Alice In Wonderland In Everyday

Aliceheimer’s: Alzheimer’s Through the Looking Glass

The Alice in wonderland storyline has been a long time favorite for many. Whether experienced through musical, film, or via soundtrack, this story has stuck with many for various reasons. Dana Walrat has even found themes of this storyline applicable to her own life, through her experience with her mother’s battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. This storyline even held inspiration behind the creation of her memoir  “Aliceheimer’s: Alzheimer’s Through the Looking Glass,” which details three years of long-term caregiving to her Alzheimer’s afflicted mother.

Themes From Alice in Wonderland

The Author pulls many themes from the original Alice in Wonderland describing memory loss as a “rabbit hole” and coincidentally enough her mother’s name was also Alice! The author also states the connection to the original Alice in Wonderland, explaining that her father often read the story to her as a child and later her and her mother(Alice) would come to recite this tale as adults during her memory care. Reciting old books, songs, or films can be an effective form of memory care and is often used by many top memory care facilities affordable to you through options such as Hybrid-Long Term Care Insurance. Watching a loved one deal with the tumultuous state of dementia or Alzheimer’s can no doubt be an unwinding and confusing journey, similar to that of Alice’s. Although Alzheimer’s can be difficult to navigate, approaching this new and confusing era with somewhat of the wonder from Alice and Wonderland, provides some sort of positive outlet.

Wonderland – The Musical (Review)

Most of us have heard of the story “Alice in Wonderland” in our childhood. We have grown up with the characters Alice, Mad Hatter, Caterpillar, White Knight etc. Who could be more thrilled when a new musical came up based on this very story?

While the makers have been fairly faithful to Lewis Carroll’s original tale, it of course comes with a twist. The new age Alice is someone who texts, tweets, uses Google and is a complete digital era. However, she still finds herself in the Wonderland of old. In this way, this musical becomes endearing to both- the older generation who have grown up reading about Alice in Wonderland as well as to the younger generation , who will be able to relate to and appreciate the multiple references to social networking, texting etc.

It was composed by Frank Wildhorn, directed by Gregory Boyd with Jack Murphy as the lyricist. It boasted of an impressive cast consisting of Janet Dacal, Darren Ritchie, E. Clayton Cornelious, Jose Llana, Karen Mason, Kate Shindle, and Carly Rose Sonenclar among others. The Broadway premiere was held at the Marquis theatre in New York, on April 17, 2011. However, the musical received negative reviews and hence had to close down on May 15, 2011 after 33 performances. However, an original cast recording of the show was released on May 3, 2011.

Wonderland – The Musical traces the journey of Alice – who finds herself in an extremely difficult set of circumstances. She is separated from her spouse and also from her daughter. In addition, she has the fear to lose her hard earned career. A dejected and depressed Alice finds herself in a Wonderland and here she encounters a set of peculiar characters like the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, Chloe, the Queen of Hearts and others in her journey to find her daughter. These characters are strange yet familiar to her as they are dressed in the same dresses that they are known to be wearing in the original “Alice in Wonderland” and somehow she seeks solace from them and rediscovers herself and the wonders in her life.

Alice finally awakens from her dream to find her estranged husband at her doorstep who wants to reconcile and finds that the family is together again thus leading to a “happily ever after” ending to the Musical.

The main characters are as below:-

Alice – The main protagonist

The White Knight – A brave sentimental guy who wants to be Alice’s hero in the story.

Caterpillar – Always speaks in riddles

Mad Hatter – One of the main antagonists in the Musical, someone who would resort to any means to get her own way out.

Queen of Hearts – She seems to be the main villain but in reality is just a pawn.

White Rabbit – A timid guy who resorts to being brave when it comes to rescuing his friends

All in all, Wonderland- the Musical is a sharply narrated and well-paced tale. It is crisp, has humor and an artistic modern style to it which makes it appeal well to both adults as well as children despite all the criticism it received.

12 Things You Didn’t Know About Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland? Well, this is an interesting novel featuring an iconic story written by Lewis Carroll. I went through the book closely and came up with these interesting facts that you are probably unaware of.

  1.   Due to Queen Victoria`s love for the book, she proposed that Lewis dedicates to her his next book. Carroll, of course, granted this favor to the queen.

2.   Lewis Carroll had a rare neurological disorder.

This disease which was first discovered by psychiatrist John Todd, it is said to cause hallucinations and visual objects size is affected and apparently the objects either feels bigger or smaller than they really are. The disease is also popularly known as Todd`s syndrome or Alice in Wonderland syndrome.

3 . China censored the novel in 1931.

China used the argument that animals should not use human language and hence banned the book.

4.   The Mock Soup (Turtle) is actually real

Apparently, the soup is for real and was created from specific calf parts like the hoof, head and the brain it was also a cheaper version of green turtle soup in Victorian times.

5. Elsie, Tillie, and Lacie the three sisters in Dormouse`s story are also used to refer to Liddell and her two sisters.

Tillie is a short form for Matilda, Lacie is as a result of the transformation from Alice and Elsie is from the initials of Lorina Charlotte.

6. The Original illustrator hated the first book.

John Tenniel who was the book illustrator was upset especially due to how horrible the drawings had been reproduced and this made Carroll spend most of his money to reprint the book.

7. Alice character is real.

Her character is based on a real life girl named Alice Liddell. She was a Brunette who requested Carroll to write her story on a boating trip in Oxford.

8. The Cheshire Cat`s Tree In Oxford.

This tree that is said to have inspired the real one is found in a Garden behind Alice`s home in Oxford.

9 . A shorter version of Alice`s Adventures was released for toddlers.

It had 20 of Mr. John Tenniel`s illustrations and it was enlarged, colored and at some instances revised. It was absolutely for children aged from ‘naught to five’

10. It was first made a 12mins movie in 1903.

Director Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stowe made it a 12mins film which happened to be the longest film in Britain.

11. The book has never been out for print.

‘Through the Looking-Glass’ and its continuation ‘What Alice found there’ were already on sale within seven weeks from their publication and the book has been translated to 176 different languages.

12 . Carroll is the Dodo

The Dodo was named from his real name Dodgson. He stutters very much when speaking.

Definitely, it’s one very captivating book that you just can’t avoid!

Is Alice in Wonderland as Special as It’s Said to Be?

Alice is one of those successful stories that almost everyone has heard about. The play has inspired filmmakers and actually led to the making of over 25 different TV and film versions. The first one was an iconic movie made in 1903. But has the play had any special effect on cinema as compared to its contemporaries? Most critics say no.

Alice was first published in 1865 but has been adapted 25 times to date. In comparison, Les Miserables (first published in 1862) has also attracted 25 adaptations, while Crime & Punishment (1866) has attracted over 27 adaptations. Little Women (1868) has had 13 adaptations, while Great Expectations (1861) has recorded at least 15 thus far.

Disney’s adaptation, “Alice in Wonderland”, was released in 1951. The initial release wasn’t so successful, and the film didn’t hit the sweet spot for audiences and critics till decades later. The movie also boasts many other feats. For instance, it was the first cartoon feature that aired on TV and later released as a home video.

Alice does not stand apart from all these contemporaries. It has little in common with them. For instance, there lacks a unifying theme among the novels and other plot structures. Critics have given it credit for attracting a lot of interest from filmmakers. But it’s not alone in this regard. So that’s not really unique.

The simple but brilliant premise of a child finding a portal to another world is probably imagination. If not, others have said it’s so compelling. One of the individuals who has hailed Alice is C.S. Lewis, whose machination, “The Chronicles of Narnia” starts when a kid discovers a fairy tale world from a furs-stuffed wardrobe. Certainly, the premise is utterly compelling. But the same goes for lots of other stories, including some that were published around the same time with Alice.

How Lewis Carroll Invented Alice in Wonderland

Charles Dodgson was born to an Anglican clergyman. He grew up in Yorkshire before going to Rugby school in Warwickshire. As a young child, he was exceptionally bright, even writing poetry and short stories for a family magazine. Charles managed to read Pilgrim’s Progress (by John Bunyan) when he was only 7 years old. He arrived at Oxford in 1850 to study mathematics. It is during his time at Oxford that he chose to change his name to Lewis Carroll.

Apparently, Charles said that he chose this name to “keep the two personalities distinct”, as well as to avoid all communication with the outside world about his books. It was also at Oxford that Lewis shared his imaginary ‘Wonderland’ with the outside world, during a rowing trip with three young girls from the Dean of Christ Church. After hearing about the adventures of Caroll’s ‘little heroine’, one of the three girls (in fact they were all sisters) wanted him to write it all down. He followed through and finished his Manuscript on 10th February 1863.

Lewis was encouraged by encouraged his friend, George MacDonald, who also wrote fairy stories, and novelist Henry Kingsley to have his ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ book published. Once published, Lewis book proved to be so influential that he even wrote a sequel, called “Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There”.

Later on in life, Carroll went against popular opinion when he denied that Alice Liddell, the girl who told him to write down his stories, was the inspiration behind the ‘Alice’ character in his works.

Today, Lewis Carroll’s stories are over 150 years old, but they have never lost their magic or appeal to both children and adults. In fact, they have inspired numerous adaptations, comics, films and plays around the world. They have been translated into more than 100 different languages. One of the most popular film adaptations is the 2010 production by Disney/Tim Burton.

10 Fascinating Facts about Alice in Wonderland

“Alice in Wonderland” is a Disney adaptation of the play “Alice”, which was originally published in 1865. The Play wasn’t a hit at first but picked up later with audiences around the world. It was the first Alice cartoon to air on TV, and also the first to be produced in home video. Below are some fascinating facts about this globally hyped play.

  1. Walt Disney (the genius entrepreneur who founded Disney) had dreamt about making a feature of “Alice” for over 30 years. Once he became a successful animator in the 1930s, Disney thought about a live-action feature of “Alice” that would actually star Mary Pickford. He purchased rights for the film. There were many ups and downs before he finally decided to take the project in a more comic, whimsical direction.
  2. Disney did commission 30 songs for the Alice film. These were based on verses Lewis Carroll himself had cited throughout the book. 14 of these songs actually made the cut, thus making Alice one of the most ‘song-rich’ of all animated musicals from Disney.
  3. Ed Wynn, a popular comic star, was hired to be the voice of the Mad Hatter, thus becoming the first top celeb to have a voice role in an animated feature from Disney. Ed later played live-action roles in a number of Disney movies, including “Mary Poppins”, and “Babes in Toyland”.
  4. Other members of the cast were not as familiar, although Disney viewers would later recognize their voices when they featured in other projects. Alice herself was voiced by Kathryn Beaumont, a 12-year-old who later went on to star as Wendy in “Peter Pan”. Another major role was played by Bill Thompson, who acted as White Rabbit. The Queen of Hearts in the play was voiced by Vema Felton, who later played as Aunt Sarah in another the “Lady and the Tramp” play.
  5. In the opening credits of “Alice in Wonderland”, Disney misspelled the name of Lewis Carroll as “Carrol”.
  6. The play “Alice in Wonderland” cost a whopping $3 million to produce, over a period of 5 years. The entire action involved three directors, 750 artists, 13 highly credited writers, 800 paint gallons, 1,000 watercolor hues, and about 350,000 paintings and drawings. Once released, it only earned back about $2.4 million, which means it was a loss-making operation.
  7. Ward Kimball, an animator working on the project, blamed its failure on competing creators. As he said, there were “too many cooks”. On his part, Walt complained that the heroine in the movie lacked “warmth”.
  8. The film earned a single Academy Award nomination, for the instrumental work done by Oliver Wallace.
  9. In 1960, the film started to pick amongst college-going audiences, who loved its trippy nature, especially when watched under the influence. Walt died in 1966, and the film was re-released again in 1974 and then 1981. It was much more successful this time, earning about $322 over its lifetime.

Spinoffs of Disney’s “Alice” include the 2010 Tim Burton film, its sequel in 2016. In addition, there are stage musicals, the spin tea cup ride in Disney theme parks, and a number of video games.