Alice in Wonderland: Preview of the Tim Burton Movie and Review of Lewis Caroll's Works on Film

Tim Burton's film, Alice in Wonderland (2010), starring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham Carter (Burton's wife) as the Red Queen, is coming to theaters March 5th. It has the potential to be the best adaptation yet. If nothing else, the special effects, costumes and makeup that I've seen in previews (see links at the end) promise this to be the most visually enthralling version ever created. Lewis Carroll finally enters the digital age.

Whether you are 18 or 118 years old, you remember Alice's trip down a rabbit hole from your childhood. Lewis Carroll wrote the book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, in 1865 and its sequel, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, in 1871. Most of the films titled "Alice in Wonderland" are actually a combination of both stories, with few exceptions. By the end of the 19th century the motion picture was being invented, and filmmakers have been trying ever since to capture the magic of Lewis Carroll on the big screen.

Here is a brief history of all the major Alice in Wonderland films, including lists of the big-name actors and actresses who appeared in them. All my sources for the list below came from imdb.com (with a little help from my own childhood memories).

Alice in Wonderland (1999), made for TV, was the last major production of Lewis Carroll's work and took home a few Primetime Emmy awards. The Blu-ray DVD edition will be released on March 2, 2010, just 3 days prior to Tim Burton's theatrical release. Big Names: Whoopi Goldberg as Cheshire Cat-Ben Kingsly as the best Hookah-smoking Caterpillar I can remember-Martin Short as the Mad Hatter-Gene Wilder as Mock Turtle-Christopher Lloyd as White Knight

Alice in Wonderland (1985), another made for TV production, paled in my childhood comparison to the Disney cartoon. Big Names: Red Buttons as the White Rabbit-Sherman Helmsly (from "The Jeffersons") as the Mouse-Scott Baio as the Pig-Sammy Davis Jr. as the Caterpillar

Alice in Wonderland (1951) is the classic animated Disney movie. Disney has never really cared to stick to the book much. They let the script writers create tons of new dialogue and modified the plot, but kids have loved this movie for almost 60 years. I admit that I am not as familiar with these Big Names: Kathryn Beaumont (who was also Wendy Darling in Disney's 1954 Peter Pan) as Alice-Ed Wynn as the Mad Hatter-Sterling Holloway as Cheshire Cat

Alice in Wonderland (1933) was the first "major" Hollywood movie of the Lewis Carol line. Big Names: Gary Cooper as the White Knight-W. C. Fields as Humpty-Dumpty-Cary Grant as Mock Turtle-Richard Arlen as Cheshire Cat

Alice in Wonderland (1903) is not only the first film version on record, but a very early example of movies period. Made in New York, it has a runtime of 8 minutes. Big Names: They didn't have big names in movies back then, but Cecil M. Hepworth as "Frog" went on to make dozens of movies. Geofery Faithful went on to become a prolific cinematographer for over five decades.

Other countries besides the United States made their versions over the years as well: India in 2005, Japan in 1991, Australia in 1988, and many others. There were also numerous low-budget productions throughout the years that are not worth mentioning or viewing.

Alice's adventures have a rich history in film and print, and I'm sure Tim Burton won't be the last person to translate these books into movies. I have a hunch that he will stick to the book more than most filmmakers. Burton's version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) was much truer to the original story of Roald Dohl than Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971). If you want to read the entire book free online, click here. It's a great read for any age. If you just want to see the preview, here you go.

Source: http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=alice+in+wonderland