Alice in Wonderland (2010 film)

This article is about the 2010 live-action film. For the 1951 animated film, see Alice in Wonderland.

Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton. It is a live-action extension to the Lewis Carroll novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. The film uses a technique of combining live-action and CGI animation.

In the film, Alice is now 19 years old and goes back to Underland, a place she previously visited 13 years ago. She is told that she is the only one that can slay the Jabberwocky, a dragon controlled by the Red Queen. Burton said the original Wonderland story was always about a girl wandering around from one character to another and she never felt a connection emotionally, so he wanted to make it feel more like a story than a series of events. He doesn't see this as a sequel to previous films or a re-imagining. It premiered in London at the Odeon Leicester Square on February 25, 2010. It was released in Australia and New Zealand on March 4, 2010, and in the United Kingdom and the United States on March 5 through Walt Disney Pictures in Disney Digital 3-D and IMAX 3-D, as well as in regular theaters.

The film was a huge box office success, one of the first films to gain $1 billion, and set a trend of "adult" fairy tales amongst them Oz the Great and Powerful, and Into the Woods (which also featured Johnny Depp and Frances De La Tour), while also reigniting the trend of live-action fairy tales and fantasy films of its animated classics starting with Maleficent, Cinderella (which also featured Helena Bonham Carter). Despite this, it received mixed reviews by critics and audiences. Many of which compared it to Walt Disney's animated film of the same name, claiming it lacked the nonsense, illogical charm that both the book and the animated film was so famous for.

Plot[]

The story begins in London in 1858^[1] with Charles Kingsleigh trying to convince some men to approve his idea of venturing farther to Rangoon, Bangkok and Jakarta where he can set up trading posts. His talk is interrupted by his 6-year old daughter Alice, who is frightened by an occurring nightmare. Once her father brings her back to bed, she tells him she saw many strange creatures including a dodo bird, a white rabbit wearing a waistcoat, a smiling cat, and a blue caterpillar. Alice wonders if she has gone mad, which Charles responds that she is. He tells her as a secret that all the best people are mad.

Thirteen years later in 1871,^[1] after her father's death, Alice attends a party with her mother Helen at the Ascot Estate. Alice learns that it's an engagement party for herself and Hamish, a snobby man Alice dislikes. She begins to see a white rabbit in a waistcoat and during Hamish's proposal, Alice follows the White Rabbit. She falls down a rabbit hole, full of objects floating in the air, into a room full of many doors. She tries to open them, only to see that they are all locked. After finding a key on a table and trying it on each door, she finds only the smallest door can be opened with the key. Alice notices the table now has a "Drink Me" bottle on top of it. Believing everything that is happening to be a dream, she drinks some of the bottle's liquid and then she started to shrink while her dress kept its size. Alice shrank until she was 2 feet tall and started trying to get out of her dress, then she managed to get out and finds herself in another dress her size and tried to open the door. But the door is locked again after it closed itself and she finds the key she left on the table. Alice attempts to retrieve it while unknown voices comment if she's the wrong or right Alice. Alice finds an "Eat Me" cake on the table. She takes a bite and grows to 20 feet. She picks up the key and drinks the whole "Drink Me" bottle to shrink back again. She unlocks the door and enters it into a strange place.

Alice finds herself in a vast garden residing in Underland. Exploring it, she runs into Nivins McTwisp the White Rabbit, Mallymkun the Dormouse, Tweedledum, Tweedledee, and Uilleam the Dodo. The group take Alice to Absolem the Caterpillar, where they consult a calendar-like scroll detailing every day in Underland known as the Oraculum. Eventually, on Frabjous day, Alice has to slay the Jabberwocky, but Alice--not wanting to slay the dragon--attempts to assure them she's not the one. Absolem comments that Alice is "Not hardly Alice." Before they can return Alice to her home, the group is ambushed by the Bandersnatch and Armored Cards. The White Rabbit and the Dodo get captured along with several flamingos. Alice, who's pursued by the Bandersnatch, stands her ground. The Dormouse saves Alice by stabbing out the Bandersnatch's eye, but he manages to injure Alice's arm in the process. Alice and the Tweedle Boys carry on until the Jub Jub Bird captures the Tweedle Boys.

Meanwhile, the Red Queen screams out in anger that someone stole three of her tarts. After finding out it was one of her Frog Servants, she orders him to be executed. The Red Queen informs a fish servant to collect the frog's children so she can eat them on toast with caviar. She is informed by Ilosovic Stayne, the Knave of Hearts, that Alice will slay the Jabberwocky on Frabjous Day, as shown on the Oraculum he found, unless they stop her. With the Red Queen's order to find Alice, the Knave assigns Bayard the Bloodhound to pursue her scent for his imprisoned wife and pups, and his own freedom.

The wandering Alice encounters Chessur, the Cheshire Cat, who bandages her arm and escorts her to the tea party. Alice arrives with Chessur and meets Tarrant Hightopp, the Mad Hatter, along with Thackery Earwicket, the March Hare and Mallymkun. The Hatter becomes angry at the Cheshire Cat, blaming him for deserting everyone in Underland on the day it was seized control by the Red Queen until Mallymkun shouts the Hatter's name to calm him down. The Knave of Hearts arrives at the tea party with a troop of cards and Bayard. The Hatter quickly shrinks Alice to 6-inches tall and hides her in a teapot. He manages to persuade Bayard to not reveal Alice's location. Bayard leads the Knave and his troop away. The March Hare suggests that Alice should be safe with the White Queen in Marmoreal. Tarrant begins his journey with Alice on his hat.

At a burned abandoned town, Tarrant tells his sad story of how he lost his clan there and the beginning of the Red Queen's reign on Horunvendush Day with the loss of the Vorpal Sword that is used for slaying the Jabberwocky and nothing else. With Bayard finding Alice's scent at where they are, the cards begin to track Tarrant and Alice down to a river. As a last resort, Tarrant throws his hat with Alice on it across the river and lets himself be captured without resistance. Alice decides to sleep under the hat for the night.

The next morning, Alice is found by Bayard. In repayment for the events that led to the capture of the Hatter, she tells Bayard to take her to the Red Queen's castle in Salazen Grum with the Hatter's hat and crosses a moat full of severed heads. Bayard throws Tarrant's hat over the wall. While the Red Queen is playing croquet, Alice frees a tied porcupine used for the game and is found by the White Rabbit, who gives her some more Upelkuchen cake to make her grow big again. But Alice eats too much of it and grows to 8.5 feet, her dress getting ripped apart in the process. The Red Queen sees Alice with her court behind the bushes. To avoid suspicion, Alice lies to her saying that her name is Um from Umbridge and the people in Umbridge make fun of her for her large height. The Red Queen buys Alice's story, welcomes her to her court and orders someone to find some clothes for her. After receiving a red and black dress to wear, Alice soon finds herself at the Red Queen's side and the imprisoned Mad Hatter's appearance. Eventually, the Red Queen is persuaded by Tarrant to become her hatter. In Marmoreal, Bayard manages to arrive at the White Queen's castle where he is greeted by the White Queen herself. He delivers the news that Alice is currently residing in the Red Queen's castle with guilt for letting her go there. The White Queen assures him that the castle is exactly where Alice will find the Vorpal Sword and tells him to rest.

Alice is able to retrieve Tarrant's hat with the porcupine's help and returns it to him in the Red Queen's dressing room. When he becomes furious at how he has to make hats for her, Alice calms him down the same way Mallymkun did at the tea party. He asks her if he has gone mad. She repeats her late father's secret from her childhood to Tarrant and puts his hat back on his head. During a conversation between the Red Queen and Knave in her bed chamber on how everyone loves her sister instead of her, Nivens retrieves the Oraculum without being spotted by them while the Monkey Servants stay quiet, not letting his actions be known. With his help, Alice locates the Vorpal Sword in the pen of the Bandersnatch where it is chained inside. After retrieving its eye from Mallymkun, Alice makes her way to the Bandersnatch's pen when the Knave corners her. He confesses that he likes her for her height, but she rejects him and manages to get away. One of the Red Queen's courtiers saw everything that happened while passing by. Alice returns the Bandersnatch its eye, preventing it from harming her when her return woke it up, and finds the locked case to the Vorpal Sword. Her wound begins to burn up and she falls unconscious. While Tarrant is hatting the Red Queen, she hears the news about the Knave’s advancement towards Alice from the courtier that saw them, her face turning red with fury towards the Knave. Alice wakes up the next morning to find the Bandersnatch watching her. She notices a key to the case around his neck and retrieves the key. The Bandersnatch repays Alice by licking her wound to disinfect it as a sign of friendship. It lets her salvage the Vorpal Sword without stopping her from leaving.

The Knave attempts to lie on how it is Um (Alice) that's obsessed with him, which the Queen believes and orders the execution of Um. Alice returns to Tarrant and Mallymkun, only to be charged right away by the Knave for unlawful seduction when he and the cards arrive to arrest her. The Knave notices the Vorpal sword and tries to snatch it. The Hatter holds the Knave and cards off, but Mallymkun blurts out, "Run, Alice!" The Knave, now knowing Alice's true identity, orders the cards to get her.

Alice runs out to the courtyard, but is ambushed by the cards and the Knave until the Bandersnatch breaks free of his chain and escapes with Alice in tow. Bayard leads them back to Marmoreal. Alice arrives at the White Queen's castle, presenting the Vorpal Sword to her. The White Queen places it with an armor to complete it and shrinks Alice back down to her original size with Pishsalver. Alice once again meets with Absolem, who replies about his earlier comment that she was not Alice back then, but is more like Alice now.

Back in Salazen Grum, Tarrant and Mallymkum are held in a cell, the latter being locked up in a cage hanging near the front of it, near Bayard's wife and pups. Chessur morphs into the cell and wonders if he can have Tarrant's hat after the execution. On the morning of Tarrant and Mallymkun's execution, the Red Queen's executioner severs Tarrant's head, but his body disappears with only the hat floating in the air. Tarrant was substituted by Chessur and the real Hatter is up with the Red Queen. He reveals that all the Red Queen's courtiers are phonies and makes a speech for all those willing to rebel against the "Bloody Big Head" to rise and escape to the White Queen's side. In retaliation, the Red Queen orders the release of the Jub Jub Bird, which terrorizes the people. She tells the Knave to prepare the Jabberwocky for battle as it is time to visit her sister. Tarrant manages to escape to Marmoreal with Mallymkun, the Tweedle Boys, Nivens, and Bayard's wife Bielle and their pups. Bayard reunites with his family and Chessur returns his hat to the Hatter.

To find a champion to battle against the Jabberwocky, many propose, but the Oraculum held by Nivins still shows Alice as the slayer. Alice, not wanting to fight, runs off into the castle where she once again encounters Absolem, the latter preparing to go into pupa stage. He chats with her, and Alice finds out that "Underland" is what she mistakenly heard as "Wonderland" during her first visit. She realizes that her dream of Underland was really a memory of her visit to there and Underland does exist along with everything in it. Before he becomes a pupa with the possibility of seeing her again in another life, Absolem tells her to hold on to the Vorpal Sword and bids her farewell.

Frabjous day has finally arrived with both Red and White armies prepared for an epic battle. Alice dons the armor and Vorpal sword as the White Queen's champion. Both armies arrive at a chessboard-like battlefield for the battle between Alice and the Jabberwocky. He finally reveals himself to Alice, who strikes first by slicing off his tongue. Before doing so, she tries to reassure herself by remembering six impossible things her late father told her before breakfast, which gives her the growing intention to proceed fighting. As the battle between Alice and the Jabberwocky carries on, he gains the upper hand. Tarrant assaults the Jabberwocky, leading both armies to battle. Alice climbs some ruins of a castle and continues to fight the Jabberwocky. Tarrant faces off against the Knave, easily dominating him. Mallymkun and Bayard are assaulted by the Jub Jub Bird, only to be crushed by a catapulted boulder that is accidentally fired by one of the Red Queen's cards.

Alice manages to get on the back of the Jabberwocky, where she is launched into the air, and then cuts off the Jabberwocky’s head while shouting "OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!" Everyone witnesses the defeat of the Jabberwocky. The Red Queen orders her troops to kill Alice, but they no longer follow her since the Jabberwocky has been slain. The troops and the Armored Chess Pieces drop their weapons. Chessur takes the crown from the Red Queen and puts it on the White Queen's head, crowning her as the queen of Underland once again. She banishes her sister to the Outlands along with the Knave. Unable to live with the Red Queen, the Knave attempts to kill her, but is quickly stopped by Tarrant. As the Red Queen and The Knave are carried off, Tarrant does his famous Futterwacken dance. The White Queen collects the blood of the Jabberwocky in a vial, which will send Alice back to the human world. Reminding the Hatter that she will return and receiving her final farewell from him, Alice drinks the blood.

Upon returning to the human world, Alice finds herself climbing up and out of the rabbit hole in the same dress she is wearing for the engagement party, only to look a bit dirty on her dress from when she fell down the hole. She returns to the party where everyone is waiting for her return without revealing what really happened to her. Having found confidence in herself following her adventure in Underland, Alice declines Hamish's proposal while adding that his digestion is troubled. She tells everyone else things that are secretly reminiscent to her adventure and accepts Lord Ascot's offer to become his apprentice, but not before shocking or delighting everyone with a brief version of the Hatter's Futterwacken. Alice begins her voyage to China with her mother, her older sister Margaret and Lord Ascot seeing her off. A blue butterfly lands on Alice's shoulder, which she smiles and replies, "Hello, Absolem." Absolem then flies off, ending the movie.

Cast[]

• Mia Wasikowska as Alice Kingsleigh. A 19-year old young lady "who doesn't quite fit into Victorian society and structure." Her return to Wonderland "becomes a rite of passage as she discovers her voice and herself." Screenwriter Linda Woolverton researched how young women were expected to behave in the Victorian era and then made Alice the opposite. Although facing pressures to conform to society's expectations, Alice grows into a more strong-willed and empowered heroine who chooses her own path.
  • Mairi Ella Challen portrays 6-year-old Alice.
• Johnny Depp as Tarrant Hightopp, the Mad Hatter. Tim Burton explained that Depp "tried to find a grounding to the character, something that you feel, as opposed to just being mad. In a lot of versions, it's a very one-note kind of character and you know his goal was to try and bring out a human side to the strangeness of the character." The orange hair is an allusion to the mercury poisoning suffered by many hatters who used mercury to cure felt. According to Depp: "I think he was poisoned, very, very poisoned, and it was coming out through his hair, through his fingernails and eyes." The Mad Hatter is Alice's ally. Wasikowska says: "They have an understanding about each other. They both feel like outsiders and feel alone in their separate worlds, and have a special bond and friendship." In an interview, Depp stated his experience was "A dream come true" and that the Mad Hatter is like "A mood ring, his emotions are very close to the surface" Illusionary dancer David Bernal doubles for Johnny Depp during the "Futterwacken" sequence near the end of the film.
• Helena Bonham Carter as Iracebeth, the Red Queen. Bonham Carter's head is increased in size by three times on screen. The Red Queen is the older sister of the White Queen. She also hates animals, and she proves this by using animals as furniture. Bonham Carter's character is a combination of the Red Queen and the Queen of Hearts.
• Anne Hathaway as Mirana, the White Queen. Her character does not require digital manipulation. Hathaway summed up her character with a caption on a magnet of It's Happy Bunny holding a knife; "Cute but psycho. Things even out." According to Hathaway, "She comes from the same gene pool as the Red Queen. She really likes the dark side, but she's so scared of going too far into it that she's made everything appear very light and happy. But she's living in that place out of fear that she won't be able to control herself." Hathaway describes her interpretation of the White Queen as "a Punk rock, vegan, Pacifism", with inspiration drawn from Blondie, Greta Garbo, and the artwork of Dan Flavin.
• Crispin Glover as Ilosovic Stayne, the Knave of Hearts. He is the head of the Red Queen's Army. Seven feet, six-inches tall, with a scarred face and a heart-shaped patch covering his left eye, Stayne is an arrogant, tricky character who follows the Red Queen's every order. He's the only one capable of pacifying her and calming her dramatic mood swings. "I am the martial element for the Red Queen," says Glover. "The Red Queen has a fair amount of short-tempered reactions to things that people do, and so my character has to be quite diplomatic." His darker side emerges in the shadows of the castle hallways.
• Lindsay Duncan as Helen Kingsleigh, Alice's mother.
• Leo Bill as Hamish, a man who proposes to Alice.
• Tim Pigott-Smith as Lord Ascot, Hamish's father.
• Geraldine James as Lady Ascot, Hamish's mother.
• Frances de la Tour as Imogene, Alice's delusional aunt.
• Marton Csokas as Charles, Alice's father.
• Jemma Powell as Margaret, Alice's sister.
• John Hopkins as Lowell Manchester, Alice's brother-in-law and Margaret's husband. He unfaithfully keeps an affair he has a secret from her.
• Eleanor Gecks and Eleanor Tomlinson as Faith and Fiona, the Chattaway Sisters. A pair of twins who, when pressured by blackmail, reveal to Alice that she is about to be proposed to by Hamish.
• Marton Csokas as Charles Kingsleigh, Alice's late father, who was a businessman, a trading company owner, and had a close relationship with Alice during her childhood until he passed away somewhere between thirteen years before the main events of the film.

Burton's children by Bonham Carter have cameos in the movie.

Voice cast[]

• Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat. He is a dapper tabby with the ability to appear and disappear. He is all calm, casual sensuality with a seductive grin that masks his cowardice. It's the cat's disembodied head that first appears to Alice in Tulgey Wood after she's been attacked by the vicious Bandersnatch. He offers to purify the gashes on her arm by licking them. Alice declines, although she allows him to lead her to the Hatter's Tea Party where the Hatter blames him for deserting them on the day the Red Queen seized control of Wonderland. Using his skills and the Hatter's coveted top hat, The Cheshire Cat later finds a way to redeem himself.
• Michael Sheen as Nivins McTwisp, the White Rabbit. McTwisp works for the Red Queen but is also a secret member of the Underland Underground Resistance. He was sent (by the Hatter) to search for Alice. Sheen stated, "The White Rabbit is such an iconic character that I didn't feel like I should break the mold too much."
• Matt Lucas as Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Burton said it was a mix of animation and Lucas. "It's a weird mixture of things which gives his characters the disturbing quality that they so richly deserve."
• Alan Rickman as Absolem the Caterpillar. Rickman was filmed while recording his voice in a studio, but his face wasn't composited onto the character's face as originally planned.
• Barbara Windsor as Mally the Dormouse. Burton said that he sought after Windsor for the role because he was a fan of her TV show EastEnders. Her voice sealed the deal for her role as the character.
• Timothy Spall as Bayard the Bloodhound.
• Paul Whitehouse as Thackary the March Hare.
• Michael Gough as the Dodo.
• Imelda Staunton as the Tall Flowers.
• Jim Carter as the Executioner and the Red Queen's servants.
• Christopher Lee as the Jabberwocky. The Jabberwocky is a vicious and nasty dragon that is owned by the Red Queen. An item in the film called "The Oraculum" suggested that John Tenniel's original design for the Jabberwocky would be used in the film.

Production[]

Development and writing[]

Joe Roth was developing Alice in Wonderland in April 2007 at Walt Disney Pictures with Linda Woolverton as screenwriter. That November, Burton signed with Disney to direct two films in Disney Digital 3D, which included Alice in Wonderland and his remake of Frankenweenie. He explained, "the goal is to try to make it an engaging movie where you get some of the psychology and kind of bring a freshness but also keep the classic nature of Alice." On prior versions, Burton said, "It was always a girl wandering around from one crazy character to another, and I never really felt any real emotional connection." His goal with the new movie is to give the story "some framework of emotional grounding" and "to try and make Alice feel more like a story as opposed to a series of events." Burton focused on the Jabberwocky poem as part of his structure. Burton also stated that he doesn't see his version as either a sequel to any existing Alice movie or as a "re-imagining".

Filming[]

"We wanted somebody who had…it’s hard to put into words, but just had a gravity to her, an internal life, something that you could see the wheels turning. It’s just a simple kind of power to her that we really liked. Not flamboyant, not very showy, but just somebody that’s got a lot of internal life to her. That’s why I picked her."

This film was originally set to be released in 2009 but was pushed to March 5, 2010. Principal photography was scheduled for May 2008, but did not begin until September and concluded in three months. Scenes set in the Victorian era were shot at Torpoint and Plymouth from September 1 to October 14. Two hundred and fifty local extras were chosen in early August. Locations included Antony House in Torpoint, Charlestown, Cornwall and the Barbican. Motion capture filming began in early October, at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California, though the footage was later discarded. Filming also took place at Culver Studios. Burton said that he is using a combination of live action and animation, without motion capture. He also noted that this was the first time he had done green screen. Filming of the green screen portions, comprising 90% of the film, was completed after only 40 days. Many of the cast and crew felt nauseous as a result of the long hours surrounded by green, with Burton having lavender lenses fitted into his glasses to counteract the effect. Due to the constant need for digital effects to distort the actors' physical appearances, such as the size of the Red Queen's head or Alice's height, visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston cited the film as being exhausting, saying it was "The biggest show I've ever done, [and] the most creatively involved I've ever been."

Sony Pictures Imageworks designed the visual effects sequences. Burton felt 3D was appropriate to the story's environment. Burton and Zanuck chose to film with conventional cameras, and convert the footage into 3D during post-production; Zanuck explained 3D cameras were too expensive and "clumsy" to use, and they felt that there was no difference between converted footage and those shot in the format. James Cameron, who released his 3D film Avatar on December 10, 2009, criticized the choice, stating, "It doesn't make any sense to shoot in 2D and convert to 3D."

Soundtracks[]

Main article: Alice in Wonderland (2010 soundtrack)

Alice in Wonderland: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack[]

Longtime Burton collaborator Danny Elfman's score was released March 2, 2010. It debuted at #89 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart. The tracklisting for the album is as follows:

1. Alice's Theme 5:07
2. Little Alice 1:34
3. Proposal/Down the Hole 2:58
4. Doors 1:51
5. Drink Me 2:48
6. Into the Garden 0:50
7. Alice Reprise #1 0:26
8. Bandersnatched 2:42
9. Finding Absolem 2:41
10. Alice Reprise #2 0:38
11. The Cheshire Cat 2:07
12. Alice and Bayard's Journey 4:04
13. Alice Reprise #3 0:24
14. Alice Escapes 1:07
15. The White Queen 0:36
16. Only a Dream 1:25
17. The Dungeon 2:18
18. Alice Decides 3:14
19. Alice Reprise #4 1:01
20. Going to Battle 2:41
21. The Final Confrontation 1:41
22. Blood of the Jabberwocky 2:37
23. Alice Returns 3:14
24. Alice Reprise #5 2:56

Almost Alice[]

Main article: Almost Alice

Almost Alice is a collection of various artists' music inspired by the film. The lead single, "Alice" by Avril Lavigne, premiered on January 27, 2010, on Ryan Seacrest's radio program. Other singles include "Follow Me Down" by 3OH!3, "Her Name Is Alice" by Shinedown, and "Tea Party" by Kerli. It even featured Robert Smith singing a cover of "Very Good Advice" from the 1951 animated film. The album was released on March 2, 2010.

Release[]

On February 12, 2010, major UK cinema chains, Odeon Cinemas, Vue and Cineworld, had planned to boycott the film because of a reduction of the interval between cinema and DVD release from the usual 17 weeks to 12. A week after the announcement, Cineworld, who has a 24% share of UK box office, chose to play the film on more than 150 screens. Cineworld's chief executive Steve Wiener stated, "As leaders in 3D, we did not want the public to miss out on such a visual spectacle. As the success of Avatar has shown, there is currently a huge appetite for the 3-D experience". Shortly after, the Vue cinema chain also reached an agreement with Disney, but Odeon had still chosen to boycott in Britain, Ireland, and Italy. On February 25, 2010, Odeon had reached an agreement and decided to show the film on March 5, 2010. The Royal premiere took place at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on February 25, 2010, for the fund-raiser The Prince's Foundation for Children and The Arts where the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall attended. It also did not affect their plans to show the film in Spain, Germany, Portugal, and Austria. The film was released in the UK and U.S., in both Disney Digital 3-D and IMAX 3-D, as well as regular theaters on March 5, 2010.

Marketing[]

On June 22, 2009, the first pictures of the film were released, showing Depp as the Mad Hatter, Hathaway as the White Queen, Bonham Carter as the Red Queen and Lucas as Tweedledee and Tweedledum. A new image of Alice was also released. In July, new photos emerged of Alice holding a white rabbit, the Mad Hatter with a hare, the Red Queen holding a pig, and the White Queen with a mouse.

On July 22, 2009, a teaser trailer from the Mad Hatter's point of view was released on IGN but was shortly taken down because Disney claimed that the trailer was not supposed to be out yet. The teaser was also planned to premiere along with a trailer of Robert Zemeckis' film adaptation of A Christmas Carol on July 24, 2009, for G-Force. The following day, the teaser trailer premiered at Comic-Con but the trailer shown was different than the one that leaked. The ComicCon version didn't have the Mad Hatter's dialogue. Instead, it featured "Time to Pretend" by MGMT, and the clips shown were in a different order than in the leaked version. The leaked version was originally to be shown to one of the three Facebook groups used to promote the film that had the most members. The groups used to promote the film are "The Loyal Subjects of the Red Queen", "The Loyal Subjects of the White Queen" and "The Disloyal Subjects of the Mad Hatter."

Also at the Comic-Con, props from the film were displayed in an "Alice in Wonderland" exhibit. Costumes featured in the exhibit included the Red Queen's dress, chair, wig, spectacles and scepter; the White Queen's dress, wig and a small model of her castle; the Mad Hatter's suit, hat, wig, chair and table; Alice's dress and battle armor (to slay the Jabberwocky). Other props included the "DRINK ME" bottles, the keys, an "EAT ME" pastry and Stand-In models of the White Rabbit and March Hare.

A nighttime party area at the Disney's California Adventure theme park was created, called "Mad T Party".

Video game[]

Main article: Alice in Wonderland (2010 video game)

On July 23, 2009, Disney Interactive Studios announced that an Alice in Wonderland video game, developed by French game studio Étranges Libellules, would be released in the same week as the film for the Wii, Nintendo DS and Microsoft Windows, with the soundtrack being composed by veteran video game music composer Richard Jacques. The Wii, DS, and PC versions were released on March 2, 2010.

Home media[]

Main article: Alice in Wonderland (2010) (video)

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released a 3-disc Blu-ray combo pack (which includes the Blu-ray, DVD and a digital copy), 1-disc Blu-ray and 1-disc DVD on June 1, 2010, in the US and July 1, 2010, in Australia. All versions are presented in 1080p with a 16:9 aspect ratio and Dolby Digital 5.1 HD surround sound. The DVD release includes three short features about the making of the film, focusing on Burton's vision for Wonderland and the characters of Alice and the Mad Hatter. The Blu-ray version has nine additional featurettes centered on additional characters, special effects and other aspects of the film's production. In some confusion, a small number of copies were put on shelves a week before schedule in smaller stores but were quickly removed, although a handful of copies were confirmed purchased ahead of schedule.

In its first week of release (June 1–6, 2010), it sold 2,095,878 DVD units (equivalent to $35,441,297) and topped the DVD sales chart for two continuous weeks. By May 22, 2011, it had sold 4,313,680 units ($76,413,043). It failed to crack the 2010 top ten DVDs list in terms of units sold but reached 10th place on that chart in terms of sales revenue.

Reception[]

Critical reception[]

Alice in Wonderland received generally mixed reviews. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 51% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 263 reviews, with an average score of 5.7/10 and the consensus "Tim Burton's Alice sacrifices the book's minimal narrative coherence -- and much of its heart -- but it's an undeniable visual treat.". Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 1–100 reviews from film critics, has a rating score of 53 based on 38 reviews.

Todd McCarthy of Variety praised it for its "moments of delight, humor and bedazzlement", but went on to say, "But it also becomes more ordinary as it goes along, building to a generic battle climax similar to any number of others in CGI-heavy movies of the past few years". Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter said "Burton has delivered a subversively witty, brilliantly cast, whimsically appointed dazzler that also manages to hit all the emotionally satisfying marks", while as well praising its computer-generated imagery (CGI), saying "Ultimately, it's the visual landscape that makes Alice's newest adventure so wondrous, as technology has finally been able to catch up with Burton's endlessly fertile imagination." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly said, "But Burton's Disneyfied 3-D Alice in Wonderland, written by the girl-power specialist Linda Woolverton, is a strange brew indeed: murky, diffuse, and meandering, set not in a Wonderland that pops with demented life but in a world called Underland that's like a joyless, bombed-out version of Wonderland. It looks like a CGI head trip gone post apocalyptic. In the film's rather humdrum 3-D, the place doesn't dazzle — it droops." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said in his review that, "Alice plays better as an adult hallucination, which is how Burton rather brilliantly interprets it until a pointless third act flies off the rails." The market research firm CinemaScore found that audiences gave the film an average rating of "A-".

Several reviews criticized the decision to turn Alice into a "colonialist entrepreneur" at the end of the film setting sail for China. Given Britain's role in the Opium Wars during the Victorian era and subjugation of China through "unequal treaties", China expert Kevin Slaten writes, "Not only is it troubling imagery for a female role model in a Disney movie, but it's also a celebration of the exploitation that China suffered for a century."

Impact on fashion[]

Many female fans enjoyed Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland from a fashion point of view with many desiring the red dress Alice wears when she's in the Red Queen's Castle. Many fashionistas have done several fashion shows based on Tim Burton's movie, believing that the trend would be hot during the summer season soon after the DVD and Blu-ray release.

Box office performance[]

Alice in Wonderland earned $334,191,110 in North America, as of July 8, 2010, and $691,276,000 in other territories, as of July 10, 2011, for a worldwide total of $1,025,467,110. Worldwide, it is the 42nd highest-grossing film (fifth at the time of its release; behind Avatar, Titanic, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest) and the second highest-grossing 2010 film (behind Toy Story 3). It is the third highest-grossing film starring Johnny Depp, the highest-grossing film directed by Tim Burton and the second highest-grossing children's book adaptation (worldwide, as well as in North America and outside North America separately).

On its first weekend, the film made $220.1 million worldwide, marking the second-largest opening ever for a movie not released during the summer or the holiday period (behind The Hunger Games), the fourth largest for a Disney film and the fourth largest among 2010 films. It dominated for three consecutive weekends at the worldwide box office. On May 26, 2010, its 85th day of release, it became the sixth film ever to surpass the $1-billion-mark and the second film produced and released by Walt Disney Studios that did so.

North America[]

Alice in Wonderland is the twenty-eighth highest-grossing film but out of the top 100 when adjusted for inflation. It is also the second highest-grossing 2010 film, the second highest-grossing film starring Johnny Depp and the highest-grossing film directed by Tim Burton. The film opened on March 5, 2010, on approximately 7,400 screens at 3,728 theaters with $40,804,962 during its first day, $3.9 million of which came from midnight showings, ranking number one and setting a new March opening-day record. Alice earned $116.1 million on its opening weekend, breaking the record for the largest opening weekend in March (previously held by 300), the record for the largest opening weekend during springtime (previously held by Fast and Furious), the largest opening weekend for a non-sequel (previously held by Spider-Man) and the highest one for the non-holiday, non-summer period. However, all of these records were broken by The Hunger Games ($152.5 million) in March 2012. Alice made the twelfth highest-grossing opening weekend of all time and the third largest for a 3D film. Opening-weekend grosses originating from 3D showings were $81.3 million (70% of total weekend gross). This broke the record for the largest opening-weekend 3D grosses but it was topped by Marvel's The Avengers ($108 million). It had the largest weekend per theater average of 2010 ($31,143 per theater) and the largest for a PG-rated film. It broke the IMAX opening-weekend record by earning $12.2 million on 188 IMAX screens, with an average of $64,197 per site. The record was overtaken by Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($15.2 million). Alice remained in first place for three consecutive weekends at the North American box office. Alice closed in theaters on July 8, 2010, with $334.2 million.

International[]

Outside North America, Alice is the twelfth highest-grossing film, the highest-grossing 2010 film, the fourth highest-grossing Disney film, the second highest-grossing film starring Johnny Depp and the highest-grossing film directed by Tim Burton. It began with an estimated $94 million, on top of the weekend box office, and remained at the summit for four consecutive weekends and five in total. In Japan, it stands as the foreign film that reached 10 billion yen in record time (37 days), that is 13 days fewer than Avatar, which is the second fastest. Japan was the film's highest-grossing country after North America, with $133.7 million, followed by the UK, Ireland and Malta ($64.4 million), and France and the Maghreb region ($45.9 million).

Accolades[]

Award	Category	Recipient	Result
83rd Academy Awards	Best Art Direction	Robert Stromberg Karen O'Hara	Won
	Best Visual Effects	Ken Ralston David Schaub Carey Villegas Sean Phillips	Nominated
	Best Costume Design	Colleen Atwood	Won
64th British Academy Film Awards	Best Costume Design
	Best Film Music	Danny Elfman	Nominated
	Best Production Design	Robert Stromberg Karen O'Hara
	Best Special Visual Effects
	Best Makeup and Hair		Won
68th Golden Globe Awards	Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy		Nominated
	Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy	Johnny Depp
	Best Original Score	Danny Elfman
53rd Grammy Awards	Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
ChartAttack's 16th Annual Year-End Readers' Poll	Best Song	Avril Lavigne	Won
2011 Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Movie		Nominated
	Favorite Movie Actor	Johnny Depp	Won
MTV Movie Awards	Global Superstar		Nominated
	Best Movie
	Best Villain	Helena Bonham Carter
National Movie Awards	Best Performance
		Johnny Depp
	Best Fantasy
People's Choice Awards	Favorite Movie
	Favorite Drama Movie
Teen Choice Awards	Best Fantasy Film
	Best Fantasy Actor	Johnny Depp
	Scene Stealer – Female	Anne Hathaway
	Best Fantasy Actress	Mia Wasikowska
	Breakout Female
	Best Fight	Mia Wasikowska vs. The Jabberwock	Won
37th Saturn Awards	Best Fantasy Film
	Best Costume
	Best Make-Up		Nominated
	Best Production Design
	Best Special Effects
2010 Scream Awards	Ultimate Scream
	Best Fantasy Movie
	Best Director	Tim Burton
	Best Fantasy Actress	Mia Wasikowska
	Best Breakout Performance – Female
	Best Fantasy Actor	Johnny Depp
	Best Supporting Actress	Anne Hathaway	Won
	3-D Top Three		Nominated
AD First Half of the Year Awards	Best Art Direction
	Best Visual Effects		Won
	Best Make Up		Nominated
MTV Fan Music Awards	Best Movie Song	Avril Lavigne	Won

Possible stage adaptation[]

Walt Disney Theatrical is already in early talks with Burton and screenwriter Linda Woolverton to develop the property as a Broadway musical. Woolverton authored the screenplay for Disney's The Lion King and is also the Tony Award-nominated book writer of Beauty and the Beast, Aida and Lestat. Burton will also render the overall designs for the stage musical. Woolverton will adapt her screenplay for the stage production. Neither a composer nor songwriting team has been chosen yet. Direction and choreography will be done by Rob Ashford. The musical is aiming to make its world-premiere in London.

Sequel[]

Main article: Alice Through the Looking Glass

On December 7, 2012, Variety announced the development of a sequel to Alice in Wonderland, with Linda Woolverton returning to write a screenplay. On May 31, 2013, James Bobin is in talks to direct the sequel have a working title Into the Looking Glass. On July 12, 2013, it was stated that Johnny Depp was close to signing on to reprise his role as Tarrant Hightopp/Mad Hatter, as his production company, Infinitum Nihil, is planning a move from Warner Bros. Pictures to Disney. On November 22, 2013, it was announced that the sequel would be released on May 27, 2016, and that Bobin would direct the film, along with Mia Wasikowska to return as Alice. On January 21, 2014, there was talk that Sacha Baron Cohen would play the villain role.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

• The film's official novelization was written by Tui T. Sutherland. Her sister, Kari Sutherland, wrote the novelization for its sequel.
  • In the novelization, the prologue is set in 1855 when Alice is 9 years old. The rest of the story takes place 10 years later in 1865, rather than 13 years later as in the film.
    • The novelization of the film's sequel establishes the story takes place three years after the first, in 1868 (and presumably 1869) (making Alice around 22 or 23 years old). However, the actual film establishes that is set in 1874-75; however, Alexandra Ascot still claims that Alice has been traveling for three years^[2] (presumably immediately after the end of the first film, assuming Alice had not returned home and left again more than once), which would retroactively set the first film in 1871, and its prologue in 1858 instead.
    • The novelization's setting the main events of the story in 1865 is a reference to the publication date of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The film being retroactively being set in 1871 sets it in the same year as the publication of Through the Looking-Glass.
• The film's prologue is set in 1858^[1] when Alice is 6 years old and had already visited Underland for the first time. In the original book (published in 1865), Alice was 7 years old when she visited Wonderland, and 7-and-a-half during the events of the second book.

References[]

External links[]

• Alice in Wonderland (2010 film) on Wikipedia
• Alice in Wonderland (2010 film) on IMDb

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Media Films: Alice in Wonderland (video/soundtrack) • Alice Through the Looking Glass (video/soundtrack) Video Games: Disney INFINITY • Disney Infinity: 2.0 Edition • video game • Disney Crossy Road Music: Almost Alice Disney Parks Alice in Wonderland Maze • Mad T Party • The Nightmare Experiment Characters Alice Kingsleigh • Charles Kingsleigh • Margaret Kingsleigh • Helen Kingsleigh • Lady Ascot • Lord Ascot • Hamish Ascot • Fiona and Faith Chattaway • Nivins McTwisp • Tarrant Hightopp • Thackery Earwicket • Mally • Absolem • The Tweedle Boys • Chessur • Uilleam • Bielle • Bayard • Frog Servants • Tall Flowers • The Red Queen • The White Queen • Knave of Hearts • Monkey Servants • Bandersnatch • The Jub Jub Bird • Jabberwocky • Armored Cards • Armored Chess Pieces • Red Queen's Courtiers • Executioner • Time • Wilkins • Seconds • King Oleron and Queen Elsemere • Zanik Hightopp • Tyva Hightopp • Hightopp Clan • Dr. Addison Bennet • Nobody Objects Pishsalver • Upelkuchen • Oraculum • Vorpal Sword • Chronosphere • Mad Hatter's hat Locations England • London • Underland • The Red Queen's Castle • The White Queen's Castle • Time's Castle Songs Alice's Theme • Alice • Just Like Fire • White Rabbit See Also 1951 film • The Lion and the Unicorn • Omaque Umpqua