Johnny Depp and the cast of “Alice Through the Looking Glass” walked the blue carpet in a Wonderland-inspired Leicester Square for the film’s European premiere on Tuesday (May 10).
Following 2010’s box office smash hit “Alice in Wonderland”, “Alice Through the Looking Glass” sees Alice embark on another perilous adventure in the whimsical fantasy land.
Australian actress Mia Wasikowska returns as the titular heroine, who finds herself rushing to reunite the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) and his family, while also battling the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and a new villain called Time (Sacha Baron Cohen).
Depp told media he enjoyed playing the flamboyant Hatter once again.
“It’s a lot of fun to revisit the Mad Hatter. It was a gas to get back together with the cast of before, and then the addition of Sacha Baron Cohen certainly upped the stakes quite a lot,” said the Oscar-nominated star.
“It was great because this particular film, ‘Through the Looking Glass’, has a bit more of the Hatter’s – there are a lot more layers of things going on.”
With the film taking a closer look at the Hatter’s traumatic childhood, he and Alice share several emotional moments together. Wasikowska told Reuters she was happy the sequel offered more scenes with Depp.
“It was really fun. In the first one I was sort of small and tall, and you know I didn’t get to sort of act as much with him [Depp]. So in this one there was more consistency in it,” said Wasikowska.
Lewis Carroll’s iconic books were published over 140 years ago but continue to delight generations of children and literature fans.
Veteran Hollywood director Tim Burton explained his interest in the novels.
“I think it’s just the base thing, because there have been so many different interpretations of it, you know. Not only in film, but it’s influenced popular culture, music and art and everything,” said Burton, who served as executive producer on “Alice Through the Looking Glass”.
“I think there’s just something that touches upon creativity and imagination and that juxtaposed with the real world or what you deal with, you know, and the combination of those two worlds, I think, is something that to me is powerful.”
“Alice Through the Looking Glass” rolls out across cinemas worldwide from May 25.
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016
