Ok, this is the first time I have seen this adaptation. This is being written about 10 minutes after watching it. So let’s begin.

“Alice tumbles into Wonderland, a dream realm filled with peculiar characters like the White Rabbit, March Hare, Queen of Hearts, and Dormouse. As she seeks her way home, she meets strange beings and discovers herself.”

This movie is an interesting adaptation, especially compared to the Disney animation but at the same time, it does slightly show its age.

For this adaptation, I have three thoughts.

Firstly, I would like to talk about the way that this movie looks, and this is shown in two different ways. Firstly, now this is less the movie’s fault, but the special effects are a little dodgy; this isn’t helped by the fact that the footage looks a little bit fuzzy with age. When Alice shrinks or grows, it doesn’t look right. Also, halfway through, it becomes apparent which animal is going to talk by whether or not you can see their mouth.  Secondly, just like the Disney adaptation, there is plenty of singing, but 10 minutes later, I can’t remember most of them. Heck, they might have had the same tune.

Secondly, I would like to talk about the framing system that pulls from the origins of where  Alice in Wonderland came from. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, the real name of Lewis Carroll would take Alice Liddell and her two sisters on boat rides and he would tell them stories about Wonderland. There is a reference to this in a poem in the beginning of the book, All in the golden afternoon, here is the first verse of seven “All in the golden afternoon Full leisurely we glide; For both our oars, with little skill, By little arms are plied, While little hands make vain pretence Our wanderings to guide.” This movie starts with Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and the three Liddell sisters in the boat, and when they set up a picnic, Alice falls asleep while being told the story.

Thirdly, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. This is the second time that we are seeing these two in a movie called Alice in Wonderland. Now I realise I that I have mentioned the nursery rhyme that Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee came from, so to explain it more, here it is. “Tweedledum and Tweedledee agreed to have a battle; For Tweedledum said Tweedledee Had spoiled his nice new rattle. Just then flew down a monstrous crow, As black as a tar-barrel; Which frightened both the heroes so, They quite forgot their quarrel.” In Alice in Through the Looking Glass, Alice meets Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, and they tell her the story of the walrus and the carpenter, but after this, they fall into the actions of the nursery rhyme. I find it interesting that in the Disney adaptation, we get the first half, and this version does the second half.

Thank you for joining me, and until we get to the next adaptation.

Happy reading to all and to all a good night.