7. Why are there so many Alices?

Disney has recently announced that Alice in Wonderland 2: Through the Looking Glass  will premiere Memorial Day of this year.  This is exciting news for any Disney, or Alice fans, but this is also time to ask, why are there SO MANY Alice in Wonderlands? or Alices in Wonderland, or Alices in Wonderlands?”- anyway, what’s the deal?

Disney released the original animated film in 1951, and it was a pretty big hit.  People of all ages still enjoy the film.  In 2010, Disney took a different approach toward the beloved Lewis Carroll character, and created a live action film, and now we have another one coming out.  That’s just the three that Disney produced though.  If you have a minute, go onto youtube and search “Alice in Wonderland movie” or “Alice in Wonderland film”, or better yet “Alice in Wonderland, 19..” and the rest will fill in because there have been dozens of Alice in Wonderland movies made in the last 100 years.  (I mean 100 years too, there was a silent Alice film made in 1915).  Why though? What about this story draws so many people to find a new way to make it?  Well I think I might know why, so here we go.

Lewis Carroll’s  novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland came out in 1865.  People were completely blown away by the imagination in it.  There was a talking rabbit that ran around, a grinning cat, a crazy guy that drank tea with a hare, dueling knights, a griffin, a talking turtle, food that makes you bigger and smaller, and a murderous queen all in one crazy world, where some poor little girl was stuck and trying to get home.  The characters were great and very entertaining, but it was a novel.  When we read things, the scenes in the book play in our minds, and we’re the directors.  Wonderland is a place where just about anything can happen, so everyone imagines it in their own way.

The 1951 version used the technology of animation to their advantage.  In this production, the film makers could actually have a talking rabbit and marching cards because they were drawing them.  Earlier films couldn’t do this, they could only have a guy in a rabbit costume.  You ever want to fully appreciate the wonder and power of animation?  Just watch the tea party scene of the 1952 Alice in Wonderland.  Today, movie makers are using CGI and special effects to create the world and characters of Wonderland.  The Red Queen’s head alone is an advancement on what has been done in the past. Body movements and other creatures which could only be found in Wonderland can now be expanded upon with the help of technology.  It’s actually quite exciting to see what the filmmakers will conjure up next.

I’ve watched maybe 7 different versions of Alice in Wonderland movies and shows in my life, and I’ve noticed theres a particular group of characters that the filmmakers pay close attention to.  This group is Alice, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, and the Queen of Hearts.  A few films have touched on others like the Marge Hare, the dueling knights, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, but none get as many lines or action as these characters.  They’re the exciting ones though, and different film makers have taken different approaches to each character in all the different versions I’ve seen.  In the 1951 version, Alice is just a curious girl who has the ability to stand up for herself using her words, while the more modern one shows Alice using violence.  I have also seen different Alices portrayed as idiots that just cannot get the fact that they’re in a magical land, and other ones that spend the entire trip beating themselves up for being silly enough to follow a white rabbit.  There have been different White Rabbits, some being very helpful, others telling Alice to go away, and some that try to kill her because they think she’s a monster when she gets too big.  Some Cheshire cats have been more than helpful and comfort Alice while she’s upset, and others have mocked her for crying about not knowing the way to go.  The character that usually steals the show, and has been portrayed with many different attitudes though, is the Mad Hatter.  The Hatter is simply funny in the 1951 version and doesn’t help Alice all that much in trying to leave Wonderland.  In the 2010 version though, the Mad Hatter is  a real ally to Alice and helps her in just about every task. He is a revolutionary against the Red Queen, and Alice’s comrade in war.  The great thing about the Mad Hatter is you never quite know how mad he really is.  One of my favorite versions of Alice in Wonderland came out in 1999, and in that, the Mad Hatter was a lunatic.  He was of course funny and silly, but at one point he gets furious for no real reason and snaps at Alice.  I loved how the creators took a chance with the fact that this guy’s crazy, and made him just all types of crazy.

The story of Alice and her time spent in Wonderland was revolutionary when Lewis Carroll first published his book.  Today, we still love the idea of a place that’s right under our noses, but very different and magical.  It is no wonder that filmmakers are enthralled by Wonderland.