Alice Through the Looking Glass

The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Alice captains her father's ship, the Wonder, navigating dangerous waters with confidence and skill. She has become an independent sea captain, living the adventurous life her father dreamed of.. Notably, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.

The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Absolem the butterfly appears and urgently summons Alice back to Underland. Someone she cares about needs her help desperately. This supernatural interruption pulls her away from her Victorian problems.. At 11% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.

The First Threshold at 27 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to Alice makes the active choice to steal the Chronosphere from Time himself in order to travel to the past and save the Hatter's family. She commits to the impossible mission despite warnings that altering history could destroy all of time., moving from reaction to action.

At 57 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat Alice discovers the truth: the Hatter's family did survive the Jabberwocky attack. However, she also learns that the Red Queen's childhood trauma (her sister's lie about who ate the tarts) created the tyrant. The stakes raise as Alice realizes changing the past could prevent all the evil but might destroy time itself., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.

The Collapse moment at 84 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Time freezes completely, turning everyone to rust statues. The Hatter, her friends, all of Underland crystallizes and crumbles. Alice watches helplessly as the world dies because of her attempts to change the past. This is the whiff of death - the literal death of time itself., demonstrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.

The Second Threshold at 90 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Alice returns the Chronosphere to Time, accepting that the past cannot be changed, only learned from. She synthesizes the lesson: healing comes from truth and reconciliation, not rewriting history. She can save the Hatter by showing him what really happened, not by changing it., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.