Directed by Tim Burton (2010).

Screenplay by Linda Woolverton

Produced by Richard D. Zanuck, Suzanne Todd, Jennifer Todd, and John Roth

Starring Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover,

and Mia Wasikowskia as Alice

From the Novel, Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland and

Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll

In summary this film is the story of Alice and the dream that she consistently has since she was a little girl.  The story starts when Alice is eight years old and she has been woken by the dream.  In the dream she sees strange creatures, a blue caterpillar, a white rabbit wearing a vest, and a smiling cat  Her father comforts her as she asks him if she’s crazy and he replies all the best people are.  In this movie all the best people really are.

The plot of the story continues the story of Alice when she turns nineteen.  Alice’s father has passed away and her mother is taking her to party at a former business partner of her father’s.  Once at the party she discovers that it’s actually her engagement party.  Alice leaves Hiram, her suitor at the Gazebo as she sees the white rabbit again and runs to catch him.  Seeing the white rabbit go down a Hole, Alice looks in and away she goes down the hole to Wonderland.  Alice is now in a round room with many doors, she tries them all but they won’t open, seeing a key on the table and a bottle that says drink me.  Upon drinking from the bottle Alice shrinks small enough to fit through one door but she forgot the key on the table, so then she takes a bite of a cake that says eat me and grows very tall.  Picking up the key she drinks from the bottle again and shrinks enough to go through the small door.  Alice finds herself in a beautiful world populated with all kinds of beautiful plants and trees, and with things like a flying rocking horse.   The plot continues with Alice meeting all the creatures she thought she saw in her dreams, including the twins, Tweedlly Dee and Tweedly Dum.  Alice has many adventures in Wonderland such as saving the Mad Hatter, the White Queen and many other friends.  Finally to keep them all safe she has to kill a large fire breathing dragon.

“This is not a film version of the Alice Books, but a film that uses significant characters borrowed from the Alice Books to create an new story” (Susina, 2011).

Resources:

Disney Movie Trailers: (2010). Alice in Wonderland official movie clip. [Video file]. Retrieved from youtu.be.

Susina, J. (2011). Alice in Wonderland. Marvels & Tales. (1), 181. Illinois State University Press, United States