Journey_with_a_Cinephile

This is a film that I knew came out, but since I hadn't seen the original one, I avoided it. Now doing the podcast with Jaime, Depp Dive, where this film was the next one up from Johnny's feature filmography. Jaime had seen this one before and she was quite excited to revisit it.

This picks up some time after Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) turned down Hamish Ascot's (Leo Bill) proposal. Alice is a ship captain of the Wonder and we see her escape from pirates. When she returns home, things are not in a good order. Bills were piling up and Helen (Lindsay Duncan), who is Alice's mother, did what she could to preserve what money they had. The issue is that the duo are faced with losing their house or the ship.

Alice then escapes back into Wonderland. What she learns is that the Mad Hatter, Tarrant Hightopp (Depp), is struggling. He found a hat that he made as a boy and he's convinced this family still lives. His friends, including Mirana (Anne Hathaway), Tweedledee and Tweeledumb (both played by Matt Lucas), Bayard (voiced by Timothy Spall), Thackeray (voiced by Paul Whitehouse) and Cheshire Cat (voiced by Stephen Fry) need her help. She is told to go back in time to make things right.

This leads her to the castle of Time (Sacha Baron Cohen). She disrupts everything by taking an item to travel into the past. What she realizes is that a young Tarrant made waves with Iracebeth (Helena Bonham Carter), that she never forgave. There was also an incident with her sister when they were younger. It is a race against time, before that comes to a stop all together and trying to help everyone before it is too late.

Now that I've given a recap, let me bring up trivia that Jaime told me. This isn't an original story, just taking the follow up book title. As someone who is a fan of time travel stories, I like what this is doing. It is fun that Time is a clockwork man, being an automaton that has freewill and understanding of things. I was particularly taken by him having machines that he calls seconds. They connect to create a bigger version called minutes and then later in this, we see that they can go even bigger, being hours. This is a small thing that made me smile.

Sticking with time travel ideas, this can be difficult to do. I try not to look too deeply since there are usually plot holes. What I love is that Alice goes back to meet Tarrant when he's younger. This explains why he knows her when she comes to Wonderland in the first film. I love how things come together like that. We also play with the idea of how time can stop if someone goes into the past and sees themselves.

I will also say that this has good writing. Jaime had to help me here, since this is only my first watch. There is a reveal the first time we go to the castle belonging to Time. We see that everyone gets a pocket watch. When your time is up, it stops. We see this happen to a character and then when Time is going to put it in its final resting place, there are ones missing, meaning that those characters are still alive. That was a good touch there. We also get to learn more about the back stories of Iracebeth and Mirana, which expands things we know.

Key themes to include would be Alice's shift from viewing time as a commodity to a precious gift, emphasizing learning from the past. The film also addresses family reconciliation (Tarrant's and the princesses') and female empowerment through Alice's autonomy against Hamish, doctors, and her mother, using Wonderland to resolve her conflicts. The text also notes that Hatter's 'madness' or Alice's 'hysteria' may represent alternate perceptions of reality rather than actual mental illness.

What I'll then say is that we have a solid cast here. Wasikowska is solid again. I do think Depp's performance is better here, but his limited screentime hinders it being his best. Hathaway and Carter are both solid as well. I like the inclusion of Cohen. From there the voices of Rickman, Fry, Sheen and Spall are solid. Bill, Lucas and the rest of the cast do round this out for what was needed, including Richard Armitage and Rhys Ifans.

I'll also include here that this is well-made. Now it is a CGI-fest, but I'm not sure how else you'd bring this insane world to life for a live-action film. It has Disney money so it looks great. Maybe minor quibbles here and there. It did look great in 4K. When our characters are traveling along the sea of time, that was fun to see. My issues stem from Tweedledee and Tweeledumb as well as Cheshire Cat not looking as good as it probably could. The sound design and music were fitting for what was needed.

In conclusion, this offers a visually stunning and thematically rich follow-up that successfully expands the world and backstories of its characters, particularly the Mad Hatter and the two princesses. While some CGI elements fall slightly short, the film excels in its imaginative portrayal of time travel and the personification of Time, offering a satisfying blend of adventure and emotional depth. The strong performances, especially from the returning cast and newcomer Cohen, anchor this ambitious production, delivering a fun, well-written tale that ultimately reinforces the importance of family, female empowerment, and cherishing time as a non-renewable gift.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

This is a film that I have an interesting history with. My father had a VHS tape called In the Aftermath. That film had live action footage and then edited in elements of this anime. My sister and I tried watching that version we had. It wasn't until I was an adult and started doing research that I discovered, Angel's Egg, was the original film. I've seen it once. I enjoyed it. There is now a 4K restoration that I saw at the Gateway Film Center.

What I'll say is that this is a difficult film to talk about. There isn't much in the way of plot. We see this alien spacecraft land. From there, we follow an unnamed girl that I'm assuming is Angel (voiced by Mako Hyodo). She has an egg that she is protecting. We see her as she collects glass bottles. She has a huge number of these. She then encounters a strange man, with a large weapon. He is voiced by Jinpachi Nezu. He is curious what is inside of the egg that she is protecting.

Now I'll be honest, I've seen this twice and I still have no idea what I've watched. It is short, running 71 minutes. I had to look up the plot. What made me feel better is that this is notoriously cryptic. It sounds like writer/director Mamoru Oshii made this and he doesn't even fully understand it. He had a crisis of faith and this is what came out.

What we know is that a couple of times, this young girl leaves her egg unattended. Once the man gives it back to. Another time, his wonder causes him to see what is inside. This is a post-apocalyptic world where we don't have a lot of people. Something I'll include here is that outside of our duo, we have these fishermen that try to catch large shadow fish.

What I've come up with through research is that Oshii studied to be a Christian priest, but then abandoned that. This egg that Angel protects can be seen as 'blind faith' or 'hope'. She has something to believe in where the man doesn't. He shatters that as well.

Bringing back up the fishermen. You could see them as hunting these 'shadow fish' that don't exist. They are destroying the city in the process of trying. An interpretation I've found is that this is a fruitless chase. There isn't a way to catch them. That could be chasing the meaning in a world where God is absent.

Now there is one last thing to bring up. I won't spoil the final images because they're great. What I will bring up though is that the story of Noah and his ark from the bible are brought up. More specifically the dove that was released and never came back, being forgotten. I do like how water and the world being mostly empty can be factored into the telling of this. That's a good touch.

I'll then say that the voice acting here is good. Keiichi Noda works as the narrator. Hyodo and Nezu both bring their characters to life. I'll also bring in the filmmaking. This world that was created is bleak. It is depressing, but also interesting to explore. We get bits of mythology that ultimately go nowhere but it keeps me intrigued. I also like the music to help build the atmosphere needed.

It is interesting that I saw Yoshitaka Amano help do that and he also worked on the early Final Fantasy games. I'm a big fan of them and this time; there were the war machines that drove through the city that made me think of those games.

In conclusion, this is less a conventional film and more an immersive, moving piece of visual poetry. It thrives on atmosphere, cryptic religious allegory, and stunningly bleak animation that perfectly captures the director's spiritual and existential angst. While it demands patience and multiple interpretations from the viewer-and admittedly, leaves many questions unanswered-it remains a masterful work of art. The recent 4K restoration makes it a necessary watch for anyone interested in experimental animation, philosophical cinema, or the foundational work of Oshii. It is a film that lingers long after the credits roll, urging you to seek meaning in its beautiful desolation.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.

This is a film that I did remember when it came out. I still hadn't seen the original at that time. I had started dating my now wife, Jaime. Her niece and nephew loved this film, so there was a resurgence of the popularity of the song, Let It Go. When my daughter, Mackenzie, learned there was a sequel, she wanted to see this one as well. It was watched on the same weekend as Frozen for me.

Now for this one, we start where everyone seems to be happy. Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel) is now queen. Kristoff (voiced by Jonathan Groff) is trying to find the right time to propose to Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell). Olaf (voiced by Josh Gad) is able to survive due to Elsa's magic and he's more enlightened. There is discord here though as the sisters learn more about their past.

This takes them to an enchanted forest. Elsa was able to wake it up. There appears to be a curse on it. Anna remembers Mattias (voiced by Sterling K. Brown), but she can't quite put her finger on why. There appears to be four spirits of the elements. A fifth one hasn't been seen for some time. There also was a dam that was put up, protecting Arendelle. Elsa needs to know the truth and it will put her, along with those she cares about, in danger to do so.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start then is crediting this film for expanding on the mythology from Frozen. We learn more about Elsa's powers. We also learn about their limitations. There are little things that she and Anna remember, but layers to this are revealed. Not everyone that they dearly loved was as truthful as they originally thought. I do love how memories are fallible, especially with more information being revealed.

Now that I have that set up, this isn't as good as the original, but much like Moana 2, it does seem like they're having fun expanding on the mythology. There are things that children know about their parents, but you also get the version they want to share. Elsa and Anna see that the former's curse isn't her fault. If anything, it is her father falling in love with who he does. Going along with that, I love incorporating more lore like the fire spirit being the salamander. We have a horse made out of water for another. This leads to the truth of the 5th spirit as well.

Then to shift to Anna for a second, I love that she's not concerned with getting married like she was in the first movie. It is great to see Kristoff stressing about asking her. He keeps putting his foot in his mouth and she also lingers on things that are said. That dynamic is played partially for levity and as someone who has proposed, it is nerve racking.

Other themes that I noticed for this film would be making things right from sins of the past. You could also see this as anti-colonism, being inspired by the indigenous Sámi people and their plight in Scandinavia. We are seeing the inevitably of change and how if you don't grow, you'll be left before. There is also ecological balance that we see with the spirits of the elements.

I'll then shift over to discuss the acting performances. Menzel and Bell are once again great coming back as Elsa and Anna. Gad and Groff are right there with them in support. I did like the inclusion here of Evan Rachel Wood, Brown, Alfred Molina, Jason Ritter and Jeremy Sisto. We also have Ciarán HInds and Alan Tudyk back. Everyone fits what was needed in bringing the characters to life.

Since this is also a Disney production, the money was well spent. I don't know if this touches the visuals that we got with the original, but it still brings this supernatural world to life. That was something that is definitely good. I love this enchanted forest and the different spirits. Seeing images from the past play out with ice and snow was a good touch, falling in line with the title. The soundtrack isn't as good while still being solid in my opinion. That isn't meant as a slight, it just isn't as iconic.

In conclusion, while this may not reach the iconic status of its predecessor, it is a worthy continuation that successfully expands the world of Arendelle and the mythology surrounding Elsa's powers. It builds upon the core sisterly relationship, provides meaningful character arcs-especially Kristoff's proposal struggle-and thoughtfully explores deeper themes such as historical accountability and ecological harmony. The visuals remain stunning, and the returning and new voice cast deliver excellent performances. Ultimately, this sequel is a solid cinematic experience that enhances the overall saga, making it a compelling watch for those who loved the original.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.