Have you thought that Alice in Wonderland is frightening?

As our household gets excited for the upcoming release of the new Alice in Wonderland film, some people weAnne Hathaway as the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland, holding the Dormouse know or read in forums are admitting that Lewis Carroll's original book was rather frightening to them.  It's hard to pinpoint what some people found frightening, but others specify the oddness of the characters, the way Alice seems to loose control, the original John Tenniel illustrations, or other illustrations or films. 

After talking to a few critics who've seen the film and after watching many of the previews, I'm beKristen Stewart brooding in Twilightginning to think that Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland is going to focus on a  darker interpretation  of the book as well as heightened  conflicts.  Each generation re-interprets classics and it seems that the times are right for an Alice that's not intimidated but finds the world of Wonderland in chaos.  She's a powerful teen-age girl who's ready to fight for what's right, or what seems right anyway. This would dovetail with how Disney is marketing this Alice to tweens and teens enamored with the darkness of the vampires in the Twilight series as well as the brainy, but klutzy, teen-age girl trying to find her way in a confusing, dark world filled with unusual, surreal characters.  By the way, it's worth hanging out at your local mall's Hot Topic store just to see how this linking of Twilight and Alice comes together at the tween/teen hangout. Angst and confusion and Day-Glo stripes, cute Johnny Depp and sweet Anne Hathaway (famed modern Cinderella of Princess Diaries). While you're there, pick up a Cheshire Cat hoodie with key zipper so you can look cool.

Gazing into the Looking-Glass behind high fashion

Alice in Wonderland is inspiring high fashion designers as they pick up on trends from the upcoming film, the Victorian Alice novels and its upper-class, very proper British sensibility. 

Stella McCartney is creating Alice-themed jewelry for Disney that's scheduled to appear in stores in January.  Stella's certainly been steeped in Alice culture through simply being an upper-class girl in England and through her dad's band The Beatles.  John Lennon had numerous references in songs to Lewis Carroll and his world.  Carroll, of course, is pictured on the cover of Sgt. Pepper.Tom Binns' Alice jewelry

Tom Binns, high-end jewelry collaborator with Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren, has a collection of chunky, opulent jewelry with keys and trinkets that are inspired by Alice in Wonderland. These are also in collaboration with Disney and will sell for $100 to $2,000.  Michelle Obama, by the way, has worn Binns' creations.

OPI has a special edition of colors linked to the upcoming Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland film. The glittery, over-the-top colors include: Absolutely Aice, Mad as a Hatter, Off With her Red!, and Thanks So Muchness! 

OPI's display for Alice in Wonderland nail polishFashion has always been an important part of the Alice novels.  Of course, she does spend a great deal of time looking into a Looking-Glass. Carroll, too, was a devotee to fashion.

According to Alice Liddell, Carroll "always wore black clergyman's clothes in Oxford, but when he took us out on the river, he used to wear white flannel trousers.  He also replaced his black top-hat with a hard white straw hat on those occassions, but of course retained his black boots, because in those days white tennis shoes had not yet been heard of."  Carroll favored black, always a fashion statement, and tended to wear his hair longer than others.  He was decidedly class conscious in his clothes.  He almost always wore gloves in public.

In the novels, Alice is a bit of a snob, a proper upper-middle-class child who longs toStella McCartney's jewelry inspired by Alice in Wonderland play croquet with royalty.  When she falls down the rabbit hole and wonders who she is she is afraid she might be Mabel and be forced to live in that "poky little house" and "have next to no toys to play with."

More fashion designers teaming with Disney include Sue Wong for Walt Disney Signature. "I have long been mesmerized by the fantastical tales of Alice and her surrealistic adventures in Wonderland and am thrilled to be collaborating with Disney on this project," explains designer Sue Wong whose Alice clothes will be sold in Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom's, Lord and Taylor and Macy's, as well as on www.SueWong.com.

Alice Is The New Black. Here's a video of how Disney promoted its high-end fashion last year at the MAGIC Convention in Las Vegas.

SyFy Alice

We watched the SyFy channel's Alice over weekend, thanks to a tip from a friend from IU.  It seemed like a Caterina Scorsone as Aliceslightly odd revamp through the mindset of Dr. Who.  Kathy Bates was interesting as the Red Queen, particularly in the red butterfly chair.  Harry Dean Stanton as the Caterpillar seemed like a good choice. 

Lots of references to the original texts, many of which seemed rather obvious.  for instance, when you saw the crib didn't you just expect to see a pig in there?  The discussion boards on Alice have details on the many references.

Harry Dean Stanton as the Caterpillar