Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

The Mad Hatter was introduced along with other fantastical beings in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The Hatter first appears in Chapter 7: "A Mad Tea-Party".

In this whimsical encounter, Alice discovers the Hatter having tea with the March Hare and the Dormouse. The Hatter recounts to Alice that their perpetual tea-drinking is a consequence of his attempt to sing for the irritable Queen of Hearts, resulting in a death sentence for "murdering the time."

Miraculously escaping decapitation, the Hatter finds himself frozen at 6:00 pm indefinitely, courtesy of Time, referred to as a male entity by the Hatter.

During the tea party, the Hatter exhibits eccentric behavior, constantly changing positions at the table, making personal comments, posing unanswerable riddles, and reciting nonsensical poetry, ultimately compelling Alice to leave.

The Hatter resurfaces in Chapter 11: "Who Stole the Tarts?" as a witness at the Knave of Hearts' trial. The Queen seems to recognize him as the sentenced singer, and the King of Hearts warns him against nervousness, threatening immediate execution.

The Mad Hatter also makes a brief appearance in Through the Looking-Glass, identified as "Hatta". Facing legal troubles once again, the Hatter may not necessarily be guilty, as the White Queen explains the arbitrary nature of punishments in Wonderland. 

He is also mentioned as one of the White King's messengers, along with the March Hare, going by the name "Haigha". Tenniel's illustration maintains the Hatter's signature top hat, depicted with a hatband reading "In this style 10/6" in the first edition.

Carroll's hometown of Stockport, where hat making was a predominant trade, inspired the Hatter character. During that era, it was not uncommon for hatters to exhibit signs of disturbance or confusion, often linked to mercury poisoning, leading to premature deaths.

However, the Hatter in Carroll's narrative does not display the typical symptoms associated with mercury poisoning, such as excessive timidity, diffidence, increasing shyness, loss of self-confidence, anxiety, and a desire to remain unnoticed and unobtrusive.

Lewis Carroll doesn't describe the hat's exact style in the text, but Tenniel's illustration establishes the iconic top hat with a price tag displaying the numbers 10 and 6, denoting the cost in pre-decimal British currency. This detail is further clarified in The Nursery tale "Alice" where the character's hat bears a price tag indicating ten shillings and six pence.

The Cheshire Cat initially labels the Hatter and his tea party companion, the March Hare, as "both mad." This reference to both characters takes place in the sixth chapter of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, titled "Pig and Pepper" during a conversation between the young protagonist Alice and the distinctive Cheshire Cat.

When Alice inquires about the residents of the area, the cat responds, 

"In that direction lives a Hatter, and in that direction lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they're both mad!" 

Mad Hatter's Teaparty surely looks like the coziest garden party one could wish for! I for one would be delighted to go and have some tea and cake in that setting.

John Tenniel's illustration truly captures the eeriness of the hall where Alice finds herself after falling down the rabbit hole

 "There were doors all round the hall, but they were all locked; and when Alice had been all the way down one side and up the other, trying every door, she walked sadly down the middle, wondering how she was ever to get out again." 

-Lewis Carroll

Here is a video by the The Royal Ballet where Alice (Lauren Cuthbertson) stumbles upon the Mad Hatter (Steven McRae) in Christopher Wheeldon's wonderful 2018 production.

If you are mad about Mad Hatter, check out these 5 whimsical quotes from him: https://alice-in-wonderland-quotes.com/mad-hatter-quotes/ 

[Mad Hatter illustration by John Tenniel: Wikimedia Commons] 

Helena Bonham Carter Reveals The Red Queen's Subtle Anger

Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland' movie has kept a top position in cinemas for 2 weeks in a row now, and it is clearly on the way of becoming the highest grossing Burton film!

 

Meanwhile Burton's partner and the villain star of Wonderland, Helena Bonham Carter has been talking about her role as the Red Queen in an interview with Ian Spelling for New York Times Syndicate. See the video:

 

This is what Bonham Carter said about her getting the role in this production.

"No, no, no, I just assume that I'm not going to be a part of it unless he [Tim Burton] asks. And he asked me quite late in the day about 'Alice in Wonderland.' I remember that he phoned up, because I was working away, I was doing 'Terminator' in New Mexico. He phoned up and wondered if I would ever possibly think I'd want to play the Red Queen."

It's very low-status, the way he asks. I'd never read the script, so I didn't know what he was talking about. Then,when I read it, I read her character description. Her name is Iracebeth of Crims. 

 

It said Iracebeth ie. the Red Queen enters. She has a huge, oversized head and is very, very angry. I thought, Well, that's interesting, how he sees me now.

He said, Well, I did draw you. That's what often happens is that he sort of trusts his unconscious, and he said that his early drawings of the character looked like me. I wouldn't say that it's completely me, but the drawings have definitely got my angry eyebrows.

Tim Burton gave specific instructions for Helena to capture his idea of the Red Queen: He likes, always, to have a quieter take. He doesn't like big acting. 

 

It's funny - the more outrageous you are or the more unreal, the more real he wants you to pull back.

 

He gave me two notes. He wanted me to watch 'Mommie Dearest' (1981) and Bette Davis' Elizabeth I in 'The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex' (1939) with Errol Flynn.

 

Faye Dunaway doing the hanger scene in 'Mommie Dearest' basically it's a person who's about to erupt, somebody who's on the edge of anger all the time.

It was quite hard because it was unreal. It was like with Mrs. Lovett, he said. Look, you're already singing, that's unreal, so I want you to be as small in your acting as possible.

 

Here he said:

 

"We're in Wonderland, or Underland, so you have to compensate for that."

World Premiere Of Alice In Wonderland Movie In London 2010

Alice in Wonderland had its world royal premiere in London on Thursday February 25, 2010.

The stars of the film, including Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter came to the premiere in central London's Leicester Square where hundreds of fans were waiting to see them in pouring rain. 

Curiously the British movie theater chain Odeon had resolved a dispute with Walt Disney Pictures about the release date for the DVD version just in time for the world premiere. Thus the U.K. audience will see the movie in theatres in 3D!

Tim Burton told a press conference he was relieved the issue was resolved.

"I'm just glad it's resolved. We made it 3D to be shown in the 3D screens and so I'm just very happy and grateful," he said.  

"3D and Alice seem to fit," Burton told Sky News. 

"There's something about the trippiness of the Alice world that helps bring you into that 3D space."

All is fine in Wonderland after all, or is it?

Underland In Shock - Mia Wasikowska As Alice Loses Her Dress

The habitants of Wonderland, or Underland as Tim Burton calls it, are up for a shock when Alice -Mia Wasikowska- grows to a size of a church tower and her dress is ripped off at the process. Alice hides behind tall bushes when she's discovered by the feared ruler Iracebeth, the Red Queen. 

Luckily Iracebeth notices a similarity between herself and this huge newcomer to the 'Queendom' - they both have a huge head - and she shows some compassion by ordering the servants to sew some clothes for the poor giant.
 
The White Rabbit, called McTwisp, is behind this misfortune of Alice, because he feeds Alice a cake that makes her grow - too much.

Executives at Odeon, which owns 107 cinemas in the U.K. and Ireland, have decided to boycott Burton's 3-D film after plans were announced to launch the movie on DVD just three months after it hits theaters. 

The Dutch film lovers are also going to miss out because many movie theatre owners in Holland are going to boycott Alice in Wonderland if the early release of the film to DVD goes ahead.  

Australians instead are going to get special treatment, because the film hits the movie screens early - Thursday March 4, 2010! 

Life in Wonderland isn't fair, is it?

Alice in Wonderland Star Mia Wasikowska Talks About Filming With Tim Burton And Johnny Depp

Mia Wasikowska - Alice- explained her feelings about the weirdness of filming in Wonderland in an interview with Geoff Boucher.

 

She told how acting in an animated film required her to act with stickers and baseballs as her partners against a green-screen.

 

Mia Wasikowska: 

 

"It is really strange [acting on green-screen]. But Wonderland itself is bizarre and weird and comical and confusing, so it's appropriate that, we were in this green-screen environment where it doesn't always make sense to you. Things were just really odd and weird, and I suppose that was suitable to what we were working on. It put you in the right frame of mind. And it made you rely on your imagination more."

Mia Wasikowska: 

"Right from the beginning, we had a very similar view as to how Alice should be played.  He's very precise and clear and patient, and that was exactly what I needed as far as direction in this kind of film because it was so complicated. One of the most interesting things about Tim is that he does communicate visually, but he is also very precise and uses a language that people can identify with."

Mia Wasikowska: 

"He is such a cool guy. He has the humanity to keep this sense of self. He's very kind and generous and so smart. To be able to watch Johnny -- just like with Tim -- as he takes something from the page to reality and how hard he works and what he brought to it and how much he brought to it, it was amazing. It is inspiring too that he does things in a purely joyous way and has fun with it all, because so often there are people who seem disgruntled. To keep that love of what you do is so important. And watching him and Tim work together is fun. They have a very deep rapport. Watching them, it's like they speak their very own language."

Countdown until the movie Alice in Wonderland hits the big screens: 16 days!

Johnny Depp Talks About Being The Mad Hatter

Johnny Depp was interviewed by the Movie Surfers. He talked about the Mad Hatter and how it has been a dream come true for him to play this eccentric character.

Disney has also released a final film frame of the cheeky Cheshire Cat with the famous grin.

"Well, you see, a dog growls when it's angry, and wags its tail when it's pleased. Now I growl when I'm pleased, and wag my tail when I'm angry. Therefore I'm mad." 

-Cheshire Cat

More Alice In Wonderland movie stills keep coming while the launch date of the movie is getting closer. Stay tuned, we are getting more video clips, trailer and still frames until March 5, 2010.

Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland Movie Trailer

At last we get to preview more of the anticipated Alice in Wonderland movie!

Here is the second official movie trailer. It really gives us the feel of the movie and makes us wish the time ran faster, faster. Today there's still 46 more days until the release on the big screens on March 5, 2010. Who can wait?

Alice In Wonderland Movie Trailer

Mia Wasikowska as Alice looks so worried in most of the shots that one must wonder how is the Mad Hatter, expertly played by Johnny Depp, so certain that she is the only person capable of helping to get rid of the fearsome Jabberwocky, the guard of the Queen's castle. 

Big expectations for a tiny Alice, I'd say, but also the White Rabbit is determinned that Alice will turn over the reign of Wonderland from the cruel Red Queen (Helena Bonham-Carter) to her more peaceful sister, the White Queen, played serenely by Anne Hathaway.

Before you see the movie I would recommend that you'd read the book:

https://alice-in-wonderland-quotes.com/paperback-book/

..or the eBook:

http://1.olinbiz.pay.clickbank.net/

 

New Alice In Wonderland Movie Posters

These two new movie posters by Disney look beautiful, the anticipation is growing!

A few more months to go for the big date with the White Rabbit! Mark March 5, 2010 into your calendars if you haven't done that already.

[Image credits: The Walt Disney Company 2010] 

 

New Alice in Wonderland Computer Game - Looking Great

Disney Interactive has released this screenshot of a new Alice in Wonderland game in the making.

This licensed computer game will be published at the same time as Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland movie in March 2010. The game's developer, a French computer game company Etranges-Libellules, will release this extremely interesting looking game for the PC, Wii and Nintendo DS. 

Disney will also release mobile games on the iPhone and iTouch later in the year.

Alice in Wonderland Computer Game Trailer

The set up looks intriguing; why is the Mad Hatter in despair? Or is he sad? Where do these two paths lead to? And what is the White Rabbit up to?

The game will not be anything like the horror adventure game American McGee's Alice but will follow the new Burton's film plot in many ways.

Alice and other Wonderland characters will fight against the Red Queen and try and return the newly named 'Underland' back into peaceful 'Wonderland'.

The scenery looks beautiful; I hope the whole game will feature this kind of carefully drawn scenes. I'm not a big gamer but I've enjoyed 'Myst' and this game reminds me of that game.

I for one will be exited to explore it's surroundings when it hits the stores!

[Image credits: Disney Interactive 2010]

Alice In Wonderland Is The New Black?

"ALICE IS THE NEW BLACK" and "WHO WILL YOU WEAR TO THE TEA PARTY?"

These posters are the new teaser posters for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland 3-D movie. Silas Lesnick from Comingsoon attended the Disney’s D23 Expo, where these promos were showcased at the Alice in Wonderland tea party.

Is Tim Burton taking Alice too far in the dark? Or what can these posters otherwise mean?  

Black theme continues with news from Kerrang.com that Ville Valo, the frontman for the Finnish gothic metal rock band HIM is working on a sound track for the Alice in Wonderland movie.

Regardless these black themes, Tim Burton is claiming that his adaptation of Alice in Wonderland will be suitable for children. Many worried parents have voiced their concerns about the dark elements of the new movie, which is a cause of frustration for the director.
Defending himself Tim Burton told recently to AMC News that “It’s a Disney movie! We’re not doing anything in it that’s more than what’s already in Alice in Wonderland. The movie is meant for people of all ages to view.”

























The Alice in Wonderland Movie, starring Johnny Depp is opening on March 5, 2010.

Mia Wasikowska in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

New pictures from the next year's sensational Tim Burton movie Alice in Wonderland are emerging quite frequently at the moment.

Now we have the pleasure to see Mia Wasikowska playing Alice in a lush Wonderland garden.

Alice looks so confused that she probably has just entered the Wonderland after running off from the huge party she was attending until she found out that she was going to be proposed to. (Check the previous post for the plot.)

It is getting more and more exiting to get the feel of this movie! Tim Burton is really mastering the atmosphere of Wonderland.

[Image credits: The Walt Disney Company 2009] 

The Casting List of Alice in Wonderland Movie with Pictures

Here we have Mia Wasikowska as tiny Alice with a cup and a saucer:

Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter:


The gorgeous Anne Hathaway as The White Queen with red lips and dark eye brows:

The sexy Helena Bonham Carter as even sexier Red Queen:

Here we have Matt Lucas in person:

...and here he is the twin characters Tweedledee and Tweedledum:

Here we have the official casting list:

Mia Wasikowska -Alice Kingsley
Johnny Depp -Mad Hatter
Michael Sheen -White Rabbit
Anne Hathaway -White Queen
Helena Bonham Carter -Red Queen
Stephen Fry -Cheshire Cat
Alan Rickman -Caterpillar
Crispin Glover -Knave of Hearts
Matt Lucas -Tweedledee / Tweedledum
Christopher Lee -The Jabberwock
Noah Taylor -March Hare
Barbara Windsor -Dormouse
 

... and a bit more casting:

Timothy Spall -The Bloodhound
Marton Csokas -Charles Kingsley
Eleanor Tomlinson -Fiona Chataway
Annalise Basso -The May Pole Dancer
Jemma Powell -Margaret Manchester
Frances de la Tour -Aunt Imogene
John Hopkins -Lowell Manchester
Austin James Wolff -The May Pole Dancer
Lindsay Duncan -Helen Kingsley
Eleanor Gecks -Faith Chataway
Tim Pigott-Smith -Lord Ascot
Geraldine James -Lady Ascot
Leo Bill -Hamish Ascot

The photos are from USA Today (Photo: AP Photo/Disney).

[Image credits: The Walt Disney Company 2009] 

The New Pictures Of Wonderland And The Movie Plot

Disney has released new movie photos of Burton's Alice In Wonderland for us to savour and build up some excitement!

 

The landscape looks inviting but a bit dark as you can expect from Tim Burton.

The topiary in the first picture looks creepy, the danger there is imminent.

The second picture is from the rose garden where Alice encounters talking flowers. It looks magical!

This is a picture of Alice with Tweedledee and Tweedledum at the gates in Wonderland.

In this new Burton's movie Alice is already 17 years old and the plot tells that she is invited to attend a huge party at a Victorian estate.

 

But when Alice finds out that she is about to be proposed to in front of hundreds of society snobs, she flees and again runs after the White Rabbit and through the hole into the Wonderland. 

 

Curiously she doesn't remember her previous encounters in Wonderland where her old acquaintances are waiting for her to help them. 

 

The Cheshire Cat, the March Hare and Tweedledee and Tweedledum are ready to rebel against the Red Queen who has taken the throne from her sister, the White Queen, and in doing so transformed the previously peaceful kingdom of Wonderland into a world of deceit and disagreements. Very interesting screenplay from Linda Woolverton.

 

[Image credits: The Walt Disney Company 2009]

Want To See A Preview Of Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland Movie?

If you’re impatiently waiting for the next Tim Burton movie, you can actually have an early peek at the Alice in Wonderland movie for only $37!

Disney is presenting a D23 EXPO in Anaheim Convention Center on September 10-13, 2009. This will be the ultimate Disney Fan Experience. The four days will be full of live events, interactive pavilions and entertainment. 

Visitors will get to preview many upcoming movie events, including Alice in Wonderland, Toy Story 3, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, TRON, Disney’s A Christmas Carol and Rapunzel.

You can buy the tickets now from D23Expo

I sure wish I could make a trip to Anaheim, California on September.

Alice In Wonderland Makes It To The Great IMAX 3D Theatres

The Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and IMAX Corporation have decided that Burton’s Alice in Wonderland will be perfect for an IMAX Experience.

The film starring Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska and several other stars (see earlier posting for casting details) will be released to IMAX 3D theatres simultaneously with the film’s release on March 5, 2010.

The top management of both Walt Disney Studios and IMAX Filmed Entertainment seem to be very exited about this movie-event of the year:

Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group, said,

"If ever there was a film that cried out to be presented in Disney Digital 3D(TM) and the premium IMAX 3D format, Tim Burton's fantastic interpretation of 'Alice in Wonderland' is that film." 

This is going to be an eye-popping cinematic experience as Tim takes moviegoers down the rabbit hole and into the dimensional world filled with incredible characters, sly humor, and wild adventures.

Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment is equally exited: 

"Alice in Wonderland' is a fantastic addition to our 2010 film slate". "Combining a beloved Disney classic re-designed through the imagination of Tim Burton's creative vision with these incredibly outrageous characters and world class actors certainly makes for an event-status film, and we're pleased to add another level of excitement to this highly-anticipated movie."

“Way down the rabbit hole”

The new Alice in Wonderland film is being brought to the screen using a combination of live actors, motion capture, fully animated CG characters and CG environments.

“The way it’s being done is a mutation of things.” 

says Tim Burton who was filming in Cornwall, England for two weeks. Back in Los Angeles’ Culver City Studios the filming continued in strange looking sets: actors on sound stages were completely surrounded by green screen. 

“It’s not like Beowulf. It’s not a motion-capture movie. It’s kind of a mixture of some distorted live action and animation. I can’t relate it to anything because I’m not sure what to relate it to. It’s kind of new territory for me, so we’ll see.”

At The Jameson Empire Awards Tim commented on the style and progress of filming Alice in Wonderland:

"I like the 3-D aspect of it, I think it fits the material very well, and it doesn’t give me a headache like it used to."

3-D may be a way to go in some of Burton’s future films as well if this one proves to be a success:

"I think it’s good for anything. There are other uses than having spears stuck into your face - I think there are more visceral, emotional uses, especially if you use lots of textures.”

The filming is going 

“Way down the rabbit hole. There's a long way to go."

The Plot of the Alice in Wonderland movie 2010

This new Alice in Wonderland movie will not be a remake of the old Disney movie. 

 

Linda Woolverton’s has written the script with the two Lewis Carroll books on mind but the story is completely new. The Disney magazine D23 reports that the plot will be about Alice’s return to Wonderland when she is 17 years old of age.

 

Many lovable but queer characters like Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, White Rabbit, Red Queen, King of Hearts, White Queen and of course Tweedledum and Tweedledee from the original books will be joining Alice in Wonderland, or Underland as some say about this new setting.

 

Here is Tim Burton’s comments about Alice in the film:

“Alice had this adventure as a little girl and now she’s going back all these years later, it’s a bit overgrown, the topiaries aren’t as nicely cut as they once were. There’s a slightly haunted quality to Wonderland, even though it’s got strong elements of color.”

Alice’s journey in Wonderland will be kind of a rite of passage, where she will grow and discover herself and, in the end, her late father as well.

The part of Alice will be played by Mia Wasikowska. She is 19 years old and she was born in Australia.

Tim Burton found her after an extensive search:

“We met a lot of people, but she just had that certain kind of emotional roughness, standing her ground in a way that makes her kind of an older person but with a younger person’s mentality.”

New Alice In Wonderland Movie is coming!

The all new Alice In Wonderland Movie is coming!

Walt Disney Pictures production will start in early 2009 and the release is planned for the summer of 2010. Tim Burton will be directing the movie and it will be shot in 3D.

We are all mad here about the movie!