Alice in Wonderland (2010 film)

Alice in Wonderland
Middle piece of the triptych poster
Directed by	Tim Burton
Produced by	Richard D. Zanuck Joe Roth Suzanne Todd Jennifer Todd
Screenplay by	Linda Woolverton
Based on	Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
Starring	Mia Wasikowska Johnny Depp Anne Hathaway Helena Bonham Carter Crispin Glover Stephen Fry Alan Rickman Michael Sheen Timothy Spall
Music by	Danny Elfman
Cinematography	Dariusz Wolski
Editing by	Chris Lebenzon
Studio	Roth Films Team Todd Tim Burton Productions The Zanuck Company
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures
Release date(s)	February 25, 2010 (2010-02-25) (London) March 5, 2010 (2010-03-05)
Running time	108 minutes
Country	United States United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$150[1][2]–$200[3] million
Box office	$1,024,299,904[4]

Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American computer-animated/live action fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton, written by Linda Woolverton, and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film stars Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Michael Sheen, Matt Lucas and Stephen Fry.

The film is inspired by Lewis Carroll's 1865 fantasy novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass. Wasikowska plays the now nineteen-year-old Alice who, 13 years after her previous visit, returns for the first time as a young woman. She is told that she is the only one who can slay the Jabberwocky, a dragon-like creature controlled by the Red Queen who terrorizes Underland's inhabitants.

The film premiered in London at the Odeon Leicester Square on February 25, 2010, and was released in Australia on March 4, 2010, and the United States and the United Kingdom on March 5, 2010, through IMAX 3D and Disney Digital 3D, as well as in traditional theaters. Despite its short theatrical release window and mixed reviews, the film grossed over $1.02 billion worldwide. At the 83rd Academy Awards, Alice in Wonderland won for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. As of October 2011, it is the ninth highest-grossing film of all time.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast and characters 2.1 Voices 3 Production 4 Music 4.1 Soundtrack 4.2 Almost Alice 5 Release 5.1 Marketing 5.2 Video game 5.3 Home media 6 Reception 6.1 Box office performance 6.1.1 North America 6.1.2 Other countries 6.2 Critical response 6.3 Accolades 7 Possible stage adaptation 8 References 9 External links

Plot

Troubled by a strange recurring dream and mourning the loss of her beloved father, nineteen-year-old Alice Kingsleigh attends a garden party at Lord Ascot's estate, where she is confronted by an unwanted marriage proposal and the stifling expectations of the society in which she lives. Unsure of how to reply, and increasingly confused, she runs away to chase after a rabbit in a blue waistcoat, and accidentally falls into a large rabbit hole. She is transported to a world called Underland, where she is greeted by the White Rabbit, the Dormouse, the Dodo, and Tweedledum and Tweedledee. They argue over her identity as "the right Alice", who it is foretold will slay the Red Queen's Jabberwocky on the Frabjous Day and restore the White Queen to power. The group is then ambushed by the Bandersnatch and a group of playing-card soldiers led by the Knave of Hearts. Alice escapes and flees into the woods.

The Knave informs the Red Queen that Alice has returned to Underland and threatens her reign, and the soldiers are ordered to find Alice immediately. Meanwhile, the wandering Alice encounters the Cheshire Cat, who takes her to the March Hare and the Hatter. On the way to the White Queen's castle, Hatter relates the terror of the Red Queen's reign, and comments that Alice is not the same as she once was. The Hatter helps Alice avoid capture by allowing himself to be seized instead. Later, Alice is found by Bayard the Bloodhound, who wishes to take her to the White Queen, but Alice insists upon helping the Hatter, so they go to the Red Queen's castle.

The Red Queen is unaware of Alice's true identity and therefore welcomes her as a guest. Alice learns that the Vorpal Sword (the only weapon capable of killing the Jabberwocky) is locked away in a case inside the Bandersnatch's den. The Knave crudely attempts to seduce Alice, but she rebuffs him. She later manages to retrieve the sword and befriend the Bandersnatch. The Knave finds her with the sword and attempts to arrest her. Alice escapes on the back of the Bandersnatch and delivers the sword to the White Queen. The Cheshire Cat saves the Hatter from execution, and the Hatter calls for rebellion against the Red Queen. The rebellion is quickly put down by Jubjub bird. The resistance flees to the White Queen's castle, and both armies prepare for battle. Alice remains unsure about the expectation for her to champion the White Queen, and meets with Absolem^[5] the Caterpillar. He reminds Alice of her past visit to Underland (which she mistakenly called "Wonderland" at the time) thirteen years earlier, and helps give her the courage to fight the Jabberwocky.

When the Frabjous Day arrives, both the White and Red Queens gather their armies on a chessboard-like battlefield and send forth their chosen champions (armor-clad Alice and the Jabberwocky respectively) to decide the fate of Underland. Encouraging herself with the words of her late father, Alice manages to kill the Jabberwocky. The White Queen then banishes the Red Queen and the Knave to the Outlands, and gives Alice a vial of the Jabberwocky’s blood, which will take her home. The Hatter suggests that she could stay in Underland, but she decides that she must go back and promises that she will return.

Alice returns home, where she stands up to her family and pledges to live life on her own terms. Impressed, Lord Ascot takes her in as his apprentice, with the idea of establishing oceanic trade routes to China. As the story closes, Alice prepares to set off on a trading ship. Absolem, now a butterfly, lands on her shoulder. Alice recognizes him and greets him before he flutters away.

Cast and characters

The film features a variety of characters, many of whom are based on characters that are featured in works by Lewis Carroll.

• Mia Wasikowska as Alice Kingsleigh. When creating the character, screenwriter Linda Woolverton researched how young women were expected to behave in the Victorian era and then made her the opposite.^[6] Wasikowska read Carroll's books as a child and re-read them to prepare for her role. She also watched Jan Švankmajer's Alice. She said, "When we were kids, my mum would pop it in the VCR player. We would be disturbed, and wouldn't really understand it, but we couldn't look away because it was too intriguing. So I had kept that feeling about Alice, a kind of haunting feeling."^[7] Although facing pressures to conform to society's expectations, Alice grows into a stronger-willed and empowered heroine who chooses her own path; Independent columnist Liz Hoggard praised Alice as a role model for girls, describing the character as "stubborn, brave, [and] non-girlie".^[6][8] Mairi Ella Challen portrayed Alice as a six-year-old.^[9]
• Johnny Depp as The Hatter.^[5] Wasikowska said that the characters "both feel like outsiders and feel alone in their separate worlds, and have a special bond and friendship."^[10][11] Burton explained that Depp "tried to find a grounding to the character... as opposed to just being mad."^[12] Burton also said that, "In a lot of versions it's a very one-note kind of character and you know [Depp's] goal was to try and bring out a human side to the strangeness of the character."^[12] The orange hair is an allusion to the mercury poisoning suffered by milliners who used mercury to cure felt, Depp believes that the character "was poisoned... and it was coming out through his hair, through his fingernails and eyes".^[13] Depp and Burton decided that the Hatter's clothes, skin, hair, personality and accent would change throughout the film to reflect his emotions.^[14] In an interview with Depp, the character was paralleled to "...a mood ring, [as] his emotions are very close to the surface".^[15] The Hatter is "made up of different people and their extreme sides", with a gentle voice much like the character's creator Lewis Carroll reflecting the lighter personality and with a Scottish Glaswegian accent (which Depp modeled after Gregor Fisher's Rab C. Nesbitt character) reflecting a darker, more dangerous personality.^[16] Illusionary dancer David "Elsewhere" Bernal doubled for Depp during the "Futterwacken" sequence near the end of the film.^[17]

• Helena Bonham Carter as Iracebeth of Crims, the Red Queen, which is a combination of the Red Queen and the Queen of Hearts.^[5] Her first name is a play on the word irascible, as she is easily irritated and quick to anger.^[18] Bonham Carter's head was digitally increased to three times its original size on screen.^[19][20] The character hates animals, choosing to use them as servants and furniture.^[21] The actress took inspiration from her young daughter Nell, a toddler, stating that, "The Red Queen is just like a toddler, because she’s got a big head and she’s a tyrant.
• Anne Hathaway as Mirana of Marmoreal, the White Queen.^[5] She was one of few characters that did not require digital manipulation.^[22] Hathaway summed up her character with a caption on a magnet of Happy Bunny holding a knife; "Cute but psycho. Things even out."^[23] According to Hathaway, "She comes from the same gene pool as the Red Queen. She really likes the dark side, but she's so scared of going too far into it that she's made everything appear very light and happy. But she's living in that place out of fear that she won't be able to control herself."^[24] Hathaway described her interpretation of the White Queen as "a punk-rock vegan pacifist", with inspiration drawn from Blondie, Greta Garbo, and the artwork of Dan Flavin.^[24] Burton said that the White Queen's appearance was inspired by Nigella Lawson.^[25]
• Crispin Glover played Ilosovic Stayne, the Knave of Hearts.^[5] The character is arrogant and tricky, and while following the Red Queen's every order, he is the only one capable of calming her dramatic mood swings. Glover said, "The Red Queen has a fair amount of short-tempered reactions to things that people do, and so [the Knave] has to be quite diplomatic." Stayne's body was completely CGI with only Glover's head being live-action.^[26]
• Matt Lucas portrayed both Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Burton commented on the mixture of animation and Lucas, saying that "It's a weird mixture of things which gives his characters the disturbing quality that they so richly deserve."^[27]
• Marton Csokas as Charles Kingsley, Alice’s father
• Lindsay Duncan as Helen Kingsley, Alice’s mother
• Jemma Powell as Margaret, Alice's sister
• Frances de la Tour as Imogene, Alice's aunt.^[28]
• John Hopkins as Lowell, Alice's sister's husband.
• Tim Piggott-Smith as Lord Ascot
• Geraldine James as Lady Ascot
• Leo Bill as Hamish Ascot, Alice's fiancé and the son of Lord Ascot.^[28]

Voices

• Michael Sheen voiced Nivens McTwisp, the White Rabbit.^[5][29] Sheen said the character, "...is such an iconic character that [he] didn't feel like [he] should break the mold too much."^[30] Burton said the quality he wanted most in his clock-watching bunny was a twitchiness, also commenting that "[in] any incarnation of the [White Rabbit] through the years, there's that sort of nervousness of a rabbit."^[30]
• Alan Rickman voiced Absolem, the Caterpillar.^[5] Although Rickman was filmed while recording his voice in a studio, his face was not composited onto the character's face as originally planned.^[20]
• Barbara Windsor voiced Mallymkun, the Dormouse.^[5] Burton said that Windsor's voice sealed the deal for her role as the character.^[31]
• Stephen Fry voiced Cheshire, the Cheshire Cat.^[5][32] Burton stated that the character had a creepy quality in addition to tapping into his own hatred of cats.^[33][34]
• Paul Whitehouse voiced Thackery Earwicket, the March Hare.^[5] Burton stated that because Whitehouse is a great comedic actor, a lot of his lines came from improvisation.^[35]
• Timothy Spall voiced Bayard the Bloodhound.
• Michael Gough (in his final acting role) voiced Uilleam, the Dodo bird.^[5] Burton said that Gough was the first person he thought of for the role of the Dodo because he has "a full life quality to his voice".^[36]
• Sir Christopher Lee voiced the Jabberwocky for its short speaking role. While it only had a couple of lines, Burton said that he felt Lee to be a good match for the iconic character because he is "an iconic guy".^[37]
• Imelda Staunton voiced the Talking Flowers.^[38]
• Jim Carter voices the Executioner.^[38]
• Frank Welker provided additional voices and vocal effects.^[38]

Production

Tim Burton signed with Disney to direct two films in Disney Digital 3D, which included Alice in Wonderland^[39] and his remake of Frankenweenie. Burton developed the story because he never felt an emotional connection to the original book, with its series of events about a girl wandering from one weird character to another.^[40]

He explained "the goal is to try to make it an engaging movie where you get some of the psychology and kind of bring a freshness but also keep the classic nature of Alice." On prior versions, Burton said "It was always a girl wandering around from one crazy character to another, and I never really felt any real emotional connection." His goal with the new movie is to give the story "some framework of emotional grounding" and "to try and make Alice feel more like a story as opposed to a series of events."^[12] Burton focused on the poem "Jabberwocky" as part of his structure,^[41] and refers to the described creature by the name of the poem rather than by the name "Jabberwock". Burton also stated that he doesn't see his version as either a sequel to any existing Alice film or as a "re-imagining".^[40]

"We wanted somebody who had... it's hard to put into words, but just had a gravity to her, an internal life, something that you could see the wheels turning. It's just a simple kind of power to her that we really liked. Not flamboyant, not very showy, but just somebody that's got a lot of internal life to her. That's why I picked her."

—Tim Burton on casting Mia Wasikowska as Alice[42]

This film was originally set to be released in 2009, but was pushed back to March 5, 2010.^[43] Principal photography was scheduled for May 2008, but did not begin until September and concluded in three months.^[39][44] Scenes set in the Victorian era were shot at Torpoint and Plymouth from September 1 to October 14. Two hundred and fifty local extras were chosen in early August. Locations included Antony House in Torpoint, Charlestown, Cornwall and the Barbican,^[45][46] however, no footage from the Barbican was used. Motion capture filming began in early October at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California, though the footage was later discarded.^[47][48][49] Filming also took place at Culver Studios.^[50] Burton said that he used a combination of live action and animation, without motion capture.^[51] He also noted that this was the first time he had filmed on a green screen.^[51] Filming of the green screen portions, comprising 90% of the film, was completed after only 40 days.^[52] Many of the cast and crew felt nauseated as a result of the long hours surrounded by green, with Burton having lavender lenses fitted into his glasses to counteract the effect.^[52] Due to the constant need for digital effects to distort the actors' physical appearances, such as the size of the Red Queen's head or Alice's height, visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston cited the film as being exhausting, saying it was "The biggest show I've ever done, [and] the most creatively involved I've ever been."^[53]

Sony Pictures Imageworks designed the visual effects sequences.^[54] Burton felt 3D was appropriate to the story's environment.^[11] Burton and Zanuck chose to film with conventional cameras, and convert the footage into 3D during post-production; Zanuck explained 3D cameras were too expensive and "clumsy" to use, and they felt that there was no difference between converted footage and those shot in the format.^[55] James Cameron, who released his 3D film Avatar in December 2009, criticized the choice, stating, "It doesn't make any sense to shoot in 2-D and convert to 3-D".^[56]

Music

Soundtrack

Alice in Wonderland: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Danny Elfman
Released	March 2, 2010
Genre	Orchestral
Length	50:59
Label	Walt Disney

Longtime Burton collaborator Danny Elfman's score was released March 2, 2010.^[57] It debuted at #89 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums.^[58]

Track listing

Almost Alice

Almost Alice is a collection of various artists' music inspired by the film.^[57][59][60] The lead single, "Alice" by Avril Lavigne, premiered on January 27, 2010 on Ryan Seacrest's radio program.^[61] The album was released on March 2, 2010.^[57]

Release

On February 12, 2010, major UK cinema chains, Odeon, Vue and Cineworld, had planned to boycott the film because of a reduction of the interval between cinema and DVD release from the usual 17 weeks to 12.^[62] A week after the announcement, Cineworld, who has a 24% share of UK box office, chose to play the film on more than 150 screens. Cineworld's chief executive Steve Wiener stated, "As leaders in 3D, we did not want the public to miss out on such a visual spectacle. As the success of Avatar has shown, there is currently a huge appetite for the 3D experience".^[63] Shortly after, the Vue cinema chain also reached an agreement with Disney, but Odeon had still chosen to boycott in Britain, Ireland and Italy.^[64] On February 25, 2010 Odeon had reached an agreement and has decided to show the film on March 5, 2010.^[65] The Royal premiere took place at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on February 25, 2010 for the fund-raiser The Prince's Foundation for Children and The Arts where the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall attended. It also did not affect their plans to show the film in Spain, Germany, Portugal and Austria.^[64][66][67] The film was released in the U.S. and UK, in both Disney Digital 3D and IMAX 3D,^[44] as well as regular theaters on March 5, 2010.^[68]

Marketing

On June 22, 2009, the first pictures of the film were released, showing Depp as the Mad Hatter, Hathaway as the White Queen, Bonham Carter as the Red Queen and Lucas as Tweedledee and Tweedledum.^[44] A new image of Alice was also released.^[69] In July, new photos emerged of Alice holding a white rabbit, the Mad Hatter with a hare, the Red Queen holding a pig, and the White Queen with a mouse.^[70]

On July 22, 2009, a teaser trailer from the Mad Hatter's point of view was released on IGN but was shortly taken down because Disney claimed that the trailer was not supposed to be out yet. The teaser was also planned to premiere along with a trailer of Robert Zemeckis' film adaptation of A Christmas Carol on July 24, 2009 for G-Force. The following day, the teaser trailer premiered at Comic-Con but the trailer shown was different than the one that leaked. The ComicCon version didn't have the Mad Hatter's dialogue. Instead, it featured "Time to Pretend" by MGMT, and the clips shown were in different order than in the leaked version. The leaked version was originally to be shown to one of the three Facebook groups used to promote the film that had the most members. The groups used to promote the film are "The Loyal Subjects of the Red Queen", "The Loyal Subjects of the White Queen" and "The Disloyal Subjects of the Mad Hatter".^[71]

Also at ComicCon, props from the film were displayed in an "Alice in Wonderland" exhibit. Costumes featured in the exhibit included the Red Queen's dress, chair, wig, spectacles and scepter; the White Queen's dress, wig and a small model of her castle; the Mad Hatter's suit, hat, wig, chair and table; Alice's dress and battle armor (to slay the Jabberwocky). Other props included the "DRINK ME" bottles, the keys, an "EAT ME" pastry and stand-in models of the White Rabbit and March Hare.^[72]

Video game

On July 23, 2009, Disney Interactive Studios announced that a video game based on the film, developed by French game studio Étranges Libellules, would be released in the same week as the film for the Wii, Nintendo DS and Windows PC, with the soundtrack being composed by veteran video games music composer Richard Jacques.^[73] The Wii, DS and PC versions were released on March 2, 2010.

Home media

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released a 3-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (which will include the Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy), 1-Disc Blu-ray and 1-Disc DVD on June 1, 2010 in the US and July 1, 2010 in Australia.^[74] All versions are presented in 1080p with a 16:9 aspect ratio and Dolby Digital 5.1 HD surround sound. The DVD release includes three short features about the making of the film, focusing on Burton's vision for Wonderland and the characters of Alice and the Mad Hatter. The Blu-ray version has nine additional featurettes centered on additional characters, special effects and other aspects of the film's production.^[75] In some confusion, a small number of copies were put on shelves a week before schedule in smaller stores, but were quickly removed, although a handful of copies were confirmed purchased ahead of schedule.

On its first week of release (June 1-6, 2010) it sold 2,095,878 DVD units (equivalent to $35,441,297) and topped the DVD sales chart for 2 continuous weeks. By May 22, 2011, it has sold 4,313,680 units ($76,413,043). It failed to crack the 2010-Top-Ten-DVDs list in terms of units sold, but reached 10th place on that chart in terms of sales revenue.^[76][77]

Reception

Box office performance

Alice in Wonderland earned $334,191,110 in the North America and $690,108,794 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1,024,299,904.^[4][78][79] It marked the second highest-grossing film of 2010 worldwide behind Toy Story 3 and the 9th highest-grossing film of all time worldwide.^[80][81] It is the sixth film ever to surpass the $1 billion mark and the second film produced and released by Walt Disney Pictures that did so, after Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Among films starring Johnny Depp it is the second-highest-grossing one in North America behind Dead Man's Chest ($423 million), the second highest-grossing one overseas, behind On Stranger Tides ($802.8 million), and the third-highest-grossing one worldwide after Dead Man's Chest ($1.066 billion) and On Stranger Tides ($1.044 billion).^[82] Alice in Wonderland is Tim Burton's highest-grossing film in North America, overseas and worldwide.^[83] It is also the second highest-grossing children's book adaptation^[84] in North America, overseas and worldwide, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 ($1.328 billion).

On its first weekend, the film made $210.1 million worldwide, marking the largest opening ever for a movie not released during the summer or the holiday period, the third largest for a Disney film after On Stanger Tides's $350.6 million and At World's End's $344.0 milliona and the 4th largest for a 2010 movie.^[85] It dominated for three consecutive weekends at the worldwide box office.^[86][87] On May 26th, 2010, its 85th day of release, it crossed the $1-billion-mark^[88] and by June 1, 2010, its worldwide box office gross totaled $1,006,060,345, surpassing The Dark Knight to become the 5th-highest-grossing film of all time (since having dropped to ninth place).^[89]

North America

Alice in Wonderland opened on March 5th, 2010, on approximately 7,400 screens at 3,728 theaters with $40,804,962 during its first day, ranking number one and setting a new March opening-day record.^[90] Alice earned $116.1 million in its opening weekend, handily topping the previous record held by 300 ($70.9 million) for the largest opening weekend in March^[91] and the record for the largest opening weekend during springtime - the latter previously held by Fast and Furious ($71.0 million). It is currently the ninth highest-grossing opening weekend of all time, the highest opening weekend for a non-sequel - taking the record from Spider-Man^[92] - and the highest one as well for a non-holiday, non-summer period. Opening-weekend grosses originating from 3D showings were $81.3 million (70% of total weekend gross). This broke the record set by Avatar ($55 million)^[93] for the largest opening-weekend 3D grosses and is a record still retained.^[94] It had the top weekend theater average of 2010, with $31,143 per theater, and the eighth largest of all time along with the biggest per theater average for a PG-rated film.^[95] Within its first three days of release, it became the highest-grossing film of 2010 beating Valentine's Day's $106 million gross. It also broke the IMAX opening-weekend record by earning $12.2 million on 188 of the large format screens, with an average of $64,197 per site. The record was previously held by Avatar ($9.5 million)^[96] and was overtaken by Deathly Hallows - Part 2 ($15.2 million).^[97]

The film grossed $62.7 million in its second weekend, falling only 46%, which was a smaller decline than most movies that have opened with over $100 million. This was also the fifth-largest second weekend gross and the film remained at number one, earning more than all four new releases combined.^[98][99] On its third weekend, it remained at number one with $34.1 million, the sixth-biggest third weekend gross, and beat that weekend's opening wide releases: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Bounty Hunter, and Repo Men respectively.^[100][101] It closed in theaters on July 8, 2010 with $334,191,110, ranking twenty-second on the all-time list of highest-grossing movies but out of the top 100 when adjusted for inflation. Among 2010 releases, it stands as the second-highest-grossing film behind Toy Story 3.^[102]

Other countries

Alice began with an estimated $94 million, on top of the overseas box office, and remained at the summit for four consecutive weekends. It reached the top for a fifth and final weekend (April 23-25), just $250,000 ahead of Clash of the Titans, with $25.7 million, a feat Japan and Brazil mainly attributed to.^[103] This made it the only 2010 movie that dominated for five weekends at the overseas box office.^[104] Additionally, its overseas total of $690,108,794 is the largest one among 2010 films and the eighth-largest overseas total of all time, trailing those of Avatar ($2,021.8 million), Titanic ($1,242.4 million), Deathly Hallows - Part 2 ($947.1 million), On Stranger Tides ($802.8 million), Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($771.4 million), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($742.1 million) and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs ($690.1 million). It is also the second-highest overseas total for a Disney film, behind the overseas total of On Stranger Tides.^[105]

Asia

In Japan, its second highest-grossing market after the U.S.A. and Canada, it topped the box office during the busiest weekend ever recorded in the country (total weekend gross was $34,685,116) with $14,032,610.^[106] It therefore marked the largest opening weekend of 2010, the second-largest for a Disney movie after that of Dead Man's Chest ($16,650,081) and the ninth-largest of all time. It stands as the foreign film that reached ticket sales of 10 million yen in record time (37 days), that is 13 days fewer than Avatar, the second fastest.^[107] Eventually, it reached $133,694,649, marking the 9th highest-grossing film of all time and the highest-grossing Disney film.^[108] In China, it earned $9.81 million on its opening weekend^[109] and fell about 26% on its second weekend to $7.3 million.^[110] In total, it grossed $32.8 million.^[111][112]

Europe

In the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta it earned $15,983,555 on its first weekend, which was the fourth-largest of 2010 and finished with $64,437,055, marking the third-largest 2010 movie.^[113] In France and the Maghreb region, it began with $15,380,327, the second-largest opening weekend of 2010 behind Deathly Hallows: Part 1's $20,727,682 and the third largest of all time for a Disney film, but faded out more quickly than Shrek Forever After therefore ranking third among 2010 films with $45,855,971 behind the latter and Deathly Hallows: Part 1.^[114] In Russia and the CIS, it opened with $13,823,480, the 8th largest opening of all time, and earned $42,114,337 by the end of its run, ranking 6th on the all-time list of highest-grossing films. It is also the second highest-grossing Disney film behind On Stranger Tides ($60,939,024).^[115] In Italy, it started with $11,115,961, marking the 2nd largest opening of 2010 after Avatar's $13,889,941, and finished with a $39,952,697 total, which made it the sixth-highest-grossing film of all time, behind Avatar, Titanic, Che bella giornata, Ice Age 3 and Benvenuti al Sud and the largest Disney film in the country.^[116] In Spain, it earned $10,283,762 during its opening weekend, marking the largest one for 2010 and ended its box office run with $28,769,165, ranking second among 2010 releases behind Toy Story 3 ($33,154,762).^[117]

Latin America

In Mexico, its $7,620,403 opening was the fourth largest of 2010 behind Toy Story 3, Shrek 4 and Deathly Hallows: Part 1. After closing in theaters it had earned $31,347,734, standing as the second biggest 2010 film after Toy Story 3 ($59,382,044) and also as the sixth highest-grossing movie of all time in Mexico.^[118] In Brazil, it had a strong $6.0 million opening, which was (at the time) the largest debut of all time for a Disney movie, since surpassed Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ($8.4 million).^[119] By the end of its run, it earned $28,360,362, ranking 4th among 2010 films behind Tropa de Elite 2 - O Inimigo Agora É Outro (Elite Squad 2) ($62,927,562), Shrek Forever After ($40,037,374) and Eclipse ($30,499,010).^[120] In Argentina, it started at $1,668,739 and dominated for six weekends at the country's box office. It finished its run with $8,193,223 marking 2010's fourth largest movie.^[121]

Oceania

In Australia, it debuted with $9,424,165, marking the third largest 2010 opening weekend (behind Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Eclipse). It earned $33,234,316 by the end of its run, reaching fourth place among 2010 films behind Deathly Hallows, Toy Story 3 and Inception.^[122]

Critical response

The film received generally mixed reviews. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 51% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 246 reviews, with an average score of 5.7/10.^[123] Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 1–100 reviews from film critics, has a rating score of 53 based on 38 reviews.

Todd McCarthy of Variety praised it for its "moments of delight, humor and bedazzlement", but went on to say, "But it also becomes more ordinary as it goes along, building to a generic battle climax similar to any number of others in CGI-heavy movies of the past few years".^[124] Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter said "Burton has delivered a subversively witty, brilliantly cast, whimsically appointed dazzler that also manages to hit all the emotionally satisfying marks." while also praising its Computer-generated imagery (CGI), "Ultimately, it's the visual landscape that makes Alice's newest adventure so wondrous, as technology has finally been able to catch up with Burton's endlessly fertile imagination."^[125] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly said, "But Burton's Disneyfied 3-D Alice in Wonderland, written by the girl-power specialist Linda Woolverton, is a strange brew indeed: murky, diffuse, and meandering, set not in a Wonderland that pops with demented life but in a world called Underland that's like a joyless, bombed-out version of Wonderland. It looks like a CGI head trip gone postapocalyptic. In the film's rather humdrum 3-D, the place doesn't dazzle — it droops."^[126] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film three out of four stars and said in his review that, "Alice plays better as an adult hallucination, which is how Burton rather brilliantly interprets it until a pointless third act flies off the rails."^[127] The market research firm CinemaScore found that audiences gave the film an average rating of "A-".^[128]

Several reviews criticized the decision to turn Alice into a "colonialist entrepreneur" at the end of the film setting sail for China.^{[129][130][131]} Given Britain's role in the Opium Wars during the Victorian era and subjugation of China through "unequal treaties", China expert Kevin Slaten writes, "Not only is it troubling imagery for a female role model in a Disney movie, but it's also a celebration of the exploitation that China suffered for a century."^[132]

Accolades

Award	Category	Recipient	Result
83rd Academy Awards[133]	Best Art Direction	Robert Stromberg Karen O'Hara	Won
	Best Visual Effects	Ken Ralston David Schaub Carey Villegas Sean Phillips	Nominated
	Best Costume Design	Colleen Atwood	Won
64th British Academy Film Awards[134]	Best Costume Design		Won
	Best Film Music	Danny Elfman	Nominated
	Best Production Design	Robert Stromberg Karen O’Hara	Nominated
	Best Special Visual Effects		Nominated
	Best Makeup and Hair		Won
68th Golden Globe Awards[135]	Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy		Nominated
	Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy	Johnny Depp	Nominated
	Best Original Score	Danny Elfman	Nominated
2011 Grammy Awards	Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media		Nominated
2011 Kids' Choice Awards[136]	Favorite Movie		Nominated
	Favorite Movie Actor	Johnny Depp	Won
MTV Movie Awards	Global Superstar		Nominated
	Best Movie		Nominated
	Best Villain	Helena Bonham Carter	Nominated
National Movie Awards	Best Performance		Nominated
		Johnny Depp	Nominated
	Best Fantasy		Nominated
People's Choice Awards[137]	Favorite Movie		Nominated
	Favorite Drama Movie		Nominated
Teen Choice Awards	Best Fantasy Film		Nominated
	Best Fantasy Actor	Johnny Depp	Nominated
	Scene Stealer - Female	Anne Hathaway	Nominated
	Best Fantasy Actress	Mia Wasikowska	Nominated
	Breakout Female		Nominated
	Best Fight	Mia Wasikowska vs. The Jabberwocky	Won
37th Saturn Awards	Best Fantasy Film		Won
	Best Costume		Won
	Best Make-Up		Nominated
	Best Production Design		Nominated
	Best Special Effects		Nominated
2010 Scream Awards	Ultimate Scream		Nominated
	Best Fantasy Movie		Nominated
	Best Director	Tim Burton	Nominated
	Best Fantasy Actress	Mia Wasikowska	Nominated
	Best Breakout Performance - Female		Nominated
	Best Fantasy Actor	Johnny Depp	Nominated
	Best Supporting Actress	Anne Hathaway	Won
	3-D Top Three		Nominated

Possible stage adaptation

Walt Disney Theatrical is already in early talks with Burton and screenwriter Linda Woolverton to develop the property as a Broadway musical. Woolverton authored the screenplay for Disney's The Lion King and is also the Tony Award-nominated book writer of Beauty and the Beast, Aida and Lestat. Burton will also render the overall designs for the stage musical. Woolverton will adapt her screenplay for the stage production. Neither a composer nor songwriting team has been chosen yet. Robert Roth is set to helm the stage musical that will have choreography by Matt West. The duo also collaborated on Disney's first Broadway outing, Beauty and the Beast.^{[138][139][140]}

References

External links

• Official website
• Alice in Wonderland at the Internet Movie Database
• Alice in Wonderland at AllRovi
• Alice in Wonderland at Box Office Mojo
• Alice in Wonderland at Rotten Tomatoes
• Alice in Wonderland at Metacritic
• Alice in Wonderland script

Tim Burton 1980s Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) Beetlejuice (1988) Batman (1989) 1990s Edward Scissorhands (1990) Batman Returns (1992) Ed Wood (1994) Mars Attacks! (1996) Sleepy Hollow (1999) 2000s Planet of the Apes (2001) Big Fish (2003) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) Corpse Bride (2005) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) 2010s Alice in Wonderland (2010) Dark Shadows (2012) Frankenweenie (2012) Producer Edward Scissorhands (1990) Batman Returns (1992) The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) Cabin Boy (1994) Ed Wood (1994) Batman Forever (1995) James and the Giant Peach (1996) Mars Attacks! (1996) Corpse Bride (2005) 9 (2009) Dark Shadows (2012) Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) Frankenweenie (2012) Short films The Island of Doctor Agor (1971) Stalk of the Celery Monster (1979) Hansel and Gretel (1982) Vincent (1982) Frankenweenie (1984) The World of Stainboy (2000) Literature Burton on Burton, edited by Mark Salisbury (1995, revised editions 2000, 2006) The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories (1997) The Art of Tim Burton, written by Leah Gallo (2009)

Lewis Carroll's Alice Source texts Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Through the Looking-Glass The Nursery "Alice" "The Hunting of the Snark" Authors Lewis Carroll Anna Matlack Richards Saki Gilbert Adair Frank Beddor Illustrators John Tenniel Arthur Rackham Blanche McManus Peter Newell Fanny Y. Cory Bessie Pease Gutmann Charles Robinson Harry Rountree Harry Furniss Mabel Lucie Attwell Milo Winter Oliver Herford Uriel Birnbaum Jessie Wilcox Smith Charles Folkard Mervyn Peake Alex Blum Leonard Weisgard Walt Disney Marjorie Torrey Tove Jansson Ralph Steadman Frank Bolle Charles Blackman Barry Moser Michael Hague Anthony Browne Willy Pogany Marie Laurencin Salvador Dali Greg Hildebrandt Gavin O'Keefe Tony Ross Angel Dominguez Helen Oxenbury Lisbeth Zwerger Oleg Lipchenko Franciszka Themerson Characters Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Alice The White Rabbit The Mouse The Dodo The Duck The Lory Eaglet Bill the Lizard The Caterpillar The Duchess The Cheshire Cat The March Hare The Hatter The Dormouse The Queen of Hearts The King of Hearts The Knave of Hearts The Gryphon The Mock Turtle Pat The Cook Through the Looking-Glass Alice The Red Queen The White Queen The Red King The White King The White Knight Tweedledum and Tweedledee The Sheep Humpty Dumpty Haigha Hatta The Lion and the Unicorn Bandersnatch Jubjub Bird Poems "All in the golden afternoon..." "How Doth the Little Crocodile" "The Mouse's Tale" "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat" "You Are Old, Father William" "'Tis the Voice of the Lobster" "Jabberwocky" "The Walrus and the Carpenter" "Haddocks' Eyes" "They told me you had been to her..." "The Mock Turtle's Song" "The Hunting of the Snark" Related topics Alice Liddell Alice's Shop The Annotated Alice Works based on Alice in Wonderland Translations of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Translations of Through the Looking-Glass Adaptations Sequels A New Alice in the Old Wonderland (1895) New Adventures of Alice (1917) · Alice Through the Needle's Eye (1982) Automated Alice (1996) Wonderland Revisited and the Games Alice Played There (2009) Retellings Alice's Adventures in Wonderland retold in words of one syllable (1905) Alice in Verse: The Lost Rhymes of Wonderland (2010) Parodies The Westminster Alice (1902) Clara in Blunderland (1902) Lost in Blunderland (1903) John Bull's Adventures in the Fiscal Wonderland (1904) Alice in Blunderland: An Iridescent Dream (1904) Imitations Mopsa the Fairy (1869) Davy and the Goblin (1884) The Admiral's Caravan (1891) Gladys in Grammarland (1896) A New Wonderland (1898) Rollo in Emblemland (1902) Justnowland (1912) Alice in Orchestralia (1925) Reimagining Alice or the Last Escapade (1977) Adventures in Wonderland (1991) American McGee's Alice (2000) The Looking Glass Wars (2006) Alice (2009) Malice in Wonderland (2009) Alice: Madness Returns (2011) Film 1903 1910 1915 1931 1933 1949 1951 1966 1972 1976 1982 1985 1987 1988 (Czech) 1988 (Australian) 1995 1999 2010 Book:Alice in Wonderland Category:Alice in Wonderland Portal:Children's literature

Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film (1991–2010) Edward Scissorhands (1991) Aladdin (1992) The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) Forrest Gump (1994) Babe (1995) Dragonheart (1996) Austin Powers (1997) The Truman Show (1998) Being John Malkovich (1999) Frequency (2000) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) Spider-Man 2 (2004) Batman Begins (2005) Superman Returns (2006) Enchanted (2007) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) Watchmen (2009) Alice in Wonderland (2010) Complete list (1973–1990) (1991–2010)