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What makes Alice in Wonderland so appealing?

Just another ISTJ

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This is something I've pondered from time to time, especially after hearing about Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland opening with a record setting$112 million weekend. What makes Alice in Wonderland so special for so many people?

It seems to hold some sort of personal importance, particularly from NFs based on my observations. If I were to wager a guess, it has to do with the world that is presented. One that is entirely the construct of someone's imagination. Other than that...is there anything else to it that I'm not seeing?
 

ajblaise

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I think it's the whole acid-trip dark fantasy aspect that lots of people gravitate to. I know people who never ever pick up books, but they read Alice in Wonderland.

If Disney did this film, rather than someone like Tim Burton, it wouldn't do as well I don't think. It's not just another Disney-type fantasy.
 

Shimmy

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I think it's the whole acid-trip dark fantasy aspect that lots of people gravitate to. I know people who never ever pick up books, but they read Alice in Wonderland.

If Disney did this film, rather than someone like Tim Burton, it wouldn't do as well I don't think. It's not just another Disney-type fantasy.

The original cartoon was probably the best movie I've ever seen when I watched it on psylocibin.
 

neptunesnet

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It's funny because as a child I adored Alice in Wonderland, but it frightened me. It was actually the only thing that scared me at that age. I'd seen Hitchcock and Dracula and every Mike Myers sequel, and nothing. Those evoked no fear in me. But turn on Alice in Wonderland, and I was sure to be clutching my pillow by the end. Now that I think about it, it was that way for me with Neverending Story and the Wizard of Oz, too. Those were some of my favorites growing up, but they all frightened me, or rather made me anxious, upset. I believe it has something to do with the protagonists being lost, separated from family & far from home, and thrown into an foreign, unsympathetic world where they have to find their way back to safety and familiarity by themselves. I was sensitive to that sort of stuff early on.

Also, Alice in Wonderland was special because it looked different. Everything about it was strange and new and so colorful. Children eat that stuff up.

I haven't seen Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland yet. I still might not, just because.
 
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Beats me. I never found much to like in the story. I suspect, much like The Wizard of Oz (another movie I don't see the appeal of), it's too far removed from reality for me to have anything to grab onto.
 

Tiltyred

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As regards the books, Alice is so quietly thoughtful and reasonable about the most absurd of circumstances that you can't help but like her. As regards the move, give me Tim Burton/Johnny Depp/Helena Bonham Carter, and I will go see it, I don't care what it's about.
 
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Tallulah

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I loved Through the Looking Glass because it was both amusing and dark--an unexpected combination in a children's book. JK Rowling and Roald Dahl both seemed to understand that it's also a winning combination.
 

speculative

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I loved Through the Looking Glass because it was both amusing and dark--an unexpected combination in a children's book. JK Rowling and Roald Dahl both seemed to understand that it's also a winning combination.

And so did Tolkien...
 

Thalassa

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Alice in Wonderland is also a story about self-discovery ... it's a story in which a young girl realizes that she can take control of her own destiny. Both in the original story and the recent film she has a moment where she has this epiphany.

It's also just a delightful tale about a strange world. The vocabulary in the novel itself is exquisite, and the play on words is delightful.
 

JoSunshine

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I was out-voted when I went to the movies with a group last friday and ended up in Alice in Wonderland. I didn't think I would like it - I was right.
 

Vasilisa

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I loved the Alice books as a kid. Maybe it is an NF thing: an absurd, illogical world where Alice tries very earnestly to make sense of what is going on around her and adapt, all while she is being misunderstood. When I was little, I too, felt like I could easily slip into another world at any moment. Its more about a Victorian dream-world than a drug world. Its so much inventive poetry, songs. I appreciated it even before I knew how full the books are of references to things in Carroll's day. They aren't for everybody. If you can't appreciate the mysterious world, maybe you'd appreciate how many logic problems and mathematical concepts are in the books.

I recommend the Annotated Alice books by Martin Gardner.
Look to the books, too, if you want to understand the phenomenon. The movies don't really portray the books that well. Some versions are truer than others, but its difficult to capture the magic and all her internal monologue. Maybe the 1999 TV movie was the truest.
 

The_Liquid_Laser

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A group of us went to see this movie with an ISFJ friend of ours who is a huge fan of the Alice books. She really didn't like this version of Alice. Her favorite part of the books is how the world always seems mysterious, i.e. you often can't tell if a creature is going to be benevolent or not, and you don't know what weird thing is going to happen next. Also the books (and other movies) put more effort in making you see things from Alice's perspective, i.e. you feel like you are Alice.

I personally see this movie more like "Alice in Narnia". It felt more like a Narnia story than a Wonderland story. I.e. after a little while you get used to being in this magical world, the animals are totally benevolent, and Alice is there to fulfill some prophecy.
 

cafe

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I haven't read the books, but I hated the Disney version. I hate trippy things like Fantasia and the drunk scene in Dumbo.
 

prplchknz

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1.)tim burton
2.)johnny depp
3.)alot of people enjoyed the book by lewis caroll and like tim burton and want to see his spin on it (why I saw it) not too mention I think Johnny Depp is one of the most talented actors of the era.

not too mention the last movie I saw in theatres was clover field.
 

Valiant

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Beats me. I never found much to like in the story. I suspect, much like The Wizard of Oz (another movie I don't see the appeal of), it's too far removed from reality for me to have anything to grab onto.

Yeah, I get the same from lots of things...
I love fantasy etc, but it will have to be scientific in a way, almost.
I hate these drug-inspired crap stories.
 

Randomnity

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Never liked the book, movie trailer didn't appeal to me so I haven't seen it. A few friends saw it and didn't like it much, so I doubt I'll see it.

Not a big fan of Tim Burton's movies in general actually (I know, blasphemy). To me it seems like he just tries to make weird-looking movies and everything else normally found in movies(plot, character development, etc) comes a distant second in priority.
 

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I didn't see the movie because it was directed by Tim Burton. The original was one of my favorite movies of all time. I couldn't watch it be destroyed.
 
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