With Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll’s birthday on the horizon, we wanted to follow a few films down the rabbit hole and explore some of the fantasy worlds portrayed in the Victorian-era novel. Ignoring the recent blockbuster monstrosity that is Tim Burton’s movie, we ventured into the pool of tears, got advice from a caterpillar, and attended a mad tea party to find out what movies explore the same kinds of themes that the English author made synonymous with phantasmagorical adventures and self-discovery. Check out our gallery of Alice-inspired cinema past the break, and tell us your picks in the comments below.
Mixing low-fi weirdsies with a live action actress, and his signature stop-motion animated creatures, surreal visionary Jan Svankmajer created a bizarre version of the famed Carroll story in his 1988 movie, Alice. Brain-meltingly strange and often terrifying, the Czech filmmaker uses a slew of grotesque, visceral imagery to emphasize Carroll’s morbid tinges of tragedy. It’s magical to watch Svankmajer’s uncanny juxtaposition of living, breathing things and the imaginary. (See: Alice’s menacing stuffed rabbit with ferocious teeth and bleeding wounds.)
Comments (6)
Pans Labyrinth?
Great list. Like many, many writers over the last century, my latest novel was inspired by Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, and it’s interesting to see how far the book (and it’s sequel) has invaded pop culture, in both literature, art, film and music. Happy Birthday, Charles Lewis Dodgson, and many thanks!
roman polanski’s ‘what’ is a great example
@ALyse: definitely! i just wrote about it for a twisted fairy tales post, so i didn’t want to repeat, but i love the different storybook influences.
@freshliving22: ashamed to say i haven’t seen it before, but i will rectify that this weekend perhaps. thanks!
@Daniel: thanks! glad you enjoyed it.rect
+1 for Coraline, Spirited Away, and Labyrinth – 3 of my all-time favs.
Dreamchild (film with Coral Browne and Ian Holm ; some of the puppets made by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. I’d recommend it …
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