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Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland was one of my favorite animated Disney fairytales when I was younger. I loved the fantasy world it created and the many animals that came to life across the screen. Upon watching Professor Amiran's lectures on surrealism in children's books and its discussion of identity and how it is altered by reality and dreams, I have developed a new perspective of the story. Although difficult to set aside my view of Alice in Wonderland as a simple fairytale about a fun-loving girl and silly animals, it has been very interesting to embrace the story and its unique visual aspects with new awareness as an engaged viewer.
Uncanny Effects Seen in Cheshire Cat
Uncanny Effects Seen in Cheshire Cat
In this scene, the Cheshire Cat is portrayed as an uncanny animal. As he disappears into the dark, his floating eyes and floating grin strike us, producing an eerie and frankly unsettling feeling. As viewers, the sight of only a pair of eyes and a grin is strange, but for Alice specifically, seeing Cheshire Cat's body morph and re-arrange itself throughout this scene is an oddly familiar experience. She herself, feels her body transform time and time again as she shrinks and grows abruptly. Because of this constant transformation, Alice is inevitably uncomfortable, and likely confused about her sense of self. In this scene, Alice identifies with the Cheshire Cat, to an extent that makes her insecure, exemplified when she claims "I don't want to go among mad people," to which Cheshire Cat responds "most everyone's mad here." Cheshire Cat's response reflects the animation's repetition of scenes of transformation, which serves to present a surrealist viewing experience.
How Time Interacts with Reality and Dreams
How Time Interacts with Reality and Dreams
This scene begins with Alice chasing after White Rabbit, who runs while holding a pocket watch. When examining surrealist effects in various works, a notable theme is the idea of time. In this case, White Rabbit could be interpreted as time itself. Alice is trying to keep up with time as she runs after White Rabbit, but once she falls into the hole, time seems to stop. The White Rabbit, or the presence of time, is no longer in her sight and she appears to fall slowly, floating through the seemingly endless hole.
Alice running in the outside world, where it is bright and sunny, can be considered "reality." Once she falls into the rabbit hole, where it is dark and mysterious, she enters the "dream" world, where she is now more powerful than she is in the existing social world and limitations do not seem to exist. For example, when Alice falls into the hole, given the laws of gravity, one would expect her to tumble and crash at the bottom. Instead, she gracefully makes her descent, her dress acting as a parachute, and supporting objects like the rocking chair simply floating towards her. While it at first appears that the two realms of reality and dreams are distinct, the appearance of the grandfather clock and its striking sound effects [1:47] says differently. The symbol of time resurfaces, bringing together the two realms, as proven in the following clips [2:17] where light and color gradually become perceivable again. The reappearance of time combines the interrelated realms of reality and dreams, working to create the surrealist effect that we observe.
Identity Crisis
Identity Crisis
As mentioned earlier, Alice experiences a series of transformations as she grows and shrinks to different sizes. This unexpected change leads to confusion, which is amplified when she begins to identify with animals and beings in nature. As the English poet and artist Edward Lear argues in his limericks, when people identify with animals, their social and non-social identities become difficult to distinguish. In this scene, Alice, shrunken in size, encounters a field of talking flowers who begin to sing with her. As the scene concludes, the flowers confuse Alice for being a flower herself, poking fun at her "petals" (skirt) ands "stems" (legs). After Alice asserts that she is indeed not a flower, the other flowers rudely push her away.
In this encounter, Alice's skirt being confused for a flower petal hints at the surrealist idea of clothing as a representation of social conventions. In order to fit in with the other flowers, Alice should have a specific type of "petal" (skirt). However, because her "petal" doesn't fit in with the other flowers' ideal type, she is socially rejected and turned away. Here, Alice's skirt or "petal" is one aspect that would allow her to be socially accepted in this fantasy world. Nonetheless, having the "wrong" type of petal, she is made an outcast, simply because she does not "correctly" identify with the other flowers.
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