New ‘Alice’ not everyone’s cup of tea

59 years later, can 'Alice in Wonderland' still charm audiences?

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Tricia O'Neill, Staff Writer
March 5, 2010
Filed under Entertainment

Most girls even today can remember sitting on their couches, watching Alice and Wonderland, a movie based on the novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland written by Lewis Carroll and published in 1865. Even the few people that haven’t seen Disney’s animated adaptation of the tale, which was released in 1951, the plot is familiar.

The story is about a young girl, named Alice, who follows a white rabbit she hears panicking over being late, as he ducks into a rabbit hole. As she falls further and further down the rabbit hole, she discovers a whole other world, where animals can speak and strange creatures roam. While there, she meets characters such as the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, and the infamous Queen of Hearts.

While many know about the quirky characters, few know the man behind these crazy imaginative stories. Lewis Carroll was actually the pseudonym for Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who taught Mathematics at Oxford. Carroll is believed to have been a handsome man, but was known for his partial deafness as well as a stammer which can be traced to a childhood case of whooping cough.

He has often been described as “socially ambitious;” however, it is suspected that he was able to relate to children much easier than other adults. It was because of his ability to relate to children that Carroll met his inspiration for the character of Alice, a young girl named Alice Liddell, the daughter of a close friend and associate at Oxford, Henry Liddell in 1856. He quickly became close with Alice and her two sisters, and it is rumored that one day while outside having a picnic with the young girls, Carroll thought of the idea of his most successful novel.

Although a seemingly unlikely candidate to write such a fantastic and timeless book, Carroll published the book after urgings from Alice Liddell herself to write down the stories he told her all the time. He presented her with an illustrated and hand written copy of the book in 1864, which he titled Alice’s Adventures Underground, just a year after presenting it to Macmillan the publishers. The company immediately picked up the book, but tested out different titles such as Alice Among the Fairies and Alice’s Golden Hour before finally deciding on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The book was an instant success.

Years after the books release, controversies emerged surrounding Carroll. One assertion made by those close to the author were that he was a drug addict and many of his works were written while under the influence of these drugs. However, others believe that his use may have been occasional and but for medical purposes. No real evidence exists to confirm or deny either theory. There has also been debate about the appropriateness of his relationship with Alice Liddell, but that too cannot be confirmed.

Regardless of all the rumors, Alice and Wonderland, has continued to have success over the years. A live remake featuring stars such as Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway was recently filmed and will be released on today, March 5.

Although the soundtrack of the movie, Almost Alice has gotten rave reviews, reaching the number two spot for most purchased album on iTunes just two days after its release, the movie itself has produced mixed reviews. While the hype has been huge about the release of this remake, several critics, such as those featured on Rotten Tomatoes, a movie review website, gave the film a somewhat mediocre evaluation. And, after seeing the previews and movie trailer AHS students expressed doubts about seeing it at all.

Sophomore Abby Meseker said, “I don’t think I would because am not really into those kind of movies but that doesn’t mean that its not going to be interesting for others.”

Freshman Colleen Adenan had a similar opinion. She explained, “Probably no because it looks kind of creepy and it doesn’t seem like the cartoon version when its supposed to be a sequel to that.”

Other students, however, such as Sophomore Kayla Meadows, like the ‘creepiness factor’ behind this new version. She explained, “I would go see it, because it looks very interesting and a little twisted and I like that aspect of movies.”