Hist. 389

Spring Break: Mad Hatter in Wonderland

March 11, 2010 at 7:33 pm (Uncategorized)

I am a huge fan of Tim Burton’s animation such as Nightmare Before Christmas and Johnny Depp’s unique acting skills that has brought life to some of Hollywood’s famous characters. When Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland came to theaters over spring break I knew it was destiny.

As a fan of Disney’s 1951, Alice in Wonderland which was inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice Adventures in Wonderland it was interesting to understand some back ground information. According to Maltin (1980), Disney’s Alice in Wonderland did not go over well with the critics. They resented him in disturbing the original story line of Lewis Carroll novel. Despite the bad reviews of the story line, Maltin stated that three parts of the movie stood out in crowds for the remarkable animation which included Cheshire cat, Procession of the cards, and the famous Tea Party. In viewing the new Tim Burton’s twist I focused on the quality of these three focal points from Disney’s original film.

I was fascinated by the new spin Burton placed on the classic tale but it was unmistakable at how big the role of Johnny Depp’s Character, The Mad Hatter.

 There were two things I would like to address about the new version of Alice in Wonderland in comparison to the Disney’s verision. The main difference is the choice of which charectors Burton choose to keep as animations and which ones he choose to be actors.

First, the movie is dominated by the performance of the Mad Hatter unlike the original idea of the relationship between Alice and the Hatter. The original version has the Hatter as a character Alice meets along the way. Even though this is not a remake of the original movie it is a sequel.

Take a look at the original scene from Disney’s version in which the Hatter and Alice are in the same scene;

Now, take a look at the trailer that was displayed:

I feel as though the movie should have been name Alice and Hatter in Wonderland since the movie is equally distributed between the two characters. Instead of a few appearances of the famous characters such as Cheshire cat or the Smoking Caterpillar, Hatter is a huge part of the movie journey. Throughout the movie the relationship between Alice and the Hatter were very close in which they were brother and sister. They both protect one another and risk their lives to save each other. This is a differently twist from the original creations in which I consider a new and invigorating!

Secondly, I would like to focus on the character of the mad hatter. Through the original making the Hatter was this crazy and out of his mind character throughout the story line. In the newer version Johnny Depp gives a new personality to the character in giving him a type of a bi-polar personality. The mad Hatter wears his emotions on his sleeve and can go from a serious character to an eccentric one.   The Mad Hatter has a high range of emotions that are displayed instantly, what he’s feeling-so much so that his clothes, his skin, his hair, everything, reflects his emotion.

When he’s beaming, you get this kind of bright effect and everything comes to life quickly. Displayed below:

When he is in a gloomy displayed below:

The term “mad as a hatter” originates to a disease peculiar to the hat making industry in the 1800s. “A mercury solution was commonly used during the process of turning fur into felt, which caused the hatters to breathe in the fumes of this highly toxic metal, a situation exacerbated by the poor ventilation in most of the workshops. This led in turn to an accumulation of mercury in the workers’ bodies, resulting in symptoms such as trembling (known as “hatters’ shakes”), loss of coordination, slurred speech, loosening of teeth, memory loss, depression, irritability and anxiety — “The Mad Hatter Syndrome” (Connealy, 2006).

In conclusion, I am excited of type of opposite reality when Disney introduced a concept of a human girl in a toon world such as  Alice in Cartoonland. I am upset with the idea of the animated Mad Hatter being turned into the charector Johnny Depp displayed. I feel that the  Mad Hatter should have been an animation in order to display the array of emotions and mannerisisms that Johnny Depp struggled to create. I believe to give the story of Alice in Wonderland a believable picture is to use the Alice in toonland idea. Where Alice is human and all the toon land or wonderland should be animated and lively.

References:

                Connealy, Leigh. (2006, January 6). Natural news. Retrieved from http://www.naturalnews.com/016544.html

                Maltin, Leonard. Of Mice and Magic. Plume Books, 1980. Print

Commented on Bonnie Hansen and Erica LoMonaco.