I'm In A Dark Mood

[crossover_chick]

So allow me to share with you this little tidbit I've been pondering about various versions of Alice In Wonderland. Specifically, everyone who says that the Tim Burton version was excessively dark?

Actually, it fits in perfectly with the old Disney adaptation.

What do I mean, you ask. Well, consider this -- in the book, while the Queen is shown ordering executions, the Gryphon explicitly tells us that they "never execute nobody" and the King is openly shown pardoning the players of the croquet game. The only time he and his wife agree on beheading a creature is when the Cheshire Cat has been annoying the King.

Now, in the original Disney animated feature, the absurdly small King is played up as a comic figure. But think about his dialogue.

He's going along with every execution. In fact, at least once, he tries to claim CREDIT for the idea. Even after asking for Alice to have a trial, once the Queen really blows her top, he's all for beheading Alice. And in this film, there's no Gryphon to assure us that the unfortunate gardeners and croquet arches are NOT going to be killed.

Yeah, Disney's AiW seems a bit Crap-Saccharine when you get into it, doesn't it?

Comments

[tea-holic.livejournal.com]

You speak the truuuuuth! Though the Gryphon's "never execute nobody" is a double negative, so it very well could mean they execute somebody! D:

[geno0823.livejournal.com]

the original book is quite, quite dark.

I didn't like the movie because they tried to stuff all of the commentary, allegory, and nonsense into a standard Joseph Campbell plot. And also because Tim Burton's slipped into being an unoriginal Hot Topic shill.

[docsgirl.livejournal.com]

Hehehe.

Oooh, that's a point. *wince* Though my Annotated Alice has a funny take on it -- the notes for that section say that the "nobody" they don't execute shows up again in "Through The Looking Glass," when Alice tells the White King she sees "nobody" on the road.

[docsgirl.livejournal.com]

My Annotated Alice likes pointing out all the death jokes, yeah.

I liked the movie, but I'll admit that might be because Underland/Wonderland is absolutely gorgeous to look at.