Zie

This was originally posted on my Plurk, but I decided I needed to post it here, too. And I have some added thoughts.

I'm not buying that Alice Through the Looking Glass failed because of the story. That definitely was not the case. I think the problem that befell the second Alice movie is the timing of the release, and unfortunate timing of the divorce between Depp and Heard. Personally, I don't think anyone should hold an actor's personal life against their professional life, but that's just me. There was a LOT of negative crap coming out of Heard's camp in the matter, and I'm guessing people bought it and therefore didn't see the movie.

But I also have to take into account that other big movies were released that same weekend, so there is that. If Disney had stuck with it's original release date (which was closer to the release date of the first movie) , it might have avoided that competition at the box office.

I also don't hold that either Alice movie was for kids. Yes, they can go see it and not get a bunch of swear words, but there are darker tones than the original 1951 romp that they won't get or appreciate.


And the "failure" of the movie is apparent with the lack of downloads available. You guys know how very rare it is for me to want to download a movie, but if I've seen it twice in theaters, and know I will buy the DVD, I don't really worry about it. And I have seen this movie twice, and if it weren't for Finding Dory and wanting to see Now You See Me 2 again, I would probably see it a third time.

But no, seriously. This movie is getting so much negativity and hate, and it breaks my heart. And the majority of the hate is being directed at Depp, and let me tell you something. Up until these movies, my favorite character in the Alice stories was always the Cheshire Cat. He made the Hatter more human, and 3-dimensional, and therefore more relate-able. He is NOTHING like his Wonka character, even if Depp himself
that there is a little bit of Wonka in the Hatter. I honestly don't see it, but that's just me.

The people who are saying that he's just rehashing Jack Sparrow and Willy Wonka...give me a freakin' break. The only thing remotely "Wonka" about the Hatter is his relationship (or lack of) with his father in the second movie. But I chalk that up to a coincidence, and even if it wasn't? Wonka and Alice had two different Screenwriters, so it's not his fault otherwise. One thing I also wanted to say is that I hated Depp's Willy Wonka. I don't know if it was because I am so old school and in love with Gene Wilder's 1970s Wonka or if it was just a bit too out there for me, but I didn't like it. So if there had been even the slightest hint of Wonka , I wouldn't have loved the Hatter at all. But loved him in the first movie, and in the second movie (which was the real subject of this rant, to be honest), I grew even more fond of him, especially towards the end of the movie for reasons I can't put here or risk spoilers. Lets just say that he says something to Alice at the end of the second movie that I needed to hear, even if it was from a "fictional" character. And there was absolutely nothing remotely "Jack Sparrow" like in Tarrant Hightopp's character whatsoever, so I have no idea where they got that from (aside from Depp saying that he took a little bit of inspiration from that character, but that really doesn't come through as far as I am concerned).

Of course, these are all opinions, and of course even this rant is a full blown opinion. But as my dear friend Kay-chan likes to say, "People's opinions are allowed to be wrong". I'm sure that people who come across this probably disagree with my assessment, too. I wonder if people didn't like how character driven the second movie was. I eat that shit up. I guess because as a writer I am very character driven.

-shrug- Everything I said here feels like "Right" to me, even if it is just an opinion. I also just hate that this film "failed" so spectacularly because it was Alan Rickman's very last film role, and I feel like people tarnished that fact by focusing just on the negative. Yes, I realize Absolem had a very small role in the second movie, but still. It was his LAST movie. I feel like people should have been more respectful for that reason. I will also say that both the director and Tim Burton showed a lot of class by dedicating the whole picture to Alan Rickman. It got me really choked up, honestly, and let me also say...it made Tarrant's last words to Alice even MORE relevant.