Alice in Wonderland: Difference between revisions

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| caption = "How is a raven like a writing desk?"
| author = Lewis Carroll
| central theme = The logic (or rather, the lack of it) in everyday life
| elevator pitch = A girl falls in a weird dream-like world not subject to regular logic nor to Victorian-era common sense.
| elevator pitch =
| genre = Fantasy
| publication date = 26 November 26, 1865
| source page exists = yes
| wiki URL = https://aliceinwonderland.fandom.com/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_Wiki
| wiki URL =
| wiki name = Alice in Wonderland Wiki
}}
{{quote|''No story in English literature has intrigued me more than Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. It fascinated me the first time I read it as a schoolboy and as soon as I possibly could after I started making animated cartoons, I acquired the film rights to it. People in his period had no time to waste on triviality, yet Carroll with his nonsense and fantasy furnished a balance between seriousness and enjoyment which everybody needed then and still needs today.''|[[Walt Disney]]|American Weekly 1946}}
 
{{quote|''"Curiouser and curiouser!"''}}
 
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There are many, many adaptations and cameos are countless. Many adaptations involve [[Grimmification]] to some degree. Due to being out of copyright, Alice is popular base material for commercial transformative works (including a musical porn film).
* Movie adaptations of the story go back into the earliest days of film: the first adaptation, a short subject made in 1903, contains some of the earliest examples of special effects in film. Walt Disney made some of his first animated films adapted from the Alice tales, and featured a live-action actress against animated characters. Of course, more popular is [[Disney]]'s [[The Golden Age of Animation|1951]] [[Alice in Wonderland (Disney film)|feature film]], which is considered among the studio's most surreal titles. Again under Disney, [[Tim Burton]] has made a [[Alice in Wonderland (film)|new 2010 movie]] with [[Johnny Depp]] as The Mad Hatter; though it's actually just as much if not more so based on ''Through the Looking Glass''. An unrelated television movie reimagination, ''[[Alice]]'', was produced in 2009 by the [[Syfy]] Channel. ''[[The Looking Glass Wars]]'' is a trilogy by Frank Beddor based on the idea that ''Alyss'' was heir to the throne of Wonderland and was forced to flee to our world by her evil Aunt Redd.
** An unrelated television movie reimagination, ''[[Alice]]'', was produced in 2009 by the [[Syfy]] Channel.
* ''[[The Looking Glass Wars]]'' is a trilogy of novels by Frank Beddor based on the idea that ''Alyss'' was heir to the throne of Wonderland and was forced to flee to our world by her evil Aunt Redd.
* There's an animated series by Nippon Animation (the same group that made the ''Biene Maia'', ''[[Heidi]]'' and ''Dog of Flanders'' animated series).
* A pop musical version, simply called ''Wonderland'', iswas playing in Tampa, Florida as ofin late 2009.
* The book also inspired various manga. ''[[Pandora Hearts]]'' and ''[[Are You Alice]]'' are the two most prominent.
* Among the many video game adaptations are ''[[American McGee's Alice]]''.
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* Of the literature, there's ''Złote Popołudnie'' (''Golden Afternoon'') by Andrzej Sapkowski - a [[POV Sequel|retelling from the point of view of]] the Cheshire Cat.
* Web comic ''[[Alice and the Nightmare]]'' (starts with the protagonist adopted in the "suit" as Alice Heart, and the Red Queen personally appears to transport her "dearest protégée" from the Heart Church to Phantasmagoria University)
* Volume 9 of ''[[RWBY]]'' is set in the "Everafter", a [[Magical Land]] which is strongly influenced by the books, including having had its own Alice (a girl named "Alyx") who wrote her own book (''The Girl Who Fell Through the World'') after her adventures there. It became a beloved children's classic in Remnant.
 
Now has a [[Character Sheet]] under construction. For tropes related to the adaptations, see below the trope list for the books.
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{{tropelist|The books contain examples of:}}
* [[Adaptation Dye Job]]: The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Liddell real Alice Liddell] had short, black hair, unlike the girl seen in Tenniel's illustrations. There is some evidence that the illustrator based the character on a photo given to him by Dodgson of another child-friend.
* [[An Aesop]]: Averted. ''Alice'' is notable for being the first work of Victorian children's literature that sought to entertain rather than to teach dull morals. Though one could argue that ''Alice'' teaches an indirect moral of enjoying your childhood while it lasts, and to never forget it during adulthood.
* [[All Just a Dream]]: One of the few examples where it worked, mostly because Wonderland worked by dream logic.
* [[Aluminum Christmas Trees]]: There are many, due to the date it was written, along with the nationality of the author:
** Most modern adaptations have to explain that "treacle" is a word for molasses<ref>Also a case of Separated by a Common Language - it's still called treacle in the UK</ref>, and that a "cravat" is a piece of menswear that is a forerunner to a man's tie. (One adaptation actually has Alice call it a tie.) Some of the humor might go over the heads of modern readers, like the Hatter claiming Alice's hair "wants cutting" (a comment that would have been incredibly rude in Victorian times) and the Duchess claiming that she was "twice as rich and twice as clever" as Alice. ("Rich" and "clever" were used to describe contradicting concepts, making her comment an impossibility.)
** Teniel's illustration of the Lion and the Unicorn in the second book depicts the two beasts as caricatures of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ewart_Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Disraeli Benjamin Disrael], a depiction that was common among political cartoonists at the time. Whether this was Carroll's intention is impossible to say.
** Even some British readers may be confused by some references, like the Hatter saying it's always tea time because it's always six o'clock. (Five o'clock tea would not become a tradition in Britain until later.)
** After the Caucus Race, Alice gives everyone "confits", which are hard fruit candies.
** The Mock Turtle has a head, hooves, and tail of a calf because mock turtle soup, which the Queen says is made from mock turtles, is made from the discarded parts of a calf (specifically a calf's head), much like the discarded parts of cows are used to make low-grade hamburger in modern times
* [[Artistic License Physics]]: As an algebra professor, Carroll clearly knew that if Alice had truly been in a state of freefall, she could neither have dropped the marmalade jar nor put it in a cupboard as she fell by it. Probably a minor nitpick considering that her descent itself was a rather blatant violation of the laws of physics.
* [[Author Appeal]]: Lewis Carroll's love of [[wikipedia:Alice's Adventures in Wonderland#Symbolism|mathematics]] is evident.
* [[Author Avatar]]: The Dodo in the Caucus Race. Dodgson stuttered and so would pronounce his last name "Do-Do-Dodgson", which earned him the nickname. The White Rabbit's fussiness is also based on Dodgson. The White Knight is a possible example, as he is the only character in either book who is 100% kind to Alice.
* [[Brick Joke]]: A few
** In chapter 7, the Hatter tells Alice how he performed at the Queen's concert (singing a parody of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star") and the Queen ordered him executed for "murdering the time". Later, in chapter 11, when he's called on as a witness at the trial, the Queen looks at him closely, and then asks a servant to bring her a list of the performers from the concert. Clearly, she's remembering the incident he mentioned. The Hatter is noticeably nervous about it.
** Also, in chapter 6, the Duchess growls, "If everybody minded their own business, the world would go round a deal faster than it does." Then, in chapter 9 (when Alice meets her in a much better mood) there's this exchange between them:
{{quote|Duchess: Tis so. And the moral of that is, "Oh, 'tis love, 'tis love, that makes the world go round!"
'''Alice:''' Somebody said that [[Little Miss Snarker| it's done by everybody minding their own business]]!}}
:* As might be expected, the Duchess doesn't get the hint.
:* The second book combines this with foreshadowing. When Alice sees the living chess pieces in miniature form, she writes in the King's notebook, "The White Knight is sliding down the poker; he balances very badly." Several chapters later, when she meets the white Knight in person, he clearly balances horribly, falling off his horse every few steps it makes.
:* Also in the second book, Humpty Dumpty recites a poem of how he went to punish the fish for disobeying him, taking a corkscrew and finding a locked door in his way. Later, the Red and White Queens relate the incident, claiming he had been at the door with a corkscrew looking for a hippopotamus, mentioning they only have one on Tuesdays.
* [[Black Comedy]]: As for example:
{{quote|''"After such a fall as this, I shall think nothing of tumbling down stairs! How brave they'll all think me at home! Why, I wouldn't say anything about it, even if I fell off the top of the house!" (Which was very likely true.)''}}
*:* Martin Gardner pointed out that an exchange between Alice and Humpty Dumpty is both the blackest and most easily missed joke in the books:
{{quote|"Seven years and six months!" Humpty Dumpty repeated thoughtfully. "An uncomfortable sort of age. Now if you'd asked ''my'' advice, I'd have said, "Leave off at seven' -- but it's too late now."
"I never ask advice about growing," Alice said indignantly.
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* [[Blind Mistake]]: The White Rabbit and the Bird in the Tree are short-sighted and mistake Alice for Mary Ann and a snake, respectively.
* [[Board Games]]
* [[Butt Monkey]]: The Doormouse. Also, Bill the Lizard. Especially so when Alice takes his pencil away.
* [[Cats Are Magic]]: The Cheshire Cat.
* [[Cats Are Superior]]: Or at least Cheshire Cat thinks so.
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* [[Hair-Raising Hare]]: The White Rabbit, in the darker adaptations.
* [[Hanging Judge]]: The Queen of Hearts, although according to the Gryphon, there really aren't that many executions that go on.
* [[How Is That Even Possible?]]: From the second book:
{{quote|'''White Queen:''' Now ''I’ll'' give you something to believe. I’m just one hundred and one, five months and a day.
'''Alice:''' I can’t believe that!
'''White Queen:''' Can’t you? Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.
'''Alice:''' There’s no use trying, one can’t believe impossible things.
'''White Queen:''' I daresay you haven’t had much practice. When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.}}
:* This was, by the way, a major plot point of the [[Tim Burton]] movie.
* [[Hurricane of Puns]]: The Mock Turtle.
* [[Identical Twin ID Tag|Identical Twin ID Tags]]: The Tweedles have their names embroidered on their suits.
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* [[Incredible Shrinking Man]]
* [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]: The Gnat isn't very good at making jokes.
* [[Inherently Funny Words]]:
** In the first book, Alice uses the words "latitude" and "longitude", despite not knowing what they mean, because she likes the sound of those words.
** In the second book, after her conversation with Humpty Dumpty, Alice says, "Of all the ''unsatisfactory'' people I have ever met -" emphasizing the word "unsatisfactory" because she likes being able to say it.
* [[Inner Monologue Conversation]]: When Alice is on the train in ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the other passengers can apparently hear her thinking, and respond by thinking in chorus. Even the narrator isn't quite sure how.
* [[Insane Troll Logic]]: Humorously faulty logic is a running theme throughout the books, and this is clearly a case of [[Author Appeal]]. For example, the Pigeon thinks Alice is a snake. Why? Because Alice eats eggs. And you know what else eats eggs? A snake! In the Pigeon's defense, though, Alice also had a long neck because of the Caterpillar's growing mushroom.
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* [[Kid Hero]]
* [[Lilliputians]]: Everyone in Wonderland. Alice has to drink the potion to fit the size of the place.
* [[The Mad Hatter]]: Oddly, the Hatter does ''not'' seem to fit the Trope any more than most characters in Wonderland; possibly the one who most fits it is the Cheshire Cat.
* [[The Mad Hatter]]
* [[Magic Mushroom]]: The Caterpillar's mushroom is probably the [[Trope Maker]]. Eating one side of it made Alice taller, eating the other made her shorter.
* [[Magic Pants]]: In the original John Tenniel illustrations and in nearly all adaptations, Alice's dress grows and shrinks with her. It's Wonderland -- nothing else makes sense, so why should this? Averted in the [[Alice in Wonderland (film)|Tim Burton version]], however.
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* [[Unicorn]]
* [[Victorian Britain]]: The setting of the real world portions -- obviously, [[The Present Day]] when it was written, but notable since most adaptations keep the time period.
* [[Viewers are Morons]]: In the chapter where the Gryphon first appears, Carroll felt the need to write (in the actual text) "If you don't know what a gryphon is, look at the picture." Ironically, there are likely far more modern readers who know what it is than there are those who know what a dodo or larkspur is.
* [[White Bunny]]: The White Rabbit
* [[The Wonderland]]: [[Trope Namer]].