Monday, April 25, 2011

Modern Interpretations

Although there are multiple interpretations of the story, the widely known Disney animated movie, Alice in Wonderland, is what I believe catapulted Carroll’s novel. It was released in 1951, directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske and starring Kathryn Beaumont as Alice, Ed Wynn as the Mad Hatter, and Richard Haydn as the Caterpillar. (InternetMovieDataBase)
Another popular movie that was just released in 2010 is the movie, Alice in Wonderland, directed by Tim Burton. The stars of this movie included Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Mia Wasikowska as Alice, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, and Helen Bonham Carter as the Red Queen. Apart from all other interpretations, this movie, however, has more computer animated and live action scenes. Also this movie has a combination of ideas from Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. (InternetMovieDataBase)
Also, the SyFy channel also showed their own TV miniseries by taking the idea of Alice in Wonderland further. Many of the same characters are present such as Alice played by Caterina Scorsone, Mad Hatter played by Andrew Lee Potts, and the Queen of Hearts played by Kathy Bates. (InternetMovieDataBase)
Apart from movies and TV series, there are also artists who have been inspired by the novel and the films to create unique art. For example, here are some images of a Russian photographer, Elena Kalis, who has taken her ideas one step further. (Lapointe)


by Elena Kalis

Friday, April 15, 2011

"Short" Bio on Carroll

 I did not know much about Lewis Carroll before but after reading few bios of him online I have come to discover what an intelligent man he was. First to get into detail of Carroll, one must analyze his early life and follow through to the moment of his creation of masterpiece.  Although we all know him as Lewis Carroll, this name is a pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. Dodgson was the eldest son and third child in a family of seven girls and four boys, meaning he was constantly around his younger siblings. This might have been where Dodgson’s ability to easily entertain smaller children derived from.
Now examining his education, Dodgson was a brilliant man, excelling especially in math. Using his real name as, Charles L. Dodgson, he published a few books related to math, but none of which reported significant. Apart from his education, Dodgson also had a hobby of photography. However, he didn’t pursue his pastime as a photographer thinking it redundant of his time.
The novel, Alice in Wonderland, originally titled Alice’s Adventures Underground, was stimulated partly by Alice Liddel, his friend’s daughter. The story was told one day when Dodgson and the Liddel family went out on a picnic. Here Dodgson attempted to entertain the bunch with a made up fairy tale. Well as it turns out, Alice Liddel was pleased with this story and asked for Dodgson to write it down for her. It was from this point on that the Alice in Wonderland novel unfolded into what it has become now.  (Biography of Sir Lewis Carroll)

Monday, April 4, 2011


Art by John Tenniel

I chose to read Alice in Wonderland because the book was gifted to me on my birthday last year and I have yet to read it. I haven’t actually ever read the novel; I have only seen the Disney movie. When I first saw the Disney movie Alice in Wonderland, I was very confused about what was happening, however I was kept entertained by all of the characters and their different personalities. I hope that by reading the novel I will better understand how the movie is depicted through Disney.

I don’t really know anything about the author or the book. I hope that by the end of this research project I will have a better knowledge about Lewis Carroll and the novel.