Alice through the Looking Glass

Although this story has nothing to do with the events in Lewis Carroll's children's book, it retains the amusing absurdity and Tim Burton's gloriously garish production design from his 2010 version of Alice in Wonderland. He serves as producer, here, with British director James Bobin (The Muppets) taking the reins in a plot that is more recognisably Hollywood, with chases and time-travel and Johnny Depp in another silly wig doing another silly voice. Still, he's full to the brim with Mad Hatterish charm, looking to Alice (Mia Wasikowska overcoming her character's brattishness) to help him find out what happened to his family years before. She has her own family dysfunctions to deal with as well, along with the Red and White queens (Anne Hathaway and a swollen-headed Helena Bonham Carter), whose childhood dispute threatens peace in the land. To try and restore order Alice is pinballed around by Time, here personified by Sacha Baron Cohen. While it doesn't all work like a well-oiled machine, kids are likely to take the film as they see it and simply enjoy the ride.