Daylight Saving Time struck once again this past weekend, and while we gained an hour – we also gained another time related surprise. Below you will see your first, albeit brief, look into Alice Through The Looking Glass, as a clip of footage was released to mark the occasion.
We'll give you a couple more seconds to re-watch that clip again, because it will take roughly that long for you to watch this vague scene once more. Despite being extremely cryptic, without even an official title card attached, this first glimpse at Alice Through The Looking Glass pretty much sums up the wider thrust of the James Bobin directed sequel. Alice, played once more by Mia Wasikowska, some how gets roped back into Underland, and ultimately must save Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter from an approaching darkness that threatens to consume him.
Also along for the ride is Sacha Baron Cohen's Time, the physical manifestation of the societal concept of the same name. While Alice must go back in time to discover just what's spoiling the Mad Hatter, and how to stop it, Time warns her that it is nigh impossible to race the clock. Seeing as this is the world of Lewis Carroll's famed fantasy masterpiece, we're going to say that turning back time might be an improbable feat, which would just make it all the more possible in Underland. Thanks to the clip Comic Book Resources managed to drop online, we're curious as to how this film will stack up to the towering shadow of the original.
The original Alice In Wonderland brought in a little over $1 billion for Disney and director Tim Burton, during its original release back in 2010. While that's a pretty sum of money, it doesn't look like it will be as easy to repeat for two big reasons. The first being that while people turned out for Tim Burton's wacky attempt at redefining one of Disney's classic animated adaptations, the fan reaction wasn't exactly over the moon for his rendition. Looking at the clip above, we see that the art direction really hasn't changed from Burton's tenure, but if there's any compliment to be had it's that Alice Through The Looking Glass looks like it'll be a brighter film than its rather subdued predecessor.
The second, and more important, factor is the release date. Alice In Wonderland had a cozy March 5th slot in 2010, with The only real competition the film would encounter was How To Train Your Dragon. The film managed to be the first place contender for three weeks in a row, which looks pretty impossible by real world standards. Alice Through The Looking Glass is scheduled for a May 27, 2016; and right out of the gate the film is going to get crushed – considering X-Men: Apocalypse is also being released that weekend. Week 2 will see it go up against Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, and Week 3 has The Conjuring 2 lining up for its swing at bat, each ready to take a bite out of the box office pie next summer. To make a long story short, this isn't going to be a cake-walk for Alice and her pals.
Still, there is a certain degree of curiosity when it comes to Alice Through The Looking Glass, and we'll still line up to see how much better or worse this new sequel will be when it opens on May 27 2016. Just as soon as we're done watching X-Men: Apocalypse, we'll be there. Promise.
