In 1903, Hepworth Picture Plays released the first screen adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. The silent film runs for a total of 8 minutes and 20 seconds, featuring Alice in a very shortened version of the story.
Hollywood has since made many more return trips down the rabbit hole, searching for box-office success like Alice combing Wonderland for a sane individual. Hollywood has had better luck. Two of the most well-known are the Disney versions—the animated 1951 film, and Tim Burton’s 2010 live-action version.
Most of the Alice-related film books focus on Disney, with very few offering a glimpse at other retellings. Sorry to all the fans out there of Soviet-era Alice movies. If you’re looking for some reel trivia on Alice or an un-birthday gift for fans of the films, here are four Alice in Wonderland movie books packed with behind-the-scenes stories.
1. Alice in Wonderland: An Illustrated History Through Time – Mark Salisbury
If you feel like chasing down some comprehensive Disney Alice trivia, this book is your White Rabbit.
One of the most interesting sections explores Walt Disney’s early fascination with the Lewis Carroll story. The book details his creation of The Alice Comedies, a series of silent shorts that blend live-action and animation and helped lay the groundwork for Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Trivia fans will appreciate the book’s coverage of other Wonderland-related works, such as the Mickey Mouse short “March of the Cards” (1936), before diving into the production of the 1951 film. Filled with concept art and production photographs, the book acts as a visual history of Disney’s association with Alice.
Readers are also briefed on the history of the Alice rides at Disneyland—the Alice in Wonderland dark ride and the spinning teacups of Mad Tea Party.
For the Tim Burton fans, there’s a section towards the end that covers his live action film as well as its sequel, Through the Looking Glass (2016).
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The melody for the song “The Second Star to the Right” from Disney’s Peter Pan (1953) was originally written as a song for Alice in Wonderland, titled “Beyond the Laughing Sky”. The song was deleted from the final film and repurposed for Peter Pan. You can still listen to the surviving demo version.
2. Alice in Wonderland: The Visual Guide – Mark Salisbury
Obsessive detail is the hallmark of most movie trivia lovers. Alice in Wonderland: A Visual Companion features a two-page height comparison chart for all the major characters, including Alice in her four different stature changes (8′ 6″, 5′ 4″, 2′, and 6″), and other Wonderland residents such as the Bandersnatch. Obsessive enough?
Tim Burton’s 2010 adaptation of Alice is primarily a CGI greenscreen environment, with most of the elements added in post-production. That didn’t stop Mark Salisbury from making the behind-the-scenes photos and production material in the book any less fascinating, showing us what went into creating the illusion. Seeing the prop-head of the Cheshire Cat stuck on the end of a green pole is delightfully horrifying.
Behind-the-scenes photography, concept art, and costume tests are documented. For film trivia fans there’s numerous small sidebar notes—one corner of the book profiles Sir Christopher Lee discussing his approach to voicing the Jabberwocky.
The best audience for this book will be the fans who live in the intersection of Tim Burton fandom and Alice appreciation. That’s probably most of us.
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If you want to add to your Alice movie book library, also check out Alice in Wonderland: The Visual Guide, or Alice’s Adventures: The Complete Visual Guide. The former book covers the first Tim Burton film, while the Complete Visual Guide combines the same book with material from its sequel, Through the Looking Glass (2016). These books focus on in-universe information, such as character profiles and a section that details the Mad Hatter’s hat creations, without behind-the-scenes material.
Alice’s father in the opening scene of the Tim Burton film is played by New Zealand actor Marton Csokas, who is known to Lord of the Rings fans for playing the elf Celeborn, husband of Galadriel.
3. Alice in Wonderland in Film and Popular Culture – Various Authors
This is for the hardcore fans.
Published in 2022, the book is a collection of eighteen articles that examine various Alice media, including the Donald Duck short “Donald in Mathmagic Land” (1959), the loosely connected Woody Allen film Alice (1990), and an essay about the dark fantasy video game, American McGee’s Alice.
The book is not intended for children and presents many adult themes, so if you’re looking to bring a gift to your niece or nephew’s Alice-themed birthday party, save them the trauma. It’s also a very expensive book when you can manage to find a copy.
It may not be for all film-trivia buffs, but if you’re a movie-lover who spends hours watching video essays that dissect story themes and symbolism from your favorite films, this will lead you down a psychoanalytical view of Wonderland that may drive you more than a little mad.
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A film adaptation of the 2000 PC game American McGee’s Alice languished in the early 2000s. Director Wes Craven was attached at one point, with Christina Ricci and Milla Jovovich rumored to be in the running for the lead. Sarah Michelle Gellar was cast as Alice in 2005, though the project eventually collapsed.
4. Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland: The Making of a Masterpiece – Taschen Books
Clean cup, clean cup, move down.
If Alice in Wonderland: An Illustrated History Through Time is the definitive Disney Alice history, this one is next in line. The book is shorter in length, but still packs quite a bit into its 64 pages.
Some of the material here is covered in greater detail in History Through Time, but the highlight here is the emphasis on fan-favorite artist Mary Blair and her concept artwork for the film. Blair created concept art for Alice, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and other Disney films of the era, and her work is still often printed on new merchandise sold in the Parks. Taschen’s book offers a better look at Blair’s more dreamlike, whimsical vision for the movie, which sets it apart nicely from other Alice histories.
The book includes a Blu-ray copy of Alice, as well as a reproduction of the original theatrical poster. The poster is folded and set with edge holders in the back, so you can store it neatly if you prefer to keep it safe.
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Taschen also has another book in this series that focuses on Disney’s Cinderella (1953).
Reviews for Alice were initially negative in 1951 and the film bombed financially during its first release. The movie later became popular on college campuses in the early ’70s, prompting Disney to re-release the film in 1974. It then became a box-office hit and subsequently grew to be regarded as a Disney classic.
