Tag: alice in wonderland facts

12 Things You Didn’t Know About Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland? Well, this is an interesting novel featuring an iconic story written by Lewis Carroll. I went through the book closely and came up with these interesting facts that you are probably unaware of.

  1.   Due to Queen Victoria`s love for the book, she proposed that Lewis dedicates to her his next book. Carroll, of course, granted this favor to the queen.

2.   Lewis Carroll had a rare neurological disorder.

This disease which was first discovered by psychiatrist John Todd, it is said to cause hallucinations and visual objects size is affected and apparently the objects either feels bigger or smaller than they really are. The disease is also popularly known as Todd`s syndrome or Alice in Wonderland syndrome.

3 . China censored the novel in 1931.

China used the argument that animals should not use human language and hence banned the book.

4.   The Mock Soup (Turtle) is actually real

Apparently, the soup is for real and was created from specific calf parts like the hoof, head and the brain it was also a cheaper version of green turtle soup in Victorian times.

5. Elsie, Tillie, and Lacie the three sisters in Dormouse`s story are also used to refer to Liddell and her two sisters.

Tillie is a short form for Matilda, Lacie is as a result of the transformation from Alice and Elsie is from the initials of Lorina Charlotte.

6. The Original illustrator hated the first book.

John Tenniel who was the book illustrator was upset especially due to how horrible the drawings had been reproduced and this made Carroll spend most of his money to reprint the book.

7. Alice character is real.

Her character is based on a real life girl named Alice Liddell. She was a Brunette who requested Carroll to write her story on a boating trip in Oxford.

8. The Cheshire Cat`s Tree In Oxford.

This tree that is said to have inspired the real one is found in a Garden behind Alice`s home in Oxford.

9 . A shorter version of Alice`s Adventures was released for toddlers.

It had 20 of Mr. John Tenniel`s illustrations and it was enlarged, colored and at some instances revised. It was absolutely for children aged from ‘naught to five’

10. It was first made a 12mins movie in 1903.

Director Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stowe made it a 12mins film which happened to be the longest film in Britain.

11. The book has never been out for print.

‘Through the Looking-Glass’ and its continuation ‘What Alice found there’ were already on sale within seven weeks from their publication and the book has been translated to 176 different languages.

12 . Carroll is the Dodo

The Dodo was named from his real name Dodgson. He stutters very much when speaking.

Definitely, it’s one very captivating book that you just can’t avoid!

10 Fascinating Facts about Alice in Wonderland

“Alice in Wonderland” is a Disney adaptation of the play “Alice”, which was originally published in 1865. The Play wasn’t a hit at first but picked up later with audiences around the world. It was the first Alice cartoon to air on TV, and also the first to be produced in home video. Below are some fascinating facts about this globally hyped play.

  1. Walt Disney (the genius entrepreneur who founded Disney) had dreamt about making a feature of “Alice” for over 30 years. Once he became a successful animator in the 1930s, Disney thought about a live-action feature of “Alice” that would actually star Mary Pickford. He purchased rights for the film. There were many ups and downs before he finally decided to take the project in a more comic, whimsical direction.
  2. Disney did commission 30 songs for the Alice film. These were based on verses Lewis Carroll himself had cited throughout the book. 14 of these songs actually made the cut, thus making Alice one of the most ‘song-rich’ of all animated musicals from Disney.
  3. Ed Wynn, a popular comic star, was hired to be the voice of the Mad Hatter, thus becoming the first top celeb to have a voice role in an animated feature from Disney. Ed later played live-action roles in a number of Disney movies, including “Mary Poppins”, and “Babes in Toyland”.
  4. Other members of the cast were not as familiar, although Disney viewers would later recognize their voices when they featured in other projects. Alice herself was voiced by Kathryn Beaumont, a 12-year-old who later went on to star as Wendy in “Peter Pan”. Another major role was played by Bill Thompson, who acted as White Rabbit. The Queen of Hearts in the play was voiced by Vema Felton, who later played as Aunt Sarah in another the “Lady and the Tramp” play.
  5. In the opening credits of “Alice in Wonderland”, Disney misspelled the name of Lewis Carroll as “Carrol”.
  6. The play “Alice in Wonderland” cost a whopping $3 million to produce, over a period of 5 years. The entire action involved three directors, 750 artists, 13 highly credited writers, 800 paint gallons, 1,000 watercolor hues, and about 350,000 paintings and drawings. Once released, it only earned back about $2.4 million, which means it was a loss-making operation.
  7. Ward Kimball, an animator working on the project, blamed its failure on competing creators. As he said, there were “too many cooks”. On his part, Walt complained that the heroine in the movie lacked “warmth”.
  8. The film earned a single Academy Award nomination, for the instrumental work done by Oliver Wallace.
  9. In 1960, the film started to pick amongst college-going audiences, who loved its trippy nature, especially when watched under the influence. Walt died in 1966, and the film was re-released again in 1974 and then 1981. It was much more successful this time, earning about $322 over its lifetime.

Spinoffs of Disney’s “Alice” include the 2010 Tim Burton film, its sequel in 2016. In addition, there are stage musicals, the spin tea cup ride in Disney theme parks, and a number of video games.