Alice Through The Looking Glass press conference
by Laura Patricia Jones
‘Alice can do whatever Alice chooses to do’ – An empowering character for young modern audiences.
An adaptation of any classic tale always raises questions of what’s new and what can we expect next? But if there’s a pioneer amongst any of it, it’s the classic yet quackers fusion of Disney and Tim Burton complimented by an allstar cast. Today we were invited to the Mad Hatter’s Tea party for the global premiere of Alice Through The Looking Glass to find just what went on behind the scenes and what this new adaptation of the second Alice installment can teach us today.
Alice, being that iconic blond in blue that so many little girls (and ladies alike) choose to dress up as, is as big of a cult figure today as it would have been to children discovering Lewis Caroll back in the day. So, I was keen to find out what the film team felt modern audiences would take away from this feisty and rebooted Alice.
Mia Wasikowska, producer Suzanne Todd and director James Bobin warmly talked about how Alice can be incredibly relatable to women in their 20’s in the midst of that quarter life crisis journey where you’re happy in your career but looking for that next step, rebuilding relationships with your mother and personal relationships along the way. It’s a transition that many young women can adhere themselves too. She’s the captain of her ship, doing what she loves, empowered and knowledgeable but facing her own battles along the way. The thing that makes it quite rule-breaking is the parody of female hysteria which up until recently was taken quite seriously, and the fact that women in Victorian England were to do as they were told – Alice doesn’t do what she’s told, and we love her for it!
Another interesting issue raised through the Mad Hatter was the idea of mental health and what it is to be stuck in the coils of the mind. Depp quite poignantly states, “If you’re crazy and not aware of it, it’s great. If you’re crazy and aware of it, it will eat you alive.”
Serious discussions aside, it’s clear that the cast and crew have a huge amount of banter and the Johnny/Sacha bromance added fun and humorous twists to the conference. It would appear Depp really is the real life Captain Jack Sparrow and has all the charm you could hope for.
With that I leave you with the gospel according to Depp as he gives us the advice he would leave to his six year old self:
– Search for simplicity.
– Stay away from anything that makes a bunch of people wanna stare at you in a restaurant, follow you in cars and motorcycles back to your hotel room.
– Try to avoid people who write (sometimes entertaining) incredibly ludicrous fiction about you and your family.
– If anyone gives you any s**t just beat the f**k ‘outta them.
Wise worlds and food for thought for us all. 😉
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