Adaptation as Compendium: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

The main points of this paper include:

Two questions relate to anything like this: how does it adapt the book(s) and how different is it from the book(s).

Reviewers didn't like the movie in general.

The movie adapts many scenes from the books and uses a lot of the words exactly as they appear in the books.

The characters early in the movie wonder if what they have is the 'right' Alice. (Interestingly enough Alice in Alice in Wonderland wonders at first if she is actually Alice; in this case it's the other beings that wonder if she's the right Alice.)

The reviewers didn't like the 'militant ending' of the film.

The movie adapts things not found in either of the books. It adapts videogame structured and other films, genres and media.

The film also adapts the mythological hero(ine) plot.

The camera work and editing resemble and Indian Jones type of movie.

The Alice in the film is an adaptation of Joan of Arc and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Visually, the caterpillar is a decrepit, Gothrerized version of Disney's 1951 figure.

The Mad Hatter seems to be somewhat like Willy Wonka.

The human faces on the flowers don't work well.

The Underland part shows 'militant feminism' while the above-ground portion emphasizes capitalism.

Carroll's books 'subvert and mock' authority figures and social structures. The film ends with Alice sailing to China to bring capitalism there.

There's also a list of works cited.

Main Alice in Wonderland index page