Picking up three years later (from the first film), Alice Through the Looking Glass takes you into a fantastical world of discovery, understanding, and of course adventure. After traveling as sea captain for what should've been a year, Alice returns to London as a fearless young woman. This time around she is her own person. She’s grown. But coming back home, she faces the truth of the people she left behind. No dream can be accomplished without a cost. On her return as Alice, Mia Wasikowska expressed, “I just love that she has a really strong sense of who she is… she’s able to kind of hold on to that she’s worth more than what other people want her to be.”

In this sequel to Alice in Wonderland we are introduced to new characters, including Mad Hatter’s father and Time himself. Described as a peculiar creature, Time (Sacha Baron Cohen) is part human and part clock. This “nonsensical” character brings up a lot of sensical thoughts and as director James Bobin pointed out is the ‘theme of the film.’ Bobin, who joined the franchise as a fan, shared his familiarity with the original stories of Alice by Lewis Carroll. “I wanted to pay tribute to him in a sense that if he saw it he would appreciate it.” He also explained he tried to incorporate some of Lewis and himself while “still maintaining the Tim [Burton] world.” Burton stayed on as producer to the film.

Returning producer Suzanne Todd specified the difficulty of making these films. She explained they went back into the literature and turned the idea into a full length feature. “We really focused on what you see in the movie, which is time and the preciousness of time and spending time with loved ones. And also what a pretty kick ass girl can do if she sets her mind to it.” Something Anne Hathaway confessed she’s very proud of. “I was bursting with pride to be in a movie that’s taking the narrative back.” A narrative that is fully explained after watching the film.

On new discoveries, we finally understand the truth behind Mirana, The White Queen (Anne Hathaway) and her sister Iracebeth, The Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter). We see a side of Iracebeth we’ve never seen before and the answer to why Mirana takes the ‘kindness vow.’ On her character Anne said, “It was nice to know that like everyone she’s got a past and she has regrets. She feels pain. She feels guilt. And you forget about these things. So I actually was really thrilled that we were kind of trying to see what the emotions were like for these characters that look so fantastical but feel so relatable.” 

Like the characters in this sequel, the costumes too have evolved. Alice is not only more confident about who she is, but is also free to wear what she wants. On the costumes, by Colleen Atwood, Mia confessed that while ‘Colleen is a brilliant designer, she’s also brutal’ when it comes to wearing layers and heavy material. “But in this one I got to wear a lot of trousers.” Alice wears “a suit at the beginning and at the end.” She adds, “They were a lot more accessible.” Hathaway said that while she ‘wore no trousers she love it.’ The White Queen was fully evolved with the costume. Hathaway explains, “Colleen’s costume probably created my character… and then as soon as I put on the dress it was like ‘oh she's there.’”

Alice Through the Looking Glass not only takes you deeper into the journey of wonderland. It brings hope and understanding that you can believe in the impossible because you can make it possible. The theme of time is timeless and resonates with all ages.

Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass opens in theaters May 27.