Alice Through the Looking Glass Comes to Blu-ray/DVD and Digital HD October 18th

Today, Walt Disney Home Entertainment announced the Blu-ray/DVD release of James Bobin's "Alice Through the Looking Glass," the sequel to Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" from 2010. The film, which follows the titular character (Mia Wasikowska) on her return to Wonderland to help the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), was not received very well by critics (it received a rather low 30% on Rotten Tomatoes), but then again, neither was the original film, which was actually a decent adventure. It contained a good deal of the characters from Lewis Carroll's story, and along with Tim Burton's singularly strange signature touch, it turned into a fun little adaptation that held on to the spirit of the classic tale.

While I have yet to see the sequel, the main complaint towards it appears to be its "underwhelming story," which is strange given that it was written by the same screenwriter of the original. Then again, it could be mostly the same people who complained about the previous film who are complaining about this one, so perhaps it's the same case of it not being nearly as bad as some are trying to make it out to be.

The sequel will come to Blu-ray with a number of special features that will include the following:

• A Stitch in Time: Costuming Wonderland – Three-time Oscar®-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood (“Alice in Wonderland,” “Memoirs of a Geisha”) explains how costuming helps shape the curious characters of Underland and reveals hidden Easter Eggs within the cast’s ornate outfits.

• Music Video: “Just Like Fire” by P!nk – “Watch this madness, colorful charade” in P!nk’s music video for “Just Like Fire,” the hit song featured in “Alice Through the Looking Glass” that powered to the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100.

• Behind the Music Video – Go on set with P!nk for production of her “Just Like Fire” music video, featuring fantastical imagery, aerial stunts, Underland character cameos, and guest appearances by P!nk’s family.

• Behind The Looking Glass – Jump back and forth through time during this in-depth look into the making of “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” hosted by director James Bobin.

• Time On… – Delight in this discussion with the unpredictable and witty Sacha Baron Cohen who plays Time, the keeper of the Chronosphere, a metallic sphere that powers all time.

• Alice Goes Through the Looking Glass: A Scene Peeler – View a side-by-side comparison of raw production footage and final scenes, as Alice enters Underland through a magical looking glass.

• Alice Goes Through Time’s Castle: A Scene Peeler – View raw production footage alongside final scenes, as Alice enters Time’s castle of eternity.

• Characters of Underland – Get to know the quirky and colorful supporting characters in Underland, such as the tubby twins known as the Tweedles (Matt Lucas) and Absolem (Alan Rickman), the blue caterpillar turned blue Monarch butterfly.

• Filmmaker Audio Commentary by James Bobin – Director James Bobin delivers scene-by-scene insight into the creation of “Alice Through the Looking Glass.”

• Deleted Scenes with Director Commentary – Bobin introduces five never-before-seen scenes that didn’t make the final cut of Disney’s spectacular adventure.

It looks like we'll be getting a few interesting featurettes here, including a Director's Commentary and an in-depth "Making of" hosted by the director himself. However, it also looks like we'll be getting a few things that we can already tell should be left out, including a music video by "P!nk" and a making of said video, but overall it appears to be shaping up to be a fine release. (Please note that the DVD release will only contain the Costuming featurette.)

That date again is October 18th for Blu-ray/DVD, Digital HD, and the cloud-based digital service Disney Movies Anywhere. If you're a fan of the series, then be sure to mark the date down on your calendar.

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