Alice in Wonderland

As a child, I watched Alice in Wonderland everyday. I can still quote it to this day. To say I was obsessed with that movie would be an understatement. I had my very own Alice dress. Now, my mom wouldn't let me wear the Alice dress to preschool. So each day I would come home and change into the dress so that I could go searching for small doors that would lead to Wonderland.

Personally, I think Alice in Wonderland has some great cliché messages. I believe all children should dream big. Play pretend. Believe in places like Wonderland. I think its great to see children with vivid imaginations. Alice in Wonderland plays on the imagination.  As Alice said, “If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense.” And shouldn’t all children believe they could create a world of their own? This is quite different from other Disney movies children are watching around this age. Those movies included princesses, castles and waiting for their prince. I have nothing against these movies; I’m still wondering where my prince is. I think it's a contrast that Alice goes out and creates her own world instead of waiting for some prince to.

There is lots of speculation that Lewis Carroll was on drugs when he wrote the book that later became this movie. There is an LSD/acid-ness to the movie that would be the implied message of this movie. There are some inappropriate moments such as the caterpillar smoking hookah or some say the Mad Hatter was high. The queen saying “off with their heads” might be slightly violent. There are lots of assumptions and some go too deep into the meaning. The Mad Hatter asked Alice, “Have I gone mad?” to which Alice replied, “I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.”

This is a children’s movie. Singing flowers, Tweedledee and Tweedledumb, the White Rabbit, all contribute to this and I could go on and on. Also the fact that it’s animated and musical does add to the young aspect. Who doesn't love to sing along to “A Very Merry Unbirthday”? That song is catchy. In Louis Giannetti’s Understanding Movies: Sound he tells us “…music can serve as a kind of overture to suggest the mood or spirit of the film as a whole.” I think the cheery tunes add to the spirit of the movie. Now, I’m not saying adults couldn't enjoy this movie as well. I still love some Wonderland every once in a while. I think this movie is very entertaining and colorful. Louis Gianetti said in Understanding Movies, “Color tends to be a subconscious element in film” (Gianetti 22). I think children pick up on color much more than adults do. They notice how colorful Wonderland is. Hence why children enjoy it. It’s playful and silly. Of course flowers don’t sing and White Rabbits don’t have any actual events to attend, but its fun to pretend. It’s all about pretending at a young age. I think, as we grow older, we forget that playful side. We become boring adults and forget about Wonderland. I think we should take some advice from the queen and “believe as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” Because things may be impassible, but not impossible. So, if you had a world of your own, what would it be? Of course, 3 tickets for Alice.