‘Alice in Wonderland’ remake provides complex storyline

When I first heard the senior Homecoming theme was “Alice in Wonderland,” I was disappointed. It was at least a widely known story, but “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” or even some of the other themes felt like they had more exciting plots and more unique characters.

Yet I decided to give the movie a chance and watched Tim Burton’s 2010 “Alice in Wonderland.” I was surprised to find it set in the Victorian era, with a young blond girl named Alice Kingsleigh describing a recurring nightmare where she sees many characters similar to that of the original 1951 “Alice in Wonderland.”

The movie fades to 13 years later, where it quickly becomes clear that the now-teenaged Alice is opposed to all things regarding tradition, like wearing Victorian corsets or stockings, and being a silent, man-needing woman.

I don’t remember much about the original 1951 “Alice in Wonderland” movie, but one of the most memorable parts occurs when a bunny holding a big clock runs away frantically yelling, “I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date!” Since the bunny in the 2010 movie does not say this line and looks far more like a normal bunny, I was fairly disappointed.

From there, the plot of the original story began. Alice falls down the hole below a tree, drinks and eats some food to grow and shrink and escapes from a room.

But the whole landscape of Underland and Alice’s falling down the tunnel is quite impressive visually. When the doors open to reveal the magic world of Underland, the computer-generated landscape images provide the mysterious sort of environment that fit well with the dreary mood created by the Red Queen’s rule.

Although Alice firmly believes that she is in a dream, she is proven wrong when she is physically hurt. She is introduced to the troubles in Underland, where the evil Red Queen constantly battles against the White Queen, who used to rule and now is the head of a resistance.

The characters have a scroll to predict the future, and Alice appears to play a crucial part in returning the crown to the White Queen.

This plot is evidently much more complex that the 1951 plot of Alice’s simply trying to return home in a land of her dream. Yet many of the characters from the original appear in this remake, including notable supporting characters like Cheshire Cat and Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

As Alice continues on her adventure through the land, she shows courage and cleverness in outsmarting the enemy. The movie is able to introduce moments of moving character development that make the complex plot much more amusing, especially as it’s claimed that the characters are real, unlike the dream setting of the original movie.

With this movie as the senior Homecoming theme, I’ve realized that the class has a lot of possibilities for decorations that are easily identifiable as “Alice in Wonderland,” such as the Cheshire Cat and army of cards. While some of the costumes might have to be somewhat elaborate, like Alice’s dress or the Red Queen’s facial features, characters like Tweedledee and Tweedledum can be easily outfitted and recognizable.

Having watched the more recent film, I see “Alice in Wonderland” as a decent choice for the senior class, and I look forward look forward to seeing some of the classic moments and characters represented in my class’s Homecoming skits and dances.