Disney's Alice in Wonderland is a magical journey into nonsense. But for all the childish delight
this classic animated movie has to offer, it also has a more grown-up side. From its philosophical
origins to its love of the psychedelic, these are things only adults notice in Alice in Wonderland.
If you watch Alice in Wonderland as a grown-up, it becomes immediately apparent just how unsupervised
Alice actually is. Although her sister appears to be old enough to look out for the both of them,
the lack of any parental presence throughout the course of the film
might prompt you to wonder just where all the responsible adults are supposed to be.
When the film hit theaters in the early 1950s — in fact, until relatively recently — free
range children were the norm, rather than the exception. used to be told to
play outside with other neighborhood children and come home when the streetlights came on.
Entire hours would go by where the only parent any kid encountered was Mother Nature.
And while the modernization of society generally comes with its improvement, modern times also have
their own problems and challenges. Thanks to everything from infectious diseases to
advancements in computing, kids nowadays generally spend more time inside than their predecessors —
for better or for worse. Either way, Alice certainly has the edge on modern youngsters
here... and maybe it's not so surprising that she finds it so easy to wander off the beaten path.
Before he put pen to paper, Lewis Carroll's stories originated as oral tales he would
regale to colleagues and their children, while boating between Oxford and Woodstock — two
locations rooted deep in English history. Eager to entertain older minds as well as younger ones,
Carroll took inspiration from his surroundings and his experiences in higher education,
layering them into his stories as they developed.
A palpable sense of childish fancy is plainly apparent in his stories, but they
are also laden with subtle hints at more mature subjects, including riddles and numbers games,
critical thinking, philosophy, and local history. Disney's Alice in Wonderland begins with Alice's
older sister reading her excerpts from some of that history. This scene even features
quotes from a real-life historical text: Havilland Chepnell's Short Course of History.
"And even Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury,
agreed to meet with William and offer him the crown."
This same passage makes an appearance in Lewis Carroll's novel. In fact, the book was studied
by Alice Liddell, one of Carroll's dearest child-friends, and the real-life inspiration for
Alice in Wonderland. Throughout his life, Carroll was friends with the children of his colleagues,
which was actually pretty normal for a Victorian bachelor — but the nature of these friendships
and Carroll's sexual identity has long been a hotbed of debate among scholars. Interestingly,
the chosen excerpt is from a chapter examining the rise and fall of the House of Normandy,
an era of history rife with noblewomen and princesses who were named Alice.
Sharper eyes will note a distinctive tower shape in the background of the opening and closing
scenes of Alice in Wonderland, which has left many kids wondering if Alice lives in a castle.
In fact, this is none other than Christ Church Cathedral, on the grounds of the prestigious
Oxford University in which Carroll lived, studied, and worked for his entire adult life.
Before he was an author, Lewis Carroll was known best by his birth name, Charles Lutwidge
Dodgson. He was a brilliant mathematician and inventor, devoted scholar, and deacon of the
Anglican Church, all of which would influence his fiction later in life. James Joyce, Salvador Dalí,
numerous video game and comic book creators, and, of course, Walt Disney have all been influenced by
Carroll's work. As a further homage to Alice in Wonderland's real-world origins and influences,
a rowboat can be spotted in a pond in the first scene. This was thoughtfully placed as an homage
to the camaraderie-filled boat-rides which helped inspire Carroll's fictional works.
As a kid, watching Alice in Wonderland is a simple, whimsical trip into a world of
technicolor fantasy. As an adult, however, one can't help but derive deeper meaning from what
might otherwise seem like nonsense — particularly with regards to psychology and philosophy.
Alice's adventures begin the moment she trails her fingers across the surface of a garden pond.
In its reflection appears the White Rabbit, running late as ever. This imagery, and her
ensuing fall down the rabbit hole, has been interpreted as symbolizing the unconscious mind,
which can only be accessed via dreams, trances, or other similar states.
Hidden within the unconscious mind, according to some psychologists and philosophers,
are all the unknown aspects of oneself, including repressed urges, fears, traumas, and beliefs.
Dreaming is one way for the unconscious mind to communicate with the conscious mind, particularly
when one is undergoing a psychological imbalance that can be harmful to one's well-being — sort
of like how a car's check engine light alerts its owner to issues they might otherwise miss.
Carl Jung called these revelatory visions "Big Dreams," and dedicated his life to the study
and interpretation of symbolic dream imagery. Likewise, the dream imagery in Alice in Wonderland
has not gone unnoticed by academics, and continues to be studied and discussed to this day.
While older viewers will notice a prolific use of dream symbolism in Alice in Wonderland, others
hold a very different — and far more controversial — perspective on the story's imagery: That Alice
is actually under the influence of mind-altering substances. Throughout the course of the film,
Alice consumes a variety of beverages, pastries, and even mushrooms, all of which alter her
perspective by causing her to grow or shrink in size. The use of mushrooms in particular spurs
this theory on, which was initially popularized by the counterculture movement of the 1960s.
Most famously, the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane stoked the fires of this theory with the
release of their 1967 hit, "White Rabbit" — a song which makes explicit reference to pills,
hookah-smoking, and being "off your head."
This track became an iconic anthem of '60s counterculture, and ushered in a
slew of similar interpretations from other artists and authors,
including Go Ask Alice, a fictional account of a teen girl's spiral into addiction. Ironically,
Lewis Carroll has no documented history of pervasive drug use,
and all indications are that he would actually be rather appalled by this interpretation.
Many animation studios, including Disney, have become notorious for
layering adult humor into their films — and Alice in Wonderland is no exception.
Early in the movie, Alice finds herself stuck inside the White Rabbit's house after nibbling
on a pastry which makes her grow to monstrous proportions. In an effort to prevent this from
happening, the rabbit runs into the house — and back out again, when Alice grows too large.
Sharp eyes following his path will note a family portrait lining the stairs — but this is no
ordinary domestic depiction. Whereas your average family unit is composed of a handful of people,
there are so many children and other relations pictured in the Rabbit's family that one
single frame runs the entire length of the stairs.
The kids won't pick up on it, but older viewers will be more than aware
that this is a sneaky, risqué reference to the phrase "multiplying like rabbits."
"Golden Afternoon" is one of the most beautiful songs from Alice in Wonderland.
This delightful singalong is shared with Alice by a group of anthropomorphic flowers.
The gorgeous scenery they provide makes this a high point of the movie — that is,
until the flowers take a shocking turn in their attitudes.
Curious about their unexpected guest's origins,
they ask Alice what kind of garden she comes from. But when she explains she doesn't come
from a garden, her new friends assume she has more uncouth origins as a wildflower,
and their attitudes take a very dark turn indeed. They then go on to criticize Alice
with rude statements clearly meant to cause her emotional distress over her physical appearance.
"Just look at those stems." "Rather scrawny, I'd say."
When a sweet-natured baby rosebud remarks that she thinks Alice is pretty,
her mother tells her to be quiet while covering her mouth. The turbulence gets kicked up even
more when Alice declares she's not a flower at all, which drives the others to assume she is,
quote, "nothing more" than a "common weed." This assumption stirs them into a frenzy,
eager to shoo Alice away before she "goes to seed" and spreads "weeds in their bed."
Alice is right when she declares these flowers could learn a few things about manners,
of course. And whether this is taken as a reference to class snobbery,
Alice's rebelliousness, or even body-shaming,
21st century adults will know better that what those flowers are saying just isn't cool.
For as long as humans have existed, we've marveled over the puzzling nature of who we
are and how we came to be. This is a deeply complex question, of course, and basically
every culture in human history has developed its own theories in an attempt to answer it.
On the surface, Alice's encounter with the hookah-smoking Caterpillar is merely
a string of silly puns — likewise, his insistence on asking Alice who she is
could easily be interpreted as a simple question from one stranger to another.
However, some viewers might note hints of Eastern philosophy present in the Caterpillar's character.
Schools of thought and religions from the far East, like Taoism and Buddhism,
often interrogate concepts of an individual "self," separate from the divine. Instead,
many believe the sensation of self is a hallucination, and hold to the philosophy
that all beings are manifestations of a single energy source. Consider Zen koans,
which are thought exercises — often in the form of stories or riddles — that are designed to break
the student out of stagnant ways of thinking and stimulate enlightenment. Sound familiar?
"If you ask me…"
"You? Who are you?"
Since animation has permeated popular culture over the last century,
viewers have come to identify characters by the sound of their voice just as much as their outward
appearance. And thanks to the many talented actors who have turned to voice acting over the years,
these characters are brought to life in ways that transcend the written word.
Some voice actors are true masters of their craft, capable of portraying dozens of characters for
various features in their lifetimes, each with a unique voice and cadence. One of those legendary
talents was the great Sterling Holloway, who voice-acted in more than one hundred radio
programs, TV shows, and animated films during a prolific career spanning nearly five decades.
Sterling took on numerous projects for Disney during that time,
voicing iconic characters like Sleepy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,
Winnie the Pooh, and even the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland. It's easy to miss as a kid,
but adult ears will find Sterling's unique, tinny rasp very easy to identify.
"I just wanted to ask you which way I ought to go."
"Well, that depends… on where you want to get to."
During the climax to Alice in Wonderland, Alice finds herself in the Red Queen's kingdom.
And, to her dismay, Alice quickly learns that this royal ruler has some serious anger
issues. Switching between a calm, ladylike demeanor, and maniacal, serial killer-level wrath,
the Red Queen carries her weight around with all the grace of an elephant in a glassware shop.
The fear of the queen is so deeply instilled in her subjects, in fact,
that Alice finds anthropomorphic playing cards painting white roses red,
because they accidentally planted the wrong color. When the Queen catches them in the act,
she demands their death by execution with one of the story's most iconic lines.
"Off with their heads!"
This phrase is a notable favorite of the Red Queen, who expresses a repeated desire
to kill her own people. And then there are the numerous acts of animal cruelty.
In a twisted version of croquet, the Queen uses live animals in place of traditional equipment:
Flamingos replace mallets, hedgehogs are used in place of balls, and playing cards replace hoops.
It's all pretty dark stuff, even for Alice in Wonderland, and as an adult it's hard not to feel
particularly bad for the Red Queen's subjects. Thankfully, Alice escapes the Red Queen's rage,
returning home safe and sound by awaking from what appears to be a dream. Or so it seems…
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