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For the Disney animated 1951 film, see Alice in Wonderland (1951 film). For the novels, see Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. For the titular character, see Alice (Down the Rabbit Hole) and Alice (Hyperion Heights). |
Alice in Wonderland is a Disney live-action film featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. It was written by Linda Woolverton and directed by Tim Burton, and was released on February 25, 2010. The film is inspired by the novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Caroll; and the 1951 Disney animated film Alice in Wonderland.
Plot
In London, 1871, troubled by a strange recurring dream and mourning the loss of her father, 19-year-old Alice Kingsleigh attends a garden party at the estate of Lord Ascot. There, she is confronted with an unwanted marriage proposal by Lord Ascot's son, Hamish, and the stifling expectations of the society in which she lives.
Unsure of how to proceed, she spots and pursues a familiar rabbit wearing a waistcoat and carrying a pocket watch, and falls into a deep rabbit hole under a tree. She enters a small door by drinking from a bottle labeled 'Drink Me' (called Pishsalver) and emerges to a forest in a magical place called Underland where she is greeted by the White Rabbit, a Dormouse, a Dodo, Talking Flowers, and identical twins Tweedledee and Tweedledum who all apparently know her.
Though Alice asserts that this is all a dream, she learns that she is destined to slay the Jabberwocky and end the tyranny of the Red Queen, as foretold by Absolem the Caterpillar. The group is then ambushed by the ravenous Bandersnatch and a squadron of Red Queen’s knights, led by the Knave of Hearts. All are captured; except Alice, who escapes; and the Dormouse, who takes one of the Bandersnatch’s eyes.
The Knave informs the Red Queen that Alice threatens her reign, and he is ordered to find her immediately. Meanwhile, Alice is greeted by the Cheshire Cat who guides her to the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and the Dormouse's tea party. The Hatter explains that the Red Queen took over Underland, usurping her sister the White Queen; and that he joined the resistance after she destroyed his village and killed his family. When the red knights appear, the Hatter helps Alice to avoid capture by allowing himself to be seized instead. Later, Alice is found by the Knave’s Bloodhound who is actually allied with the resistance. Alice insists on being taken to the Red Queen’s castle to rescue the hatter. Alice eats Upelkuchen (a cake labeled 'Eat Me') and grows tall, infiltrating the castle as a courtier named “Um.”
Alice learns that the vorpal sword, the only weapon capable of killing the Jabberwocky, is locked inside the Bandersnatch’s den. The Knave attempts to seduce “Um”, but she rebuffs him, causing the jealous Red Queen to demand for “Um’s” beheading. Alice obtains the sword and befriends the Bandersnatch by returning its eye. She then escapes on the back of the grateful Bandersnatch and delivers the sword to the White Queen; who gives Alice a potion that returns her normal size. The Cheshire Cat uses his shapeshifting powers to save the Mad Hatter from execution. The Hatter then incites rebellion amongst the Red Queen’s subjects. The Red Queen attempts to quell the rebellion, but the Hatter and his group escape. Absolem finally gets Alice to remember that she has been to Underland when she was a little girl (calling it “Wonderland”), and she finally realizes that Underland is not a dream. Absolem advises her to fight the Jabberwocky, just before completing his transformation into a pupa.
The Queens gather their armies on a chessboard-like battlefield and send Alice and the Jabberwocky to decide the battle in single combat. Alice fights the Jabberwocky, as the two armies battle. Alice finally defeats the Jabberwocky by beheading it. At Alice’s victory, the red knights turn against their ruler. As punishment for their crimes, the White Queen banishes her sister and the Knave into exile together.
The White Queen gives Alice a vial of the Jabberwocky's purple blood whose power will bring her whatever she wishes. She decides to return to her own world after saying farewell to her friends. Back at the party, Alice refuses Hamish's proposal and impresses Lord Ascot with her idea of establishing oceanic trade routes to Hong Kong, inspiring him to take her as his apprentice. As Alice prepares to set off on a trading ship, a blue butterfly lands on Alice’s shoulder, which she recognizes as Absolem.
Show Adaptation
First Iteration
- Similar to the original novel, Alice follows the White Rabbit down a hole into Wonderland. While the novel focuses on Alice's adventures there, the show adaptation only briefly alludes to her time in Wonderland after she returns home to her father. Only when Alice, at an older age, returns to Wonderland a second time is this world and its inhabitants actually featured. This is similar to the film, where Alice first travels to Wonderland when she's a child, something which is only shown in a few brief flashbacks, with the story being continued as she makes another journey when she's older. ("Down the Rabbit Hole")
- Alice has a father, just like in the 2010 live-action film (the character's parents are neither mentioned in Lewis Carroll' s novel nor its sequel). It is stated that she also had a mother, who died when she was born. In the film, one of her parents (her father, in this version) died as well. ("Down the Rabbit Hole" et al., "Trust Me," "Bad Blood")
- Unlike the novel and the animated film, the events Alice experiences in Wonderland are real. Just like in the movie, Alice believes that her visits to Wonderland must have been a dream, only to learn that they weren't. ("Down the Rabbit Hole")
- Tweedledee and Tweedledum work for the Red Queen, just like in the film. ("Down the Rabbit Hole" et al.)
- One of the Red Queen's subjects says that her Jubjub ate his Dodo. In the live-action film, the Red Queen has a Jubjub bird as well. ("Trust Me")
- Underland is the name of an underground business run by the Caterpillar. In the movie, Underland is the real name of Wonderland. ("Forget Me Not")
- Alice is attacked by a Bandersnatch, just like in the live-action film. The creature is sent after Alice by the Red Queen. In the film, the animal is implied to be one of the Red Queen's creatures as well. ("Forget Me Not")
- Rather than the Hatter, the Knave of Hearts is sentenced to execution on the Red Queen's orders. ("The Serpent")
- Alice's stepmother Sarah, her "new mother" (as Alice's father puts it), wants Alice to think about her future by finding a suitable man to marry, just like the titular character's mother in the film. Sarah introduces Mr. Darcy to Alice as a suitable candidate. In the film, Alice's mother wants her to marry a man called Hamish Ascot. ("Who's Alice")
- Alice's homeworld, Victorian England, is a version of London. In the live-action film, Alice states that she is from London (the novel never states where Alice is from). ("Who's Alice")
- The Outlands, where the invisible house is located, shares its name with the barren wastelands that the Red Queen is banished to in the film. ("Home")
- The White Rabbit is forced to work for the Red Queen because his wife and children have been imprisoned by the queen and he fears for their lives if he does not obey. This is similar the bloodhound Bayard in the film, who is forced to the Red Queen's bidding because his wife and pups have been imprisoned by her and he fears that they will be injured if he does not obey her. Later, the White Rabbit's family is freed and the family is reunited, just like what happens to Bayard in the movie. ("Home")
- The Red King is implied to have been killed by the Queen of Hearts. In the live-action film, the character, here an amalgamation of the Red Queen and the Queen of Hearts, states that she killed her husband. ("Heart of the Matter")
- The Red Queen later becomes the good-hearted White Queen. In the movie, the White Queen is the Red Queen's sister. ("And They Lived...")
Second Iteration
- Alice has a mother and father, just like in the live-action film (the character's parents are neither mentioned in Lewis Carroll's novel nor its sequel). ("Eloise Gardener" et al.)
- Alice travels to Wonderland a second time, just like the Disney version. ("Hyperion Heights," "Pretty in Blue")
- The design of this version of New Wonderland, with the dark, cloudy skies, dark green color theme, and the design of the giant mushrooms, is similar to Underland, the version of Wonderland from live-action film. ("Pretty in Blue")
- Alice mentions that she slayed a Jabberwock, just like her Disney counterpart. ("Pretty in Blue")
- Alice says that she once outran a Bandersnatch, a reference to the live-action film, where the titular character is chased by one. ("The Girl in the Tower")
Characters Featured
| Original Character | Adaptated as | First Featured in |
|---|---|---|
| Absolem | Caterpillar | "Hat Trick" |
| Alice Kingsleigh | Alice (Down the Rabbit Hole) | "Down the Rabbit Hole" |
| Alice (Hyperion Heights) | "Hyperion Heights" | |
| Bayard | White Rabbit | "Down the Rabbit Hole" |
| Bayard's pups | White Rabbit' s son and daughter | "Home" |
| Bayard's wife | Mrs. Rabbit | "Home" |
| Charles Kingsleigh | Edwin | "Down the Rabbit Hole" |
| Wish Hook (allusion) | "Eloise Gardener" | |
| Chessur | Cheshire Cat | "Down the Rabbit Hole" |
| Helen Kingsleigh | Alice's mother | "Trust Me" (mentioned) |
| Gothel (allusion) | "Eloise Gardener" | |
| Sarah | "Who's Alice" | |
| Hamish Ascot | Mr. Darcy | "Who's Alice" |
| Jabberwocky | Jabberwocks | "Tiny" (mentioned) |
| Jabberwocky | "Nothing to Fear" | |
| Jubjub bird | Jubjub | "Trust Me" (mentioned) |
| The red king (mentioned) | Red King | "Heart of Stone" |
| Ilosovic Stayne | Knave of Hearts (Hat Trick) | "Hat Trick" |
| Will Scarlet | "Down the Rabbit Hole" | |
| Mallymkun | Dormouse | "Down the Rabbit Hole" (mentioned) |
| Margaret Kingsleigh | Millie | "Who's Alice" |
| Mome rath | Mome raths | "Nothing to Fear" |
| Nivins McTwisp | White Rabbit | "Down the Rabbit Hole" |
| White rabbit | "Beauty" | |
| Iracebeth of Crims | Cora | "Hat Trick" |
| Red Queen | "Down the Rabbit Hole" | |
| Mirana of Marmoreal | "And They Lived" | |
| Tarrant Hightopp | Jefferson | "Hat Trick" |
| Thackery Earwicket | March Hare | Out of the Past |
| Tweedledum | Tweedledum | "Down the Rabbit Hole" |
| Tweedledee | Tweedledee | "Down the Rabbit Hole" |
| Uilleam | Dodos | Out of the Past |
Locations Featured
| Original Location | Adaptated as | First Featured in |
|---|---|---|
| England | Victorian England | "Down the Rabbit Hole" |
| Hare house | March Hare's mansion | Out of the Past |
| Kingsleigh mansion | Edwin's house | "Down the Rabbit Hole" |
| Salazen Grum | Queen of Hearts' palace | "Hat Trick" |
| Red Queen's palace | "Down the Rabbit Hole" | |
| Tarrant Hightop's house | Mad Hatter's house | "Down the Rabbit Hole" |
| Salazen Grum's garden | Wonderland maze | "Hat Trick" |
| Infinite Maze | "Pretty in Blue" | |
| Rabbit hole | Rabbit holes | "Down the Rabbit Hole" |
| Room with doors | Portal of doors | "Hat Trick" |
| Tea party | Tea Party | "Pretty in Blue" |
| Marmoreal royal castle | Red Queen's palace | "Down the Rabbit Hole" |
| Underland | Underland | "Forget Me Not" |
| New Wonderland | "Pretty in Blue" | |
| Wonderland | "Hat Trick" |
Items Featured
| Original Item | Adapted as | First Featured in |
|---|---|---|
| "Drink Me" bottle | "Drink Me" bottles | "Down the Rabbit Hole" |
| Tarrant Hightopp's hat | Jefferson's hats | "Hat Trick" |
| Alice's hat | "The Girl in the Tower" | |
| Vorpal sword | Vorpal blade | "Nothing to Fear" |
| Nivins McTwisp's pocket watch | Alice's pocket watch | "The Guardian" |
| White Rabbit's pocket watch | "Down the Rabbit Hole" |
References
| This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors). |
| Disney Films and Storylines | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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