Alice, Is This Cool?
“Johnny Depp has made it cool to like Alice,” was Miss Alice Llandudno Nicol Thompson’s answer to my question — Why do children today still love Alice in Wonderland? With Johnny Depp’s 3-D visual spectacle of a movie currently standing at a worldwide gross of $1,024,299,904, I suspect he made Alice in Wonderland very cool for a lot of Disney executives too.
But what about serious Carroll fans? How do they view Disney’s 21st-century technological efforts to keep the legacy “cool”?
“Despite the errors and license used by Disney in the story, it is Disney that continues to bring Aliceto the children of today,” comments Lewis Carroll Society member Keith Wright (Chairman and Editor, Daresbury Chronicle). “Tim Burton’s Alice, although not an Alice that Lewis Carroll would recognize, did contain the Wonderland characters and used some of the text from the books.”
Lewis Carroll (aka Charles Dodgson) wrote his Alice books for children. His inspiration for Alice, namely Alice Liddell, is the focus of a magnificent 160th birthday celebration in Llandudno, Wales on May 4, 2012.
“Charles Dodgson was a man who enjoyed teaching children; he liked a child with an inquiring mind but he was not a disciplinarian,” adds Wright. And Alice Liddell was indeed a child with an inquiring mind. Her favorite expression was “Let’s pretend,” and so it didn’t take long for her to become Mr. Dodgson’s favorite child. She adored the fun escape an undisciplined teacher offered in the disciplined world of Victorian life at Christ Church, Oxford during the mid 19th century. Mr. Dodgson would take Alice and her siblings on fun outings, which always included exciting storytelling. The most famous outing of all is the one credited with Dodgson’s first full telling ofAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland. This took place on Friday, July 4, 1862. Soon after hearing the story, young Alice pestered Mr. Dodgson to write it down for her. Thanks to Alice’s persistence, Mr. Dodgson (who had never written down any of his amazing tales) finally did create the book and presented it to her as an early Christmas gift on Nov. 26, 1864. The book, which took Dodgson 18 months to finish, and which he originally called Alice’s Adventures Underground, was handwritten and hand-illustrated by him.
Miss Alice Llandudno, Nicol Thompson
Over 145 years later, artists and creators are still reaping huge rewards from adapting Lewis Carroll’s classic books for every form of media and for each new generation of audiences. Tim Burton and Disney opted to update the story so that it would be “cool” for today’s younger movie going audience. But how do literary societies such as the Lewis Carroll Society, which strive to preserve Carroll’s classics in their original format, feel about staying “cool” in terms of appealing to younger fans?
“There is no doubt that literary societies in the UK have their backs to the wall,” explains Keith Wright. The younger generations do not join literary societies. They see them as elitist organizations, which does not help. Meetings containing research papers are not accessible to a generation brought up on getting their knowledge in a fairly unchallenging way — that is via TV or the Internet.”
Mr. Wright is a good friend and in ways a teacher to Miss Alice Llandudno, Nicol Thompson, who admits she prefers “reading the book to watching the films.”
There are currently Alice weekends in many towns around England supported by the Lewis Carroll Society, including Oxford (where the book was born), Lyndhurst in Hampshire (where Alice Liddell lived after she was married), Blists Hill Victorian Town in Ironbridge, and of course Llandudno in Wales (where Alice Liddell vacationed with her family), which is preparing for its commemorative Alice affair on May 4, 2012. All these towns attempt to appeal to fans both young and old.
Llandudno has historically enjoyed a healthy tourist trade thanks to its connection to Alice Liddell. This connection grew stronger in the 1970s when local residents Muriel Ratcliffe and her husband Murray began to consider an idea for an Alice adventure.
The couple found a basement in a property in the town that was damp and often flooded. With the help of local tradesmen, they created and launched the Rabbit Hole. The Rabbit Hole tourist attraction complete with life-size models of the book’s characters remained very popular with tourists from 1990 until Muriel Ratcliffe decided to retire in 2009.
At this point the content was put up for sale and was purchased by entrepreneurs and owners of Alice In Wonderland Ltd., Barry Mortlock and Simon and Eileen Burrows.
Much like the approach taken by Burton and Disney, Mortlock and the Burrows saw an opportunity to build a bigger and grander Alice adventure, utilizing cutting edge technology to create a 21st-century experience that was both modern and educational for children of all ages.
They worked with local government to conceptualize a Llandudno Alice Trail, which would utilize key locations around the town, including a popular tourist spot known as Happy Valley.
“The upcoming Alice Day is an excellent opportunity to reaffirm the connection that Llandudno has with Alice, and also with the Alice Trail that the County and Town Councils have funded to be built in the town. This will feature sculptures, a giant pocket watch and a new bandstand in Happy Valley, which will have the various characters from the stories cast into it. We already have a Cheshire Cat in the Happy Valley!” says Llandudno’s Mayor, Greg Robbins.
Mortlock and the Burrows will continue development over the summer with a young creative team of 3D artists and technical wizards. Their big picture concept? A visual spectacle such as has never been seen before in any other attraction in the UK.
So what might Alice Liddell have said about these creative upgrades to her favorite story in her summer vacation town?
I don’t know for sure of course. I do know Alice was a talented artist herself whose favorite expression as a child was “Let’s pretend.” Hence I like to imagine she might be thinking “Cool!”
Photos courtesy of Alice In Wonderland Ltd. and Keith Wright
C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.
Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld
Alice —May 4, 2012
“One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth the doing is what we do for others.”— Lewis Carroll
Everybody’ s got Alice fever in Alice town — Llandudno, Wales — but no one is as curious or as excited as me!
That’s because on Friday, May 4, this famous seaside Welsh resort is launching a fantastical Wonderland event. It will celebrate what would have been the 160th birthday of my distant relative, Alice Liddell, the Alice behind what is arguably the greatest children’s book of all time —Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The Liddell family, who were close friends of the book’s author, Lewis Carroll, owned a holiday home in this charming town recently voted the happiest place to live in Wales. Their home, formerly called Penmorfa, sat on the top of a high cliff at the West Shore. And to this town and to this family home came many celebrities of the day, including family friends Sir William Blake Richmond and British Prime Minister William Gladstone. It was here that Sir William painted his famous painting called The Sisters, featuring young Alice and her siblings. It was here that young Alice and her sisters learned that the great Mr. Gladstone suffered from vertigo. And so they tenderly guided him down the steep path to the beach with his eyes shut!
It is here that I shall be staying on May 4, 2012!
The May 4 Alice Day event is the day before the town’s world famous Victoriana Extravaganza, which offers another three days of fun filled Victoriana themed festivities, stalls, shows, a grand parade, and streets brimming with talented entertainers. Talk about the best week in the year to head out to Llandudno in Wales!
Organizers at Alice in Wonderland Ltd. of the May 4 Alice Day birthday celebration have been inundated with young passionate Alices, White Rabbits, Mad Hatters, Queens of Hearts, and Cheshire Cats requesting details of the Wonderland festivities planned, and begging to be involved in this highly anticipated event which will be launched on the town’s promenade at 12:30 pm promptly on the big day.
Llandudno’s charming and talented Miss Alice 2011-2012, Miss Nicol Thompson, whose public duties during the year have included public appearances at local and national events, has been very busy. She has been sending special Mad Hatter Tea Party invitations to dignitaries, including lucky old me. This means I shall have the great honor of sitting at Miss Alice’s top table for what promises to be the very best Mad Hatter Tea Party of all time! During the course of tea and jam tarts, Miss Alice has promised to reenact for us the first encounter between Alice and Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll), a momentous occasion that the audience (including over 700 school children) are looking forward to seeing. Local hoteliers are busy importing extra tables and chairs to accommodate all the participants, and the town’s chefs have promised they shall not run out of jam tarts for the world record attempt for jam tart eating! Street performers, actors, art competitions, on-site illustrators, face painters, fancy dress, birds of prey and live music promise to keep families entertained throughout the day. Members of the Lewis Carroll Society will be dressing as characters from the Alice books.
The day will be hosted by the local celebrity Ian Turner, who is an Alice in Wonderland fan. His stage is already set with the backdrop of a 1910 Llandudno Victorian Tram.
So would you like a little more Alice Tea? Then why not join us at 12:30 p.m. on the Promenade in Llandudno! Bring a picnic, bring a friend, but most important, bring your passion and your curiosity for a children’s story with an enduring legacy.
For more information:
http://www.facebook.com/AliceinWonderlandLlandudno
Photos courtesy of the St. Tudno Hotel.
C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.
Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld
Alice in Italy
The Mart: the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum of Trento and Rovereto
Alice In Wonderland is the first exhibition to comprehensively focus on Lewis Carroll’s classic “Alice” books and their enormous influence on the world of visual arts from the first publication ofAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland in 1865 to the present day.
From the 25th of February to the 3rd of June 2012, the visual extravaganza (organized by the Tate Liverpool in collaboration with the Mart di Rovereto and the Hamburger Kunsthalle) will take center stage at the Mart. Lewis Carroll was an active participant in the artistic scene of his time as both an innovative photographer and a scholar interested in art and artists. He kept company with talent like the poet and artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the sculptor Alexander Munro, and the artist Sir John Everett Millais. Paintings by Rossetti and Millais are part of the Mart’s Alice In Wonderland exhibition along with others by William Holman Hunt and Arthur Hughes about whom Carroll wrote in his famous diaries.
The timing of the exhibition is perfect of course since July, 2012 is the 150th anniversary of the first telling of the Alice in Wonderland story to Alice Liddell, Carroll’s inspiration for Alice. 2015 will mark the 150th anniversary of Macmillan’s first publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I asked Cristiana Collu, Director of the Mart, the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum of Trento and Rovereto, to share her views on the exhibition and what Alice in Wonderland means to Italians.
Annelies Strba - Nyima 445
What do Lewis Carroll’s Alice books mean to Italians young and old?
Carroll’s books are classics and form part of the Western collective imagination. I don’t know if there is a specifically Italian perception of Alice as character, but I am sure that there are numerous versions and translations, the last of which I have heard is A s´àtera ala de s´ispigru and su chi Alisedda b´at agatadu; in other words, a version in Sardinian (which is the region I come from myself). The example is a very significant one because it uses the tale of Alice to revive not only a language that has fallen into neglect but also to create neologisms, and finally to combine the richness of the culture of the place, founded on the intangible heritage of oral transmission, with codified literature. A process of recognition and appropriation is set into motion that says much if not all about the extraordinary strength of the Alice story.
Paul Laffoley - Alice Pleasance Liddell
What can visitors to the Mart’s Alice in Wonderland exhibit expect to discover when they visit? What will make the Mart’s exhibit unique in contrast to the Tate’s version?
The exhibition is a world of marvels, just as is the museum, offspring of the wunderkammer (an encyclopedic collection of objects). In this sense, the marvel is not only that which surprises, astonishes and leaves us open-mouthed, but on the contrary that which functions as a veritable detonator of our creativity, our capacity for reaction and problem-solving, our willingness to see things in a different way and the world from new points of view; when all is said and done, it calls things into question. Having doubts for Alice is not synonymous with the fragility of her being but with her capacity for growth, for ‘muchness’. Our visitors will find this ‘muchness’ in the presentation of the exhibition, in the way the exhibition has been laid out, which we have sought to interpret with a precise visual identity corresponding to the reading of the references made between museum, literary work, works on display, interludes and scores held together by a graphic design that is able to maintain the weight of the whole throughout, without ceasing to lighten it with irony and freshness.
Max Ernst - Alice in 1941
Can you tell us about some of the Italian artists and writers that have been inspired by Lewis Carroll’s works? Are any of these important artists or their works featured in the Mart’s exhibit?
Carroll’s tales have enjoyed an extraordinary following in Italy too. We could draw up infinite lists of translations, free interpretations, adapted versions for children and freely inspired transpositions (including the fine one by Gianni Rodari, Alice nelle figure), and those for adults (Aldo Busi’s version, for instance) and for the film festival in Rome, “Alice nella città” and its logo, designed by Marti Guixé. I believe that Alice really is a sort of catch-all, an emblematic metaphor of which art and its various forms, from cinema to design, painting to sculpture and video art, have made use to ‘illustrate’ even the dark and dense part that the girl and her author have represented.Alice in Wonderland, however, does not contemplate works by Italian artists; we shall instead draw some in who will offer their personal vision, taking the suggestions offered by the exhibition in tune or opposition to their style so they may offer us their own personal vision.
John Everett Millais - Waking
Do you think Italians are aware of the story behind the story, i.e. that Alice Liddell was Carroll’s inspiration for the story and also that many of the characters in the book were inspired by her family and her environment? Is this something that you believe will be of interest?
The Italian public is thus informed that the exhibition layout, which is also chronological, will offer a series of points enabling many to put together pieces of a puzzle that they already possessed, thus offering a complete and conscious vision of the history and of the world subtending all, together with what occurs behind the scenes. I have no doubt that even these aspects will be of considerable appeal and interest.
What does this exhibit mean to you? What are some of your personal favorites in the exhibits?
I prefer the exhibition as a whole. I loved the project and experienced the crucial part of the creation of its identity within the Mart. Together with all my collaborators who have shared this adventure with me, I am certain that we have created a testimonial of our change, a device that not only translates but implements our vision of the museum as a place of utopias, of possibilities, of a stereoscopic and at the same time timely view; a place in which we feel ourselves to be in ‘Wonderland’, elsewhere and yet at home.
The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto, the Mart, is one of the most important museums in Italy. For more information.
Cristiana Collu and C. M. Rubin
Photos courtesy of the Alice in Wonderland Exhibition at the Mart, the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum of Trento and Rovereto.
C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.
Alice - In Wales?
The Sisters (1864) by Sir William Blake Richmond can be seen at the Alice In Wonderland exhibit at Tate Liverpool (Photo courtesy of Tate Images)
What does the Queen of Welsh resorts, the town of Llandudno in Wales (3 hours on a direct train from the city of London), have to do with Alice in Wonderland?
In the summer of 1864, Alice Liddell (Lewis Carroll’s inspiration for Alice in Wonderland) and her two sisters, Lorina (who inspired the Lory) and Edith (who inspired the Eaglet), posed for up to ten hours a day while the distinguished English artist, Sir William Blake Richmond, created one of his most famous paintings, called The Sisters. The painting of the three Liddell sisters set against the background of the Great Orme, Llandudno’s famous mountain, is one of the highlights of the Tate Liverpool’s Alice in Wonderland exhibition. Sir William Blake Richmond painted the portraits of the most prominent people of the day. The Sisters, well received by the art critics of the day, was regarded by Richmond as a milestone in his career. Sir William had this to say about Alice Liddell:
“Little Alice, to whose pretty face and lovely coloring no reproduction can do justice, is seen on the right in profile, peering at the big volume on her sister’s lap.”
The group scene with the Hatter, Alice, King of Hearts, Tweedles and Caterpillar(Photo courtesy of Alice In Wonderland Ltd.)
When my daughter and I were creating our book, The Real Alice in Wonderland, about our relative Alice Liddell, we spent time researching Llandudno’s long connection to Alice Liddell and her family. Alice’s father, Henry Liddell (who inspired the White Rabbit), his wife Lorina, and the governess Miss Pricks (who inspired the Queen of Hearts) came to Llandudno for family vacations. It was here that the Liddell family built their large, gothic styled vacation home, which they called Penmorfa. Many famous celebrities of the day, including Prime Minister William Gladstone, came to visit them. As the Alice in Wonderland books became more famous, Alice Liddell also became a celebrity. Tourists wanted to enjoy beautiful Llandudno, perfectly situated on the western shores of Wales, and learn more about the story behind one of the greatest children’s stories of all time. In time, the town offered related tourist attractions, including an Alice trail, a Wonderland store and a Rabbit Hole attraction conceived by residents Muriel and Murray Ratcliffe that recreated Alice book scenes with life-size robotic characters. Eventually, Penmorfa was converted into a grand hotel. Around the turn of the 21st century, some attractions began to disappear for a number of reasons, including insufficient traffic to support the upkeep of some of the historical sights that celebrated Llandudno’s important connection to the Alice in Wonderland story.
All that is about to change just in time for two important anniversaries related to the Alice books: July 4, 2012, the 150th anniversary of the first telling of the story to Alice Liddell, and November 26, 2015, the 150th anniversary of the first publication of the book.
The Directors of Alice In Wonderland Ltd., Barry Mortlock and Simon Burrows, have purchased the Rabbit Hole content from Llandudno resident Muriel Ratcliffe, the owner of 20 years. They have launched a new Wonderland website to offer the finest Alice in Wonderland collectibles from around the world, http://www.wonderland.co.uk, and to act as portal to communicate new Alice initiatives underway in Llandudno. The team is working closely with the local County Council to bring an updated Alice trail to Llandudno. It will be a walking trail with 10-12 key places of interest that will depict the connection of Alice to the town. The new age trail will feature high tech interactive activities and will be open to the public in fiscal 2013/2014. Llandudno’s existing railway station is also undergoing a major redevelopment. It will become the start of the trail. Mortlock and Burrows’ coffee shop, currently housed within the town’s large Waterstone’s book store, is also being revamped “Alice style”, which no one will be able to miss since it will be the final watering hole at the end of the Wonderland trail. Muriel Ratcliffe will stay involved in their plans to bring the strong Alice connection back to the town of LLandudno. Ratcliffe explains, “I get phone calls and emails to this day asking if the attraction is still open.”
The Queen of Hearts (Photo courtesy of Alice In Wonderland Ltd.)
I had the opportunity to chat with Barry and Simon about their “Alice of Llandudno” project:
Why do you believe what you are doing is so important to Llandudno, Wales, and to the rest of the “Alice” loving world?
Llandudno is a beautiful Victorian seaside resort that is full of character and has charmed visitors, young and old, for many years. It is a lovely part of the world with the stunning Snowdonia National Park and World Heritage sites nearly. It also plays an important role in telling the story of the young Alice Liddell who was the inspiration behind the books. Alice’s parents honeymooned in Llandudno and stayed in one of the beautiful hotels whilst their holiday home (Penmorfa) was being built. The family spent many summers in Llandudno and they must have shared some stunning sunsets since the house had magnificent views. Alice Liddell is important to Wales. She is a Llandudno celebrity, having graced our shores with her presence. Her story needs to be told to the world and remembered. The charm of the book, Alice’s personal story, and the charm of the resort go hand in hand.
The White Rabbit (Photo courtesy of Alice In Wonderland Ltd.)
Why do you think Alice in Wonderland continues to be so inspiring to generation after generation?
We think the fact that the story of Alice in Wonderland has a fascinating story behind it makes it all the more inspiring. We are intrigued by the story behind the book and have a genuine interest in the lives of the real people involved. In our daily crazy worlds, we occasionally need some escapism from reality. Alice in Wonderland is a story that takes us into a different dimension; it stimulates, feeds and drives the imagination. There are no boundaries, no religion, and no discrimination; we are free to let our imaginations run wild; anything impossible can become possible. As a child, we know no boundaries; with a vivid imagination, all things seem possible. It is the boundaries and walls we put in place that make things impossible! Break down the boundaries, tear down the walls, feed your imagination, and you get Alice in Wonderland……………..!
Simon Burrows, C. M. Rubin and Barry Mortlock
C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?”. She is also the author of three bestselling books, including “The Real Alice in Wonderland.”
Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld
