This is the only adaptation that I've seen of Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass" to include "The Wasp in a Wig" chapter, which Carroll, on John Tenniel's suggestion, excised from the book. So, there's that. I also like the rabbit ears sculpted in the garden, seen in the background as Alice leaves it, as if leaving behind Carroll's first Alice book, on her adventures in Wonderland. Otherwise, it's of the sort of poor quality one might expect from a TV movie. The colors are garish. The visual effects are lousy and mostly unnecessary (e.g. the reoccurring portal). The Tweedles episode, unfortunately, plays like a choppy music video.
On the other hand, it does mostly stick to Carroll's words and without much mixing of the two Alice books (besides quoting the first one at the end), unlike other screen adaptations. Having actors pretending to be insects and flowers or Kate Beckinsale to be a child in an adult's body within the dream isn't as distracting as one might fear. Furthermore, there's a hint here of parodying or imitating other motion-picture styles that's akin to Carroll's literary treatment of nursery rhymes. There's the aforementioned Tweedles music video, which also includes some sort of brief animation or model work, and there's the White Knight's tale told in black and white and in the style of part silent slapstick and creaky early talkie. I could envision a good adaptation being made by expanding upon that notion of mocking various film styles. This isn't it, though.
On the other hand, it does mostly stick to Carroll's words and without much mixing of the two Alice books (besides quoting the first one at the end), unlike other screen adaptations. Having actors pretending to be insects and flowers or Kate Beckinsale to be a child in an adult's body within the dream isn't as distracting as one might fear. Furthermore, there's a hint here of parodying or imitating other motion-picture styles that's akin to Carroll's literary treatment of nursery rhymes. There's the aforementioned Tweedles music video, which also includes some sort of brief animation or model work, and there's the White Knight's tale told in black and white and in the style of part silent slapstick and creaky early talkie. I could envision a good adaptation being made by expanding upon that notion of mocking various film styles. This isn't it, though.