Disney’s 2010 live-action take on Alice In Wonderland might not have generated the same level of joy as other properties, but it certainly brought in the coins, passing a billion dollars at the box office. Disney showed off some of the sequel (Alice Through The Looking Glass) at D23 this weekend, including a first look at Sacha Baron Cohen as a new character, a creature of shifting morality called Time.
In a somewhat muted presentation that only included Alice herself, Mia Wasikowska, the sequel’s secrets were peeled back slightly with the revelation that Linda Woolverton’s script finds the leaping through different time periods and meeting the various “Underland” characters at younger stages in their lives, including the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp).
Baron Cohen’s Time is depicted as an OTT sort (from Sacha? Surely not!) with a heavy accent and a costume that leans on clock faces as a motif. Oh, and he exists within a clock, which should surprise no one.
James Bobin has taken over directorial duties from Tim Burton, with a lot of the original cast (Alan Rickman, Matt Lucas, Anne Hathaway, Michael Sheen) back for more Hatter madness. The film will be out in the UK on May 27 next year.
Also previewed was the Mouse House’s new version of Pete’s Dragon, with Ain’t Them Bodies Saints director David Lowery updating the story to modern-day Pacific Northwest environs (though shot in New Zealand). Bryce Dallas Howard was present to introduce a sizzle reel for the film, which sees her forest ranger encountering a seemingly feral Pete (Oakes Fegley) living wild amongst the trees. Except he’s not alone. Something very big is looking after him…
With the film only wrapping in May, there was almost nothing of the dragon to show in the footage screened beyond a quick glimpse of tufted hair (it appears they’re taking inspiration from the cartoon version) and lots of moody, stylish shots of forests interspersed with Howard and Robert Redford delivering dialogue.
With Karl Urban, Oona Laurence and Wes Bentley among the cast, **Pete’s Dragon **will be out here on August 12, 2016.