Cheshire Cat

Cheshire Cat
Wonderland Character
Biographical Information
Gender:	Male
Status:	Alive
Physical Description
Species:	Cat
Eye color:	Red
Show Information
Portrayed by:	Keith David (voice)
Only appearance:	"Down the Rabbit Hole"
Relevant Pages

“

Wonderland has grown stranger. I'm stranger, you're stranger. Together we are… strangers.

”

—The Cheshire Cat to Alice ^src

The Cheshire Cat is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. He débuts, with his only appearance, in the first episode and is voiced by guest star Keith David.

The Cheshire Cat is based on the character of the same name from the novel, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the Cheshire Cat from the animated Disney film Alice in Wonderland, and Chessur from the live-action Disney film Alice in Wonderland.

History

Before First Curse

As a child, Alice follows the White Rabbit down a hole to Wonderland. During her stay in this world, she befriends a small feline called the Cheshire Cat. ("Down the Rabbit Hole")

After First Curse

While food becomes more scarce in Tulgey Woods, the Cheshire Cat has grown much larger in size. One day, he catches sight of Alice, now much older, standing on a tree branch looking for the Mad Hatter's old house in the distance. As he stares at her, his gleaming red eyes catch her attention. Nervously, Alice attempts to remind him who she is. He does remember her, however, with little food in the woods, she is his best bet for his next meal. Unnerved by his continued and menacing gaze, Alice asks whether he will eat her, to which the feline coyly remarks, "Not without pepper." He then pounces on her, and she falls onto the ground while dodging his paw strike. Alice, countering by hitting him with a stick, is tripped by his tail. Before the girl can get up, the Cheshire Cat holds her down with his paw and remarks that the Red Queen promised she would be the sweetest meat he ever tasted. Lunging to devour her, he halts when Alice's ally, Knave, steps on his tail. Enraged, the Cheshire Cat moves to chomp at Knave, who throws a mushroom at him. Accidentally swallowing the mushroom, the Cheshire Cat quickly finds himself shrunken down to the size of a house cat. Giving out a shrill meow, he scampers back into the forest. ("Down the Rabbit Hole")

Trivia

• Production Notes
• Cultural References
• Set Notes

Production Notes

• The Cheshire Cat was supposed to reappear in "Home." However, it did not happen for unknown reasons.

Fairytales and Folklore

• The Cheshire Cat says to Alice, "Wonderland has grown stranger. I'm stranger, you're stranger. Together we are… strangers." This resembles a quote from the the Cheshire Cat in Chapter VI of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, where the character tells Alice, "We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad." ("Down the Rabbit Hole")
• Alice inquires if the Cheshire Cat intends to eat her, and the feline teasingly responds, "Not without pepper." This is another reference to Chapter VI of the novel, in which the excessive use of pepper in the soup made in the Duchess' kitchen results in sneezing and disorder, yet the grinning Cheshire Cat remains unaffected. ("Down the Rabbit Hole")

Set Dressing

• A drawing resembling the Cheshire Cat can be seen on one of the walls in Tilly's boxcar. ("Beauty" et al.)

Appearances

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
"Down the Rabbit Hole":	"Trust Me":	"Forget Me Not":	"The Serpent":	"Heart of Stone":	"Who's Alice":	"Bad Blood":
Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Home":	"Nothing to Fear":	"Dirty Little Secrets":	"Heart of the Matter":	"To Catch a Thief":	"And They Lived…":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent