Ma. Kara Alexir C.

Calamba Great Books

COMM3A Mrs. Chavez

Application:
Congratulations! Now you have made yourself aware of the different characteristics of fiction. This
information will be useful in this next learning experience. Pretend that you are a member of a book club
and you are requested to evaluate the movie version of one of these novels.
a. The Jungle Book (2016, Walt Disney Pictures)
b. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005, The Zanuck Company)
c. Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016, Walt Disney Pictures)

Assessment Task 1
Come up with your own set of criteria in evaluating one of the movies. You may use the information from
the previous learning experiences in your criteria. Use the provided graphic organizer.

My Movie Review

Name: Ma. Kara Alexir C. Calamba

Movie: Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016, Walt Disney Pictures)
I thought the movie was good but not the best. The protagonist, Alice was portrayed well, from
her appearance and the way she act and presented herself to people she met in the story made me
conclude that she’s a strong woman. However, among the characters in the story, she’s the one who was
not given an in-depth background, however, a character development occurs. But since it’s a sequel, I
think this explained a lot. For me, it seems the film actually deepens the backgrounds of the other
characters such as Hatter and his family, the Red and White Queen, as well as Time to give a lesson to the
protagonist. Well, this appeared significant, so there would be a change in Alice’s perspective about time,
which helps her to make good decisions in dealing with her problems in her world. She went to
wonderland and underwent a time-travelling adventure to help her depressed and sick dearest friend
Hatter after he was reminded of his past - his lost family.

Reason 1
Well-detailed settings and characters - Since characters and the settings played vital role in
establishing the story, I believe that building a specific and detailed descriptions on character’s
environment, appearance and their way of talking and behaving helps a lot in distinguishing the characters
to one another - thus, the reason why this is one of my criteria to evaluate a film/novel. This also helps the
audience to determine whether a character development occurs to a certain character in the story or film. I
do think that this could be a basis for viewers to consider whether the book or the film would be
interesting to read/watch or not.
 In the film, Alice proved herself as a strong and independent woman who is desperate to do
things she loves and cherishes the people she values the most. One of the details about her that was
presented in the film was her personal choice of clothing for the event she went to with her mother. Alice
literally wears something different, something people not expected from her to wore. Moreover, her
argument with her mother about her desperation to continue her expedition. In addition, the way she talk
with her mom, sounds so sure in every word she was saying - no doubts in herself. Regarding her
friendship with Hatter, she became someone who would do anything for the sake of her friend - which
also shows her bravery.

Reason 2
Presence of life lessons - Stories that made the viewers self-reflect and understand their
environment actually gives great impact more than you could imagine. I think this adds value to the film
because it tends to be the actual objective of the story or the protagonist. Viewers who want to be
entertained and be educated at the same time would likely look out for this. Well, this lies on the
backgrounds of the characters presented in the story - like learning from the protagonist’s past. The story
might be fiction, but the lesson it offers could be something useful in the real world.

I could say that every character has life lessons to offer and all of the shows the important of
family, friendship and forgiveness because it makes the world at peace and full of love. Since the story
has a time-travelling plot, it highlights that we cannot change our past but we can learn from it.

Reason 3
Relevant and timeless - This depends on the story’s theme - which determines what the story
would be all about. Aside from life-lessons, presenting a relevant issue (of the past or present) somehow
builds a certain connection to its viewers - which makes a film or novel timeless.This actually happens if
it tackles an issue that they can relate to. Moreover, this makes a film interesting regardless how old it is
(since it was released)

I think the whole concept of the film was something you will be interested to watch regardless of
your age. I think a child could really love this because of the visuals but the themes portrayed in the film
was really something all of us can relate to. The movie tackled the misunderstanding among family,
friends and siblings and the characters resolved it with proper communication and forgiveness, which
makes it relevant and timeless. Using the concept of time played an important role too because it made
the characters cherish every minutes, every seconds and every hour they are with people they loved.

Conclusion:
Overall, I must say that the film, “Alice Through the Looking Glass” was able to meet the criteria
I made for evaluating the film. It might not be the best film I’ve ever watched but the life lessons I got
from the characters were somehow memorable for me, specifically the truth about time and the love for
family. I can say that even though it was released years ago, the story will remain relevant to viewers
regardless of time. The story itself made the film worth-watching, however, the film somehow weak in
terms of execution. I actually feel less-thrilled compared to the first one but nonetheless, it’s worth my
time.