Film

Alice Through the Looking Glass

Name: Alice Through the Looking Glass
Genre: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Released: 2016
Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen

Tim Burton's 2016 sequel sends Alice back to the mirror-world to rescue the Mad Hatter from Time itself. It's visually baroque, narratively thin, and deeply committed to the bit—a film that prioritizes production design and Johnny Depp's theatrical excess over coherent storytelling. Perfect if you want to be dazzled and don't mind if the plot evaporates.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a lavishly colourful, gently barmy fantasy where the scenery is half the fun and a clockwork take on time gives the adventure its propulsion.

Skip it if you find the first film's wonderland wearing thin, or you need a story with real stakes, since this one leans on spectacle and a family-friendly, lightly emotional plot.

What it asks of you: A brisk, under-two-hour sit that keeps moving and rarely lingers; it wants your eyes more than your patience, and rewards a playful mood over close attention.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Alice in Wonderland2010

Burton's first Wonderland film has the same hallucinogenic design language and sense of whimsy, but stronger emotional stakes. It's the origin story that justifies returning to this world.

But If you found the first film self-indulgent, this won't convince you otherwise. It's Burton being Burton at full volume.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms2018

Similar structure: a young woman journeys through a fractured magical realm to save someone she cares about, with Keira Chestnut in the lead and wildly inventive production design at every turn.

But It's even more plot-light than Alice. The visuals do almost all the heavy lifting, and that's not for everyone.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms poster

Labyrinth1986

Jim Henson's surreal fantasy-adventure has genuine stakes and character growth, but shares that sense of walking through a fever dream designed by a mad artist. David Bowie helps enormously.

But Made in 1986, so the practical effects look nothing like Burton's digital palette. It's weirder and grittier than Through the Looking Glass.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Alice Through the Looking Glass

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Night Circus

Both films prioritize visual and sensory immersion over conventional narrative. Alice and The Night Circus are about wandering through impossibly beautiful spaces where the real story is internal.

Erin Morgenstern's novel adapted into pure atmosphere: a woman and man navigate an impossible magical competition in a circus that exists outside time. It shares Alice's sense of beauty-as-worldbuilding.

But It's ambient and plot-light, requiring you to surrender to mood rather than momentum. It's deliberately paced like a dream.

Stardust2007

A fairy-tale adventure that balances genuine humour, romance, and stakes without sacrificing production design. It's whimsy with emotional weight—Burton's approach but executed with better storytelling.

But Far less visually baroque. If you're drawn to Alice primarily for the surreal design, this feels grounded by comparison.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army2008

Guillermo del Toro crafts a fantasy adventure that's equally gorgeous and way more fun, with practical effects and creature design that stun. Same sense of a world bursting with detail.

But It's a superhero action film, not a fairy tale. The tone is much darker and the humour is meaner.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe2005

Another fantasy world accessed from our own, with a young protagonist adapting to strange rules and helping a witch-adjacent ruler. Less visually extreme but emotionally more grounded.

But It's straightforward fantasy-adventure filmmaking. There's nothing remotely weird or experimental about it.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe poster

The BFG2016

Spielberg's Roald Dahl adaptation has a similar gentle-strange tone and a young woman navigating an impossible realm. Mark Rylance is perfect as a kind giant.

But Released the same year as Alice but barely promoted. It has a dreamy, meandering pace that tests patience.

Coraline2009

Stop-motion fantasy that's every bit as visually sumptuous as Looking Glass, but with genuine dread and a protagonist with real agency. Neil Gaiman's imagination is in every frame.

But It's darker and genuinely creepy—not suitable for all ages despite the animation. The pacing is slow and deliberate.

The Wizard of Oz1939

The original template for all of this: a girl, a fantastical world, companions, obstacles, and a truth learned. Practically ancient, visually astonishing for its time, and it actually works.

But It's in Technicolor and from 1939. If you need contemporary digital effects to stay engaged, this will feel impossibly slow.

Don't Look Up2021

Both films were directed by visionaries with distinctive styles, and both polarize audiences because the director's sensibility overwhelms traditional narrative. Love it or resent it—there's rarely middle ground.

McKay's apocalyptic satire uses chaos, tonal whiplash, and ensemble performance to explore how humans ignore what matters. Radically different genre, but the same commitment to style as substance.

But It's cynical, biting, and furious—the opposite of Alice's whimsy. The political anger might feel grating if you're here for escape.

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron2002

Both use visual spectacle as the primary storytelling tool, trusting animation and design to convey emotion that dialogue cannot. Both are flawed films that reach for something genuine beneath the beauty.

An animated Western about freedom and self-determination, told largely without dialogue. It has the same painterly beauty as Burton's designs and surprising emotional depth under its gorgeous surface.

But It's a Dreamworks kids' film from 2002 that feels forgotten. The protagonist is a horse, and expecting that to carry a film is reasonable skepticism.