ALICE IN WONDERLAND - Analysis

ALICE IN WONDERLAND (2010)

• The story is inspired by Lewis Carroll’s 1865 novel and is the second Disney adaptation, the first being a cartoon
• STARRING – Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Stephen Fry, Alan Rickman, Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall
• PRODUCED BY –  Richard D. Zanuck, Joe Roth, Suzanna Todd, Jenifer Todd
• STUDIO – Walt Disney Pictures, Roth Films, The Zanuck Company, Team Todd
• DISTRIBUTED BY – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
•  RELEASE –  February 25^th 2010 (UK), March 5^th 2010 (US)
•  BUDGET - $150-$200million
• BOX OFFICE - $1,025,467,110

The opening sequence of this film does not contain any credits, only the name of the production companies and the movie title. It then goes straight into action with a flash back of Alice as a child. The first shot is an establishing shot, panning aerially over the dark houses where it finally settles on the bright window of an old looking house. This is evidently where we are supposed to look and inside will be our setting for the opening sequence. The first characters we are introduced to are Alice’s father and some of his business partners; we can tell when this film is set through their 19^th Century clothing and diegetic speech being of the period.

The props and setting also help to show when the time period as the props are old vintage looking, these props also reveal the class of the characters as the props appeared to be expensive and “posh” showing they are wealthy and therefore upper class. The added fact that the father is with business partners shows he is successful as well.

                The genre of the movie is well established in the opening through the mise-en-scene showing that it is a fantasy as the bright colours and exaggerated costumes are conventions of this genre. The genre of this film has changed with its target audience as the original ‘Alice in Wonderland’ was aimed at children but this later Tim Burton version contains elements of dark and horror in it making it suitable for those who grew up with the Disney classic cartoon of the original.

                The music is mysterious sounding and almost eerie which expresses the fact that this is not your usual fairy tale story. The non-diegetic soundtrack also plays with the idea of fantasy and normally fantasy films are combined with grand soundtracks. The non-diegetic music is replaced by the diegetic speech of the characters making it seem unfinished adding to a sense of foreboding.

                The director also uses framing to highlight Alice as the main character as she appears in the doorframe making her stand out as a character, emphasising the fact that she is the main character within the movie. We will be using this within our own sequence, highlighting the main character early on to make sure the audience knows who they are.

                They have also chosen to use editing and camera angles to show that Alice is a vulnerable character, by using a high angled shot on her when she is talking to her father through shot reverse shot. By using a shot reverse shot shows that she is less powerful than her father as a character, this adds to the idea that she is vulnerable, later to be challenged by her powerful character later on.