Alice Through the Looking Glass Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Alice Through the Looking Glass Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 20, 2016

Director James Bobin's (The Muppets ) Alice Through the Looking Glass looks, sounds, and plays out like a movie made only to take advantage of a familiar name, to light up the speakers and screen with dazzle, and treat eyeballs to a parade of colors and visual wonders the likes of which haven't been seen before, unless one counts Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnasus, or this film's predecessor Alice in Wonderland, to name but a few. And then there was nothing. There's no questioning the movie's production chops, but it banks entirely on them. It looks like Tim Burton -- colorfully zany and all helter-skelter -- but it doesn't have his soul. Through the Looking Glass is an empty vessel beyond its façade, and the parlor tricks only carry it so far. Dramatically vacant, thematically irrelevant, overplayed, and too long, the movie wears outs its welcome well before it really gets going, hoping to maintain audience interest with dazzle rather than depth.

Alice.

Alice (Mia Wasikowska), faced with the prospect of losing everything she holds dear, returns to the Underland where she learns that the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) has fallen into ill health, and his family has gone missing in the time since Alice's battle with the Jabberwocky. As she discusses the matter with familiar friends, including The White Queen Mirana (Anne Hathaway), Alice takes it upon herself to undertake a particularly dangerous journey through time to save the Hatter. The journey could prove perilous to her in a number of ways. As she embarks on her quest, she meets Time (Sacha Baron Cohen) who controls time by way of a device called the "Chronosphere" that will set her journey in motion.

Alice Through the Looking Glass could rightly be called a "Costume Fantasy" as opposed to a "Costume Drama." The movie is impressively realized but little more, masquerading its luxurious wares to cover up a fairly routine and, frankly, dull tale defined more by flamboyantly hammy performances and a story that just can't escape the feeling that it's simply a breeding ground for the filmmakers to splash the screen with color and wonder. The movie certainly gets props for its production design, even if what's seen up on the screen isn't exactly breaking new ground. A step forward, maybe, but not trailblazing the next generation of movies (and if it is, then there's not much for the future of movies beyond the crude experience). The picture certainly boasts an amazing scope, tons of imagination in its production, and a near flawless realization of a magical world(s). It expertly plays with scope and perspective, magnifications and minimizations, and it thrives on its portrait of worlds familiar but seriously off balance and unusual. It's all classic Alice and, on the surface, Burton, just without the substance he usually blends into his visual frenzies.

Through the Looking Glass, then, only gets it partly right. The film has no sense of dramatic timing or urgency. Characters show precious little depth. Story execution is lacking. The screenplay isn't drivel -- there are a few decent enough ideas, even if they're just there to prop up the movie's foundational strengths of digital, costume, makeup, and location wonders -- but it doesn't exactly give the actors material to challenge them or the the movie a tangible reason to exist beyond its visual cues. Even the cast seems largely disinterested, more willing to allow wardrobe and makeup and support visuals to do the acting for them. Depp, Bonham Carter, Hathaway, and Cohen ham it up for the costume, grasping at the one and only straw they really have in reach to do anything with their parts. Mia Wasikowska in the lead seems a little bored, struggling to find her character's center and playing more to the costumes and effects and anything tangible and less any sort of inner driving force that the script tries to develop for her character.

Alice Through the Looking Glass Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Alice Through the Looking Glass is a film built for its visual presentation, and Disney's 1080p transfer doesn't disappoint. Richly colorful and finely detailed, the picture is smooth and digital-clean but never feels wanting for a firmer grasp of its broadest delights or most intimate treasures. Indeed, the film is a color and textural wonderland, so to speak, and impresses from its beginning forward. The docks spring to life with activity but, more, an abundance of enjoyable brick, wood, clothing, and skin textures. It's alive with tangible wear and definition which extends throughout the film. Practical or digital, clothing or makeup, props, environments, everything in the movie is a delight to see and explore in the sort of detail the movie demands. Clothing textures are particularly enticing considering the variety of not just material, but density and decoration, too. Colors are loud and vibrant but balanced and enjoyable within the film's established worlds. Reds are punchy but even and tend do dominate where applicable, but there's a refinement to the entire palette and a sense of nuanced precision that makes this one of the more intensely exciting images to date. Black levels and flesh tones hold natural. Light noise scatters through some lower light scenes, but never is it of any real concern. It's a shame Disney has not yet jumped into the UHD game; even coming from a 2K DI, it would have been interesting to see how much of a boost a movie like this could have received from the up in resolution and HDR color enhancement. It's hard to imagine it looking much better, though.

Alice Through the Looking Glass Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Alice Through the Looking Glass sparkles in 1080p, and the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack compliments it very well. The film opens with some spectacular sounds of stormy, high seas adventure. Winds whip, waves crash, thunder cracks, rain drenches, canons boom, and the soundstage springs to life with no shortage of power and sense of purpose, surround sound usage, low end thump and detail, and harmonious balance through it all. The sense of immersion is spectacular, even without overhead information, and the track's ability to manage it all and position it just right, and at the proper volume, makes the sequence one of excellent reference value. Throughout the film, discrete effects are commonplace, zip and zoom throughout the stage likewise regular, and the sense of place -- small environmental atmospherics blended with more obvious front-and-center sonic details -- gives the track a full, even, complimentary posturing. Music follows suit, featuring a strong and deep foundational low end with excellent clarity and detail through the range and wide-channel output across the front and into the rear. Clarity is maintained throughout the movie and throughout the range, from the top end to the bottom. Dialogue is clear and center focused with occasional springs from other channels to produce a quality localization effect.

Alice Through the Looking Glass Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Alice Through the Looking Glass contains a handful of supplemental content, including an audio commentary track, deleted scenes with commentary, and several featurettes. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a Disney digital copy are included with purchase.

• Behind the Looking Glass (1080p, 8:39): A quick run through the story and Alice's history on page and screen, Tim Burton's involvement in the film, expanding on the stories from the first film, new and returning cast and characters, and sets. This is the primary behind-the-scenes extra amongst all of the included supplements.
• A Stitch in Time: Costuming Wonderland (1080p, 4:24): As the title suggests, this piece offers a closer look at wardrobe with Costume Designer Colleen Atwood.
• Characters of Underland (1080p, 4:47): An examination of some of the support characters in the film.
• Time On... (1080p, 1:46): Time shares some random thoughts about the movie.
• Alice Goes Through the Looking Glass: A Scene Peeler (1080p, 2:27): Director James Bobin introduces a piece that shows a key scene in various stages of completion.
• Alice Goes Through Time's Castle: A Scene Peeler (1080p, 1:33): Same as the previous supplement, only for a different scene.
• Music Video (1080p, 3:58): "Just Like Fire" by P!nk.
• Behind the Music Video (1080p, 3:02): A quick behind-the-scenes look at the making of the video.
• Audio Commentary: Director James Bobin dissects the film, covering the goings-on on screen but also sharing technical insights, story details, anecdotes from the set, and more. A quality all-around track that fans should enjoy.
• Deleted Scenes with Audio Commentary (1080p, 8:56 total runtime): Scenes include Alice's Bedroom and the Rabbit Hole, Alice Tackles Hamish, Time Comforts Racie in the Sitting Room, Racie in the Castle, and Time Can't Follow Alice. With optional commentary by Director James Bobin.

Alice Through the Looking Glass Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In a way, Alice Through the Looking Glass is a success. It doesn't seem to exist to tell a meaningful story but instead to dazzle the viewer into submission and acceptance. If that's the case, then mission accomplished. The movie is certainly a splendidly realized production, and it sings on the Blu-ray format. It's a positively gorgeous experience, and the 7.1 lossless audio is a fantastic compliment. Supplements are plentiful and fans will find plenty to explore. To the movie's fans this release cannot be recommended highly enough; Disney hit it out of the park, assuming one is content with 1080p Blu-ray and not disappointed by the absence of a UHD disc with Atmos/X sound.