song which will appear in the film and on the motion picture soundtrack from Walt Disney Records featuring four-time Academy Award® nominee Danny Elfman’s score. She has also recorded a cover version of the iconic song “White Rabbit” for the film’s marketing campaign.

“Alice Through the Looking Glass” is an all-new spectacular adventure featuring the unforgettable characters from Lewis Carroll’s beloved stories which stars Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska, Rhys Ifans, with Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen.

In Disney’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” Alice returns to the whimsical world of Underland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter. Directed by James Bobin, who brings his own unique vision to the spectacular world Tim Burton created on screen with “Alice in Wonderland,” the film is written by Linda Woolverton based on characters created by Lewis Carroll.

Presented in Digital 3D™, Real D 3D and IMAX® 3D, Disney’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass” opens across the Philippines on July 06, 2016.

“Alice Through the Looking Glass” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures. Follow the official social media accounts of Disney in the Philippines, namely, (FB) WaltDisneyStudiosPH, (Twitter) @disneystudiosph and (Instagram) @waltdisneystudiosph.

Movie News: TIM BURTON PRODUCES, JAMES BOBIN DIRECTS “ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS”

James Bobin (“The Muppets”) directs Disney's “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” bringing his own unique vision to the spectacular world Tim Burton created on screen with 2010's “Alice in Wonderland” which became a global blockbuster (to the tune of over $1-billion gross) and cultural sensation.

For years the producers of “Alice in Wonderland” talked of a second film. Explains producer Suzanne Todd, “We had discussions about what would be interesting thematically and what we wanted the story to convey, but we just weren’t there yet.”

Screenwriter Linda Woolverton (“Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King”) had been working on a follow-up to her “Alice in Wonderland” screenplay, and soon delivered a clever script which continued the adventures of Lewis Carroll’s vibrant characters and infused them with imagination and heart. Todd shares, “Linda had written a new story told through the prism of the book about the characters and what had happened since we last saw them, as well as what happened to them in the past, and everyone loved it.”

A long-time fan of Carroll’s work, Johnny Depp was pleased to see how respectful Woolverton was of the material. “Editing Lewis Carroll is close to impossible,” says Depp. “You have to come at it with another angle but still keep it focused on the source, which Linda did brilliantly.”

Tim Burton also returns to “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” this time as a producer. He explains, “As a producer you’re there to support the director in whatever way you can, but you are still just as passionate about the project.”

“I really liked James Bobin from the moment we met,” continues Burton. “He’s smart, enthusiastic and full of energy and he had a clear vision as to where he wanted to go with the story and characters, which was nice, as we needed a director who could keep the film similar in look and tone, but who could also approach the story from a different perspective, and that’s a tough balance to get right.”

Bobin has always been intrigued by the concept of time and changing the past, as well as all the questions it posed, which happened to fit perfectly within the framework of Woolverton’s story. The screenwriter soon turned in a new draft with Time as an actual character. “The passage of time is something Alice has always regarded as a bad thing, because time took her father from her at a very early age,” says Bobin. “What she learns in this story is that time isn’t her enemy but is something that can be appreciated.”

Disney's “Alice Through the Looking Glass” is an all-new spectacular adventure featuring the unforgettable characters from Lewis Carroll’s beloved stories which stars Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska, Rhys Ifans, with Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen. In the film, Alice returns to the whimsical world of Underland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter.

Presented in Digital 3D™, Real D 3D and IMAX® 3D, “Alice Through the Looking Glass” opens across the Philippines on July 06, 2016.

“Alice Through the Looking Glass” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures. Like us on Facebook, WaltDisneyStudiosPH; follow us on Twitter, @disney_phil; follow us on Instagram, @disney.ph and use the hashtag #ThroughTheLookingGlassPH.

Movie News: “ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS” REUNITES QUIRKY CHARACTERS

The colorful characters inhabiting Underland in Disney’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass” are brought back to life by the all-star cast from the original “Alice in Wonderland.”

In “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” an all-new spectacular adventure featuring the unforgettable characters from Lewis Carroll’s beloved stories, Alice returns to the whimsical world of Underland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter.

Johnny Depp (the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films) returns as Hatter Tarrant Hightopp, better known as the Mad Hatter, whom Alice finds more mad than usual upon her return to Underland. Desperate to find out what has happened to his family, he is out of his mind with grief when Alice first arrives.

Anne Hathaway (“Les Miserables,” “The Devil Wears Prada”) is back as Mirana, the mild mannered and kind White Queen and beautiful younger sister to the spiteful Red Queen. “One of the things I was excited about exploring in this film was the notion that Mirana is not all that perfect. She has some of her sister’s darkness in her veins but she keeps it very repressed,” says Hathaway. “We learn that while she is still on the good side, there is a lot more going on then we first realized.”

Mia Wasikowska (“Crimson Peak”) is Alice Kingsleigh, the head-strong young woman raised in Victorian London who is a dreamer and a non-conformist. Now on the cusp of adulthood, she continues to struggle with balancing her inherent curiosity and conforming to other people’s expectations. “Alice is a great character because she’s very much her own person, and after returning from her travels where she was captain of her own ship has gained more confidence and is filled with a sense of inspiration and excitement,” says Wasikowska.

Iracebeth, the short-tempered Red Queen and former monarch of Underland who despises her younger sibling, Mirana, is played once again by Helena Bonham Carter (“Cinderella”) and Matt Lucas (“Paddington”) is back as the voices of Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the tubby twin brothers who are childish and bicker constantly.

Joining the cast are Rhys Ifans (“The Amzing Spider-Man”) as Zanik Hightopp, the Mad Hatter’s conservative father, who holds his son to impossibly-high standards and Sacha Baron Cohen (“Borat,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”) as the entity Time.

Alan Rickman (the “Harry Potter” films) returns as the voice of Absolem, the former blue caterpillar who is all-knowing and just a little pompous. Stephen Fry (“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”) once again provides the voice of Chessur, the Cheshire Cat, the cunning feline who is prone to grinning and disappearing. Michael Sheen (“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 2”) is back as the voice of McTwisp, the White Rabbit, who continues to be preoccupied with punctuality.

Timothy Spall (“Mr. Turner”) once again provides the voice of Bayard, the giant bloodhound who previously served under the Red Queen but is now an ally to Alice and her friends. Barbara Windsor (“East Enders”) returns as the voice of the fiercely loyal Dormouse, Mallymkun. Paul Whitehouse (“Mortdecai”) is back as the voice of Thackery, the anxious and tempermental March Hare who hosts the Hatter’s tea parties. Joining them is Matt Vogel (“Muppets Most Wanted”) as Wilkins, Time’s right-hand man. Wilkins keeps all the clocks in Times’ castle in working order and helps create a make-shift time machine to chase Alicea cross the ocean of time.

Opening across the Philippines on July 06, “Alice Through the Looking Glass” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures. Like us on Facebook, WaltDisneyStudiosPH; follow us on Twitter, @disney_phil; follow us on Instagram, @disney.ph and use the hashtag #ThroughTheLookingGlassPH.

Movie News: TIME FOR A LITTLE MADNESS IN “ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS”

In Disney’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” an all-new spectacular adventure featuring the unforgettable characters from Lewis Carroll’s beloved stories, Alice returns to the whimsical world of Underland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter.

Directed by James Bobin, who brings his own unique vision to the spectacular world Tim Burton created on screen with “Alice in Wonderland,” the film is written by Linda Woolverton based on characters created by Lewis Carroll. The producers are Joe Roth, Suzanne Todd and Jennifer Todd and Tim Burton. John G. Scotti serves as executive producer.

In Philippine cinemas July 06, “Alice Through the Looking Glass” reunites the cast from the 2010 worldwide blockbuster phenomenon, including Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska, Matt Lucas and Helena Bonham Carter and introduces new characters played by Rhys Ifans and Sacha Baron Cohen. Also back are the talented voices of Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Barbara Windsor and Paul Whitehouse, who are joined by Matt Vogel.

In the film, Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) has spent the past three years living her dream and sailing the high seas as captain of her own ship. Upon her return to London, she finds that, while much has changed in her absence, the antiquated views as to women’s role in society still remain and that the future she envisioned for herself may no longer be possible.

While attending a reception at the home of Lord Ascot, Alice is overcome with emotions and storms out of the party and spots Absolem (Alan Rickman). Now a blue Monarch butterfly, Absolem leads Alice to a magical looking glass, through which she is able to return to the fantastical realm of Underland.

There, she is reunited with her friends the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen), the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), the dormouse (Barbara Windsor), the March Hare (Paul Whitehouse), the Tweedles (Matt Lucas) and the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), who, unfortunately, is not himself. The Hatter has lost his Muchness, so Mirana (Anne Hathaway) dispatches Alice to seek out Time himself (Sacha Baron Cohen).

A peculiar creature that is part human, part clock, Time lives in a void of infinitude and possesses the Chronosphere, a metallic globe which will allow Alice to go back in time to save the Hatter’s family, which the White Queen believes will in turn, save the Hatter.

Iracebeth (Helena Bonham Carter) meanwhile, remains in exile, having been banished to the Outlands by her sister, where she has befriended Time and is plotting to steal the Chronosphere for herself. Alice returns to the past, crossing paths with friends and enemies at different points in their lives, and sets off on a perilous race across the Ocean of Time to escape Iracebeth and Time and save the Hatter…before time runs out.
“Alice Through the Looking Glass” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures. Like us on Facebook, WaltDisneyStudiosPH; follow us on Twitter, @disney_phil; follow us on Instagram, @disney.ph and use the hashtag #ThroughTheLookingGlass.