Alice in Wonderland (2010): Movie Review and Something Else
Two weeks ago, I was feeling claustrophobic that I had to get out of the house. I pestered my boyfriend into seeing the most-awaited 3D film of the year at the nearby mall. After a hearty McDonald’s meal (because we missed the 4 pm screening), we went to see Alice in Wonderland.
The film started where the animated version left off: Alice returning home from her first trip to “Wonderland” and telling her visionary father about the things she saw. Some years later, the 19-year-old Alice finds herself in a difficult situation (with a douchebag asking for her hand in marriage for the sake of convenience and family wealth) at a party. And just like what she had done years ago, she runs away and follows a white rabbit who’s “late for a very important date,” stumbles into a rabbit hole, and wakes up into the surreal world she calls “Wonderland.”
But the story is different this time: the white rabbit, the twins, and the talking flowers are looking for “the Alice” who’s destined to slay the Jabberwocky, end the Red Queen’s evil reign, and restore the crown to the White Queen. Pretty simple plot, if you ask me. What most of us don’t understand is that there lies a deeper meaning to this film or, rather, the novel written by the English author Lewis Caroll in 1865.
When I was a child, I’ve seen the animated version once or twice, I think. And just like every time, I get goose bumps after watching it. I’ve always thought that the whole Alice in Wonderland (AiW) franchise is purely psychological and that everything in it represents something that’s larger than life.
Child Psychology: Imaginary Friends and Make-Believe Worlds
In the animated version, the child Alice gets bored listening to stories and dreams of living in her own world of make believe. The white rabbit carrying a large pocket watch is part of her imagination. She follows it, falls down a rabbit hole, and wakes up to a magical world where flowers and animals can talk, cats disappear, and cakes and potions can make you bigger and smaller respectively. In this alternate world, she meets a lot of bizarre characters that turns out to be the representation of the people she knows in reality.
In child psychology, experts believe in the concept of imaginary friends. As written in one article “Imaginary friends come in all shapes and sizes. They can be based on someone your child already knows, a storybook character or even a soft toy with human-like features. Or they can come purely from your child’s imagination.” (Source: http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/imaginary_friends.html) In children, these imaginary friends or the alternate world of make-believe are products of their imagination that benefit them in a lot of ways:
a. They listen and support your child
b. They can do things (often magical) that your child can’t do
c. They play relentlessly
d. They are special (mad or not) and extraordinary
e. They don’t judge your child. (As evident in the characters of AiW 3D adaptation. They don’t judge Alice; rather, they keep asking her questions that ultimately lead her to make her own decisions: being the White Queen’s champion.)
According to researches done in this field of child psychology, the child is in charge of what her imaginary friends would say and do, that’s why Alice keeps saying that the adventure is only a dream and that she would wake up eventually. More studies reveal that imaginary friends help children cope with changes and escape reality for a while. This is well manifested in the both the animated and 3D versions because the two times Alice visited Wonderland, she wants to get away from the stiff society of old England.
Knowing your Identity and Destiny
In the 3D version, the inhabitants of the so-called Wonderland kept asking if the 19-year-old blonde is the real “Alice” who visited their world years ago. At first, Alice keeps insisting that she’s the “wrong” Alice and she’s definitely not “The Alice” who’s destined to slay the legendary Jabberwocky because she wants to escape the responsibility. The decision was turned over the hookah-smoking blue caterpillar that seems to know everything in their world.
Later still, it was the Mad Hatter who delivered one of the most striking lines of all.
Much-ness refers to physical magnitude, largeness, and strength. These quotes tell us that Alice has forgotten her true self amidst the unbending social class where she comes from and that being lost in Wonderland is the representation of her being lost in the boring adult world. Her quest to slay the legendary Jabberwocky represents adulthood and how she’s been sidestepping facing this problem for so long. Her search for the sword represents the preparations she needs to do before she steps into another phase of her life—adulthood.
Hidden Images and Darkness
Alice in Wonderland is not a child’s play. The mere fact that the Red Queen keeps slashing heads off is not something that young children should see or hear for that matter. Personally, even I was freaked out when I saw the animated version years ago. Tim Burton’s 3D version is definitely darker and madder in every way and something that children wouldn’t understand.
When Alice falls into the rabbit hole, we see a lot of books and everyday mundane things neither floating nor attached to the walls. Some essays suggest that this is a representation of an “escape into literature,” thus the books, and how art imitates life, thus the piano. These articles also propose that the underlying story to the AiW is how Alice falls into a world of chaos and nonsense which makes her long for home all the more. Perhaps it’s meant to scare children out of playing too far from home. Reality and fantasy worlds alike, Alice finds herself being controlled into situations (evident in both animated and 3D adaptations) to which she protests but to no avail.
AiW is famous for the cakes and potions that make you grow and shrink in size. This theme reflects the ups and downs of the adolescent age and stress, even more, when the Mad Hatter comments that Alice is always too tall or too small. I think this is exactly how adolescents feel in an adult world—they are always in between; they are neither children nor adults. Just the same, whenever Alice learns how to function in her present size, she either grows or shrinks in an instant and becomes shaken. These alternating emotions back-to-back with the impossible rules of Wonderland (or adulthood) often make her cry.
In both the animated and 3D versions, the Cheshire Cat explains that everything in Wonderland is mad. One essay suggests that this line comes with an existential meaning and one can question: “Am I mad about being alive or am I mad because I want to escape reality?” I’ll have you readers expound on this one.
Time is of the Essence
The reason why the white rabbit is carrying an enormously large pocket watch and chants “I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date” is because time is one of the central themes in the story. In the animated version, time passes slowly for Alice that she gets bored listening to her sister read from an old book and runs off with her imagination. In the 3D version, time flies fast for Alice that she finds herself in a crossroad. In Wonderland, she finds herself in a hurry to get home or hesitant to slay the Jabberwocky. She’s always in a hurry to go through everything that the Mad Hatter persuades her to have tea and cookies and just bask in the madness of things. Time here represents “adulthood” and that Alice shouldn’t be in such a hurry to grow up.
Drug Addiction, Perhaps?
When the first book of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published, there were people who claimed that Lewis Carroll wrote while under the influence of opium and this is represented in the hookah-smoking caterpillar and its ability to distort images. They also claim that the growing “cakes” and shrinking “potions” represent the uppers and downers of drug addiction. Being gigantic will enable one to “do just about anything” and being small can enable a person “to sneak through holes.”
Of course, this theme is very subjective and open to more research, but what’s fascinating is the fact that there are so many hidden images and messages in all Walt Disney films (i.e. Mary Magdalene’s representation and portrait in The Little Mermaid; and the seven dwarfs representing the seven stages of cocaine addiction).
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Ariel singing 'Part of your World'
'Magdalen with the Smoking Flame' by Georges de la Tour
About the 2010 3D Adaptation
Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is a must-see for young adults and above. I love how the 2010 3D adaptation captured the mad, dark, and crazy theme of the story. The set was tasteful, the costumes and makeup were superbly done, the animation was magnificent, and the cast was brilliant.
Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is perfect for the role of Alice. She is neither pretty nor ugly, which I think brought to life the theme of how adolescents are always in “between.” I’ve always pictured Alice as a lively girl who was born in the wrong social class because of her spunk and “much-ness” but still knows the social graces of the stiff English society. Mira is able to pull it off.
In one review, the author claimed that Helena Bonham Carter overpowered Johnny Depp in the film. And I agree. In my opinion, it was Carter who delivered the most amazing portrayal of all the AiW characters. She gave justice to the character’s famous line “Off with his head!” and make is sound real, frightening, and amusing at the same time. Carter, who is part of the so-called elite and unconventional actors circle, is a veteran in portraying these kinds of characters. Her characters Miss Lovett in the Sweeney Todd film, and Bellatrix in the Harry Potter franchise, are but precursors to her best character yet—the evil, eccentric, and insecure Red Queen.
Of course, there’s Johnny Depp who will probably remain the best Mad Hatter in the next 50 years (just like Heath Ledger as the best Joker actor in all Batman films). Another veteran actor, he continues to amaze us with his versatility and out-of-the-box artistry with bizarre characters that comes to life because of his brilliance.
Sadly, Anne Hathaway’s portrayal of the White Queen leaves much to be criticized. Her acting is so stiff and unnatural. Even her facial expressions look so much like The Devil Wears Prada. Throughout the film, there’s a part of me that keeps waiting for her to blurt out “Hello, Miranda.” But of course, Taylor Swift in Valentine’s Day still takes the cake.
The first time the hookah-smoking caterpillar spoke, I just knew it’s Alan Rickman behind the voice. It’s just how I imagined the “high” caterpillar’s voice in my head. These are the only characters who were able to leave their marks in my brain, but the rest of the cast did a great job of bringing the animated version to life.
Here are some interesting transformations of the characters from the book to animated version and to the 2010 3D version:
Alice
The Mad Hatter
The Red Queen
Tweedledee and Tweedledum
Verdict
My friends have been waiting for my review of Alice in Wonderland, so here you go. A lot has been said about this film so I made mine a little less different by writing about the underlying themes of the story we’ve all come to love/hate/fear since childhood.
Maybe some of the things I wrote are far-fetched and beyond the true meaning of the 1865 novel written by Lewis Caroll. Maybe I’ve gone too far by writing about the possible representation of the drug addiction and child psychology in the story. Maybe I’ve gone over the edge. Maybe I’ve gone mad.
But I’ll tell you a secret.
All the best people are.
Sources:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/singletons/200806/imaginary-friends-any-in-your-house
http://blogs.laweekly.com/stylecouncil/fashion/alice-in-wonderland-fashion-co/
The film started where the animated version left off: Alice returning home from her first trip to “Wonderland” and telling her visionary father about the things she saw. Some years later, the 19-year-old Alice finds herself in a difficult situation (with a douchebag asking for her hand in marriage for the sake of convenience and family wealth) at a party. And just like what she had done years ago, she runs away and follows a white rabbit who’s “late for a very important date,” stumbles into a rabbit hole, and wakes up into the surreal world she calls “Wonderland.”
But the story is different this time: the white rabbit, the twins, and the talking flowers are looking for “the Alice” who’s destined to slay the Jabberwocky, end the Red Queen’s evil reign, and restore the crown to the White Queen. Pretty simple plot, if you ask me. What most of us don’t understand is that there lies a deeper meaning to this film or, rather, the novel written by the English author Lewis Caroll in 1865.
When I was a child, I’ve seen the animated version once or twice, I think. And just like every time, I get goose bumps after watching it. I’ve always thought that the whole Alice in Wonderland (AiW) franchise is purely psychological and that everything in it represents something that’s larger than life.
Child Psychology: Imaginary Friends and Make-Believe Worlds
In the animated version, the child Alice gets bored listening to stories and dreams of living in her own world of make believe. The white rabbit carrying a large pocket watch is part of her imagination. She follows it, falls down a rabbit hole, and wakes up to a magical world where flowers and animals can talk, cats disappear, and cakes and potions can make you bigger and smaller respectively. In this alternate world, she meets a lot of bizarre characters that turns out to be the representation of the people she knows in reality.
In child psychology, experts believe in the concept of imaginary friends. As written in one article “Imaginary friends come in all shapes and sizes. They can be based on someone your child already knows, a storybook character or even a soft toy with human-like features. Or they can come purely from your child’s imagination.” (Source: http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/imaginary_friends.html) In children, these imaginary friends or the alternate world of make-believe are products of their imagination that benefit them in a lot of ways:
a. They listen and support your child
b. They can do things (often magical) that your child can’t do
c. They play relentlessly
d. They are special (mad or not) and extraordinary
e. They don’t judge your child. (As evident in the characters of AiW 3D adaptation. They don’t judge Alice; rather, they keep asking her questions that ultimately lead her to make her own decisions: being the White Queen’s champion.)
According to researches done in this field of child psychology, the child is in charge of what her imaginary friends would say and do, that’s why Alice keeps saying that the adventure is only a dream and that she would wake up eventually. More studies reveal that imaginary friends help children cope with changes and escape reality for a while. This is well manifested in the both the animated and 3D versions because the two times Alice visited Wonderland, she wants to get away from the stiff society of old England.
Knowing your Identity and Destiny
In the 3D version, the inhabitants of the so-called Wonderland kept asking if the 19-year-old blonde is the real “Alice” who visited their world years ago. At first, Alice keeps insisting that she’s the “wrong” Alice and she’s definitely not “The Alice” who’s destined to slay the legendary Jabberwocky because she wants to escape the responsibility. The decision was turned over the hookah-smoking blue caterpillar that seems to know everything in their world.
"How can you fight the dragon if you don't know your Self?" he asked Alice.
Later still, it was the Mad Hatter who delivered one of the most striking lines of all.
“You’ve lost your much-ness Alice,” said the Mad Hatter. “You used to be much more much.”
Much-ness refers to physical magnitude, largeness, and strength. These quotes tell us that Alice has forgotten her true self amidst the unbending social class where she comes from and that being lost in Wonderland is the representation of her being lost in the boring adult world. Her quest to slay the legendary Jabberwocky represents adulthood and how she’s been sidestepping facing this problem for so long. Her search for the sword represents the preparations she needs to do before she steps into another phase of her life—adulthood.
Hidden Images and Darkness
Alice in Wonderland is not a child’s play. The mere fact that the Red Queen keeps slashing heads off is not something that young children should see or hear for that matter. Personally, even I was freaked out when I saw the animated version years ago. Tim Burton’s 3D version is definitely darker and madder in every way and something that children wouldn’t understand.
When Alice falls into the rabbit hole, we see a lot of books and everyday mundane things neither floating nor attached to the walls. Some essays suggest that this is a representation of an “escape into literature,” thus the books, and how art imitates life, thus the piano. These articles also propose that the underlying story to the AiW is how Alice falls into a world of chaos and nonsense which makes her long for home all the more. Perhaps it’s meant to scare children out of playing too far from home. Reality and fantasy worlds alike, Alice finds herself being controlled into situations (evident in both animated and 3D adaptations) to which she protests but to no avail.
AiW is famous for the cakes and potions that make you grow and shrink in size. This theme reflects the ups and downs of the adolescent age and stress, even more, when the Mad Hatter comments that Alice is always too tall or too small. I think this is exactly how adolescents feel in an adult world—they are always in between; they are neither children nor adults. Just the same, whenever Alice learns how to function in her present size, she either grows or shrinks in an instant and becomes shaken. These alternating emotions back-to-back with the impossible rules of Wonderland (or adulthood) often make her cry.
In both the animated and 3D versions, the Cheshire Cat explains that everything in Wonderland is mad. One essay suggests that this line comes with an existential meaning and one can question: “Am I mad about being alive or am I mad because I want to escape reality?” I’ll have you readers expound on this one.
Time is of the Essence
The reason why the white rabbit is carrying an enormously large pocket watch and chants “I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date” is because time is one of the central themes in the story. In the animated version, time passes slowly for Alice that she gets bored listening to her sister read from an old book and runs off with her imagination. In the 3D version, time flies fast for Alice that she finds herself in a crossroad. In Wonderland, she finds herself in a hurry to get home or hesitant to slay the Jabberwocky. She’s always in a hurry to go through everything that the Mad Hatter persuades her to have tea and cookies and just bask in the madness of things. Time here represents “adulthood” and that Alice shouldn’t be in such a hurry to grow up.
Drug Addiction, Perhaps?
When the first book of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published, there were people who claimed that Lewis Carroll wrote while under the influence of opium and this is represented in the hookah-smoking caterpillar and its ability to distort images. They also claim that the growing “cakes” and shrinking “potions” represent the uppers and downers of drug addiction. Being gigantic will enable one to “do just about anything” and being small can enable a person “to sneak through holes.”
Of course, this theme is very subjective and open to more research, but what’s fascinating is the fact that there are so many hidden images and messages in all Walt Disney films (i.e. Mary Magdalene’s representation and portrait in The Little Mermaid; and the seven dwarfs representing the seven stages of cocaine addiction).
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Ariel singing 'Part of your World'
'Magdalen with the Smoking Flame' by Georges de la TourTim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is a must-see for young adults and above. I love how the 2010 3D adaptation captured the mad, dark, and crazy theme of the story. The set was tasteful, the costumes and makeup were superbly done, the animation was magnificent, and the cast was brilliant.
Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is perfect for the role of Alice. She is neither pretty nor ugly, which I think brought to life the theme of how adolescents are always in “between.” I’ve always pictured Alice as a lively girl who was born in the wrong social class because of her spunk and “much-ness” but still knows the social graces of the stiff English society. Mira is able to pull it off.
In one review, the author claimed that Helena Bonham Carter overpowered Johnny Depp in the film. And I agree. In my opinion, it was Carter who delivered the most amazing portrayal of all the AiW characters. She gave justice to the character’s famous line “Off with his head!” and make is sound real, frightening, and amusing at the same time. Carter, who is part of the so-called elite and unconventional actors circle, is a veteran in portraying these kinds of characters. Her characters Miss Lovett in the Sweeney Todd film, and Bellatrix in the Harry Potter franchise, are but precursors to her best character yet—the evil, eccentric, and insecure Red Queen.
Of course, there’s Johnny Depp who will probably remain the best Mad Hatter in the next 50 years (just like Heath Ledger as the best Joker actor in all Batman films). Another veteran actor, he continues to amaze us with his versatility and out-of-the-box artistry with bizarre characters that comes to life because of his brilliance.
Sadly, Anne Hathaway’s portrayal of the White Queen leaves much to be criticized. Her acting is so stiff and unnatural. Even her facial expressions look so much like The Devil Wears Prada. Throughout the film, there’s a part of me that keeps waiting for her to blurt out “Hello, Miranda.” But of course, Taylor Swift in Valentine’s Day still takes the cake.
The first time the hookah-smoking caterpillar spoke, I just knew it’s Alan Rickman behind the voice. It’s just how I imagined the “high” caterpillar’s voice in my head. These are the only characters who were able to leave their marks in my brain, but the rest of the cast did a great job of bringing the animated version to life.
Here are some interesting transformations of the characters from the book to animated version and to the 2010 3D version:
Alice
The Mad Hatter
The Red Queen
Tweedledee and TweedledumVerdict
My friends have been waiting for my review of Alice in Wonderland, so here you go. A lot has been said about this film so I made mine a little less different by writing about the underlying themes of the story we’ve all come to love/hate/fear since childhood.
Maybe some of the things I wrote are far-fetched and beyond the true meaning of the 1865 novel written by Lewis Caroll. Maybe I’ve gone too far by writing about the possible representation of the drug addiction and child psychology in the story. Maybe I’ve gone over the edge. Maybe I’ve gone mad.
But I’ll tell you a secret.
All the best people are.
Sources:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/singletons/200806/imaginary-friends-any-in-your-house
http://blogs.laweekly.com/stylecouncil/fashion/alice-in-wonderland-fashion-co/
