“I wish you wouldn’t keep appearing and vanishing so suddenly: you make one quite giddy.”
“All right,” said the Cat; and this time it vanished quite slowy, beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the grin, which remained some time after the rest of it had gone.
“Well! I’ve often seen a cat without a grin,” thought Alice; “but a grin without a cat! It’s the most curious thing I ever saw in all my life!”
– (Lewis Carroll, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, 58)
I’ve watched the original 1951 Disney cartoon over and over, and it never failed to tickle the senses with the delightful tunes, singing flowers, and the nonsensical situations that Alice was put into. I remember the white rabbit who was always running late, the mushroom pieces with the words “Eat Me” on them, the caterpillar who smoked, the Mad Hatter’s tea parties, the card soldiers chasing Alice, and my favourite of all, the ever-grinning Cheshire Cat.
This intellegent little puss is always up to mischief, and you never know whether to trust him or not because he sometimes helps Alice, but at other times gets her into a whole lot of trouble!
Conversations with it were entertaining to read, because it seemed as though it was always trying to be funny.
`Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’
`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat.
`I don’t much care where–‘ said Alice.
`Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.
`–so long as I get SOMEWHERE,’ Alice added as an explanation.
`Oh, you’re sure to do that,’ said the Cat, `if you only walk long enough.'”
– (Lewis Carroll, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, 58-59)
Sounds kind of like some students of mine.
I’m sure it’ll be interesting to have a cat like that. For one, its purple and pink (at least in the Disney 1951 movie). My favourite colours! Secondly, it’ll drive Freckles crazy. Imagine chasing a cat which grins at you and then suddenly disappears, leaving only the grin! Thirdly, I’ll bet it doesn’t shed fur!
Tim Burton collaborates with Disney to create the weird, whimsical world of Wonderland, where everything is surreal and every character, mad. With a stellar cast (Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, and Stephen Fry (who won awards for his voice on the Harry Potter audiobook series) as the voice of the Cheshire cat) and music by Danny Elfman, Burton’s friend and soundtrack composer for most of Burton’s films, this film promises to be an adventure not to be missed!
Catch Alice in Wonderland Movie starting from 4th March 2010 and join the official Facebook and Twitter page!