Alice Through the Looking Glass is the sequel to Tim Burton’s 2010 Alice in Wonderland. The film was released on May 27, 2016 and received a 6.4/10 from IMDb, a 29% from Rotten Tomatoes, and a 34% from Metacritic.

In this movie, Alice returns to the bright and colorful world of Wonderland through a mirror, or looking glass. She must save the Mad Hatter who seems to be dying from the fact that no one other than himself believes his family, whom he thought to have died long ago, are still alive. Alice then goes on an incredible journey through the Ocean of Time and meets the personification of time himself in order to try and find out what really happened to the Hatter family.

Critics of the movie claim that the actors looked bored, that the movie had no soul, and that the film in general looked like “Willy Wonka threw up all over his chocolate factory,” as stated in the Rolling Stone review of the movie. The film was met with harsh reviews by critics other critics as well, and senior Olivia Zuba stated that she thought the movie was “rushed and not very planned out” and that “the first one was better.”

While some of what the critics claimed was partially true, the film still had its potential. It was able to give the audience a representation and the personification of that which can not be seen while adding humor and slight mystery at the same time. The characters themselves are developed well enough, even though the actors chosen to play them may not have given their all during production. While it appeared that the Mad Hatter (Jonny Depp) was giving it his all and certainly tried to put on a wacky and wonderful show for the audience, the Queen of Hearts (Helena Carter) was certainly not feeling the love, and Time (Sacha Cohen) was trying to tick his best tock, the other characters could arguably be said to have fallen a little flat.

Another thing that this Alice in Wonderland sequel has in its favor is the number of easter eggs and references to the prequel that are present in the movie. Any fans of the BBC’s Sherlock will be delighted in the fact that James Moriarty (Andrew Scott) makes a small cameo in the movie. In the movie, it is also explained why the Queen of Hearts’ head is so big, why she and her sister don’t get along, and why she enjoys removing people’s heads.

Overall, this film is one that had the potential to be better than it was, and while the critics may have shamed the movie and claimed that it had no meaning to it, Alice Through the Looking Glass is still an elaborate, colorful film that some might consider seeing.