Alice through the Looking Glass (1998 film)
An adult Alice journeys through a mirror into a chessboard world.
Alice through the Looking Glass is a 1998 British fantasy television film adapted from Lewis Carroll’s 1871 book *Through the Looking-Glass*, with Kate Beckinsale in the lead role. The story begins as a mother reads the book to her daughter, also named Alice, and then passes through a bedroom mirror into Looking-Glass Land, where she becomes Alice but remains an adult.
Inside the mirror world, Alice finds a book of “Jabberwocky” written in mirror script and watches chess pieces come to life. She steps into a garden of talking flowers and meets the Red Queen, who explains that the landscape is a giant chessboard. If Alice can reach the eighth row, she will become a queen. She joins the White Queen’s side as a pawn and travels by train to the fourth row. In a wood, the Gnat teaches her about looking-glass insects. Crossing a forest where things have no names, she forgets her own name but recalls it on the other side. She then encounters Tweedledum and Tweedledee, who recite “The Walrus and the Carpenter,” while the Red King sleeps under a tree. The brothers prepare to fight but flee when a giant crow appears.
The White Queen demonstrates her ability to see the future, and Alice rows across a stream with her into the fifth row, where the Queen transforms into the Sheep. Crossing another stream brings Alice to the sixth row, where she meets Humpty Dumpty on his unbirthday; he explains portmanteau words before falling off his wall, and the White King’s horses and men try to help. Alice, still a white pawn, crosses a third stream into the seventh row, where the Red Knight tries to capture her. The White Knight rescues her, leads her through a forest, and recites the poem “Haddocks’ Eyes” before falling off his horse. At the final stream—little more than a ditch—Alice steps into the eighth row, and a queen’s crown appears on her head. The Red and White Queens join her, baffling her with wordplay, and invite her to host a coronation party. The party descends into chaos, and Alice shakes the Red Queen to calm her down. She then wakes up safely at home with her daughter, little Alice.
The film’s screenplay closely follows Carroll’s text, preserving his dialogue almost word for word, though it innovates by casting an adult Alice (she answers “seven and a half” when asked her age) and by changing Alice’s hairstyle and dress throughout the film.
- Type
- Television film
- Year
- 1998
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Based on
- Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
- Starring
- Kate Beckinsale
- Dvd release
- 2005
Lore & Background
The film opens with a mother reading Through the Looking Glass to her daughter, Alice. The mother then travels through the bedroom mirror into Looking-Glass Land and becomes Alice, but remains an adult. She encounters talking flowers, the Red Queen, and becomes a white pawn on a giant chessboard. The plot follows Alice through various encounters, including Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Humpty Dumpty, and the White Knight, until she reaches the eighth row and becomes a queen. The film ends with Alice waking up at home with her daughter.
Reader's Guide
The 1998 television adaptation is notable for casting an adult actress, Kate Beckinsale, as Alice, who answers 'seven and a half' when asked her age. The screenplay follows the book closely, preserving Carroll's dialogue almost word for word. A distinctive element is the inclusion of the 'Wasp in a Wig' episode, which Carroll wrote but did not include in the published book, with the Wasp played by Ian Richardson. Critics Jaques and Giddens described the film as 'a pleasant film aimed at children, with a strong sense that Alice has a fun time in her adventure.' Film scholar Thomas Leitch noted that Beckinsale least resembles John Tenniel's classic illustrations of Alice. The film was released on DVD in 2005.
Production & Creative Vision
Alice Through the Looking Glass was crafted as a direct sequel to the 2010 hit, with James Bobin taking the director's chair and Linda Woolverton penning the screenplay under the Walt Disney Pictures banner. The project assembled a formidable ensemble, calling back Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, and Timothy Spall to reprise their beloved roles. Alan Rickman's participation marked his final film role, lending the production an added layer of poignancy. New faces entered the fray, most notably Sacha Baron Cohen as the godlike Time and Rhys Ifans as the Mad Hatter's father, Zanik. The film held its world premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on May 10, 2016, before hitting theaters worldwide on May 27 through Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The production represented a significant investment for the studio, with a reported budget of $170 million, signaling Disney's ambition to expand the Wonderland franchise into a major ongoing series.
Narrative & Time-Travel Plot
The story finds Alice Kingsleigh at twenty-two, having spent three years sailing the oceans in her late father's wake. Back in London, she faces a corporate threat from her ex-fiancé Hamish Ascot, who seeks to seize her family's vessel. A familiar butterfly—Absolem, once a caterpillar—draws her through a mirror into Wonderland, where the Mad Hatter has grown dangerously unstable after losing his entire family. The White Queen tasks Alice with consulting the enigmatic Time, a clockwork deity who governs all of Wonderland's chronology through the Chronosphere housed in his Castle of Eternity. After Time declares that altering the past is impossible, Alice steals the device and plunges backward through history. She witnesses the Red Queen's disastrous coronation, uncovers the childhood lie over a stolen tart that forged the Queens' bitter rivalry, and discovers the Hatter's family was captured by the Red Queen's knights. A catastrophic time paradox—triggered when the Red Queen confronts her younger self—sets an all-consuming rust devouring Wonderland, forcing Alice into a desperate sprint to restore the Chronosphere before everything is lost forever.
Box Office & Critical Reception
Despite the enormous production value and star power, the film struggled to find a resonant audience. Critics delivered a largely mixed-to-negative verdict, consistently singeing the screenplay while acknowledging the visual spectacle on display. The narrative was widely regarded as the film's weakest element, with reviewers finding the time-travel plot convoluted and the character motivations underdeveloped. At the box office, the numbers told a sobering story: the picture collected roughly $300 million in global revenue against a production budget of $170 million. When marketing and distribution costs are factored in, the studio absorbed an estimated $70 million loss—a significant financial blow for a tentpole release from one of Hollywood's largest studios. The disappointing return likely tempered Disney's enthusiasm for further sequels in the Wonderland line, as the film's underperformance suggested that the audience appetite for the franchise had not grown to match the studio's investment. The premiere at London's Odeon Leicester Square on May 10, 2016, and the subsequent wide release on May 27 ultimately failed to generate the cultural momentum needed to sustain the series.
Character Arcs & Thematic Resonance
At its emotional core, the film traces Alice's evolution from a young woman still defined by her father's legacy into someone who forges her own path. Her journey through Wonderland is punctuated by a harrowing moment in which she awakens in a mental hospital, diagnosed with female hysteria by a cruel psychiatric doctor—a scene that underscores the real-world stakes of her fantastical adventures. The Mad Hatter's arc carries particular weight: his family, including his parents, sister, brother, and aunt, had been captured and shrunk into an ant farm by the Red Queen's forces. His near-death state in the present is reversed only when Alice tearfully affirms her belief in him, restoring his sanity. The Queens' storyline reframes their rivalry as a wound inflicted by a childhood lie, culminating in the White Queen's heartfelt apology to her redeemed sister. In the real world, Alice and her mother reject Hamish's corporate takeover and establish their own shipping company, symbolizing Alice's full embrace of independence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Alice through the Looking Glass (1998)?
It is a British fantasy television film produced in 1998 that brings Lewis Carroll's 1871 novel *Through the Looking-Glass* to the screen. The film was later made available on DVD in 2005.
Who plays Alice in the 1998 Looking Glass film?
Kate Beckinsale stars in the lead, portraying an adult Alice rather than a child. This casting choice sets the tone apart from many other screen versions of Carroll's story.
How does the story of Alice through the Looking Glass (1998) begin?
A mother reads Carroll's book aloud to her daughter, also named Alice, and the girl then steps through a bedroom mirror into Looking-Glass Land. In that world she inhabits the role of Alice while still being an adult.
What does Alice encounter inside the mirror world in the 1998 film?
She stumbles upon a book containing the 'Jabberwocky' poem written in mirror script and watches chess pieces spring to life on a board. She also wanders through a garden of talking flowers and is received by the Red Queen, who explains the rules of the landscape.
Why is the 1998 Alice through the Looking Glass notable among British fantasy productions?
It is a rare televised adaptation of Carroll's second Alice book, produced in the United Kingdom. Beckinsale's adult-Alice framing gives the material a distinctly different feel from child-centered remakes of the same source.
More in British fantasy films 1-24
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