Before Disney's most recent forays into adapting their animated classics to live-action family blockbusters - such as 2014's Maleficent and 2015's Cinderella - director Tim Burton brought the world of Lewis Carroll's famous children's story to life in Alice in Wonderland. Now, Disney is preparing to debut the sequel to Burton's 2010 fantasy adventure, Alice Through the Looking Glass, which takes Alice (Mia Wasikowska) back to Wonderland where she is tasked with saving the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) from Time (Sacha Baron Cohen) himself.
As the premiere date for Alice Through the Looking Glass draws closer, Disney has increased its promotional efforts for the sequel. The first trailer was released late in 2015, followed by TV teasers and character posters. Now, Disney has released the second trailer for Alice Through the Looking Glass, which is based on the second of Carroll's books about Wonderland.
Disney released the trailer on Facebook (above), which explores how Alice manages to escape a hospital - where she's diagnosed as excitable, prone to fantasy, and suffering from a "textbook case of female hysteria" - and return to Wonderland through none other than a looking glass. Back in Wonderland, Alice is reunited with a whole host of colorful characters, some of whom are friendly and some of whom are not.
James Bobin (The Muppets, Muppets Most Wanted) directed Alice Through the Looking Glass, which brings back the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), Absolem the Caterpillar (Alan Rickman), the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), and the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen). They're joined by new additions to the cast of characters, including Alice's doctor Addison Bennett (Andrew Scott) and the Mad Hatter's father Zanik Hightopp (Rhys Ifans).
Of course, many fans of Alice in Wonderland especially appreciated Burton's touch on the fantasy film and, as such, may be wary of Alice Through the Looking Glass changing hands to Bobin. In fact, with the CGI spectacle among the less favorable aspects of Alice in Wonderland, Burton's style and cachet may have been what carried the film through a mixed critical response to a successful box office.
That being said, with Burton involved with Alice Through the Looking Glass as a producer, and his regular collaborators Depp and Carter reprising their roles, the feature is sure to continue on in the same spirit as its predecessor. Plus, given what we've seen of the trailers for the sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass has the potential to revisit the psychedelic world of Wonderland in a family-friendly and fun sequel that has a visual style all its own.
Next: Alice Through the Looking Glass TV Trailer
Alice Through the Looking Glass will see theatrical release in the U.S. on May 27th, 2016.