Tea for two sounds like a breeze. But when the sippers are Johnny Depp and Sacha Baron Cohen, who star as the Mad Hatter and Time himself in the 3-D big-screen fantasy adventure “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” you can’t just serve any old Earl Grey and everyday treats. Nothing about this shindig can be cookie-cutter.
Ask set decorator Ra Vincent, who worked with a team of stylists and foodies to boost this bash to an eye-popping, mouth-watering work of art. “We upped the ante in terms of the color palate,” Vincent tells the Daily News. “As Alice went through a familiar adventure, we wanted to create a heightened experience.”
A tasty one too. “The wonderful thing is that what’s on the table was all real food — cakes, pastries and berries,” says Vincent, an Oscar nominee for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” Did Depp and Cohen, who improvised during some takes of the scene, nibble at the lavish layer cakes, Crayola-bright macarons, muffins and candied and fresh fruits laid out before them? “We had spare cupcakes and lots of extra tea in case edible props went missing — and some did,” says Vincent.
Based on Lewis Carroll’s iconic characters, the Disney movie, out May 27, follows the 2010 blockbuster “Alice in Wonderland.” In this latest adventure, plucky Alice (Mia Wasikowska) travels back to the past to help the Hatter. The tea party scene looms especially large. Due to complications, it’s always tea time.
But the scene itself — the only one in which Depp and Cohen go one-on-one in the film — was completed expediently during filming at Shepperton Studios in England. “It was shot over one very long day,” says Vincent. Food stylist Katharine Tidy, whose credits include “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” baked and prepped many of the goodies the day before. Treats were kept in coolers until the table was set to keep them at their most camera-ready.
The sweets have distinct personalities. So did the actors. “Johnny was always completely in character,” says Vincent. “He was the Hatter as soon as he sat at the table. Sacha snapped in and out of character and was always entertaining. His presence on the set filled it with laughter and mirth.”
To create the same sort of fun and fanciful atmosphere on the set, Vincent and his crew looked back to delightful sketches in the original 19th century book for inspiration — and then let their imaginations fly. “In the English tradition, there are dainty cups and plates and shining silverware,” says Vincent, a New Zealander who’s a tea drinker himself. “The cakes are highly decorated and elevated to display them.” Bright flowers — real and made from icing — pop against the pale table cloth. “It looks like a party.”
3 TIPS TO MAKE A TEA PARTY POP
– Serve eye candy. “Bold colors on cakes or place settings let you drink in the experience before the party begins,” says Ra Vincent.
– Stir in drama. Like “an extravagant or sculptural floral design to add to the mood,” he says.
– Mix it up. “Table settings don’t all have to match,” says Vincent. “Either do chairs. It’s part of the fun.”
