Through the Looking-Glass: A Ranking of Films Reflecting Lewis Carroll's Alice Books
This is a companion list to Down the Rabbit Hole: A Ranking of Films (Under)Grounded in Lewis Carroll's Alice Books, a ranking of films that are, more or less, straightforward adaptations, paratextual reworkings, parodies and sequels based in the text of Lewis Carroll's two Alice books, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass." Contrariwise, this list ranks films that significantly reflect or reference the books--either by blatant quotation, interesting development of those allusions, or both--but are largely about things other than Wonderland and Looking-Glass World.
Links to my reviews of the films provided below.
You may comment on my mirror-image ranking at Letterboxd, including checking any titles I tagged as "alice-books" but didn't include in my lists and suggest any title I may've missed even if it does upend the happy accident that my lists initially reflect each other in their numbers of entries of 24 and 42, respectively: https://boxd.it/8FNq8
(My average rating of ranked films: 6.2 stars)
Links to my reviews of the films provided below.
You may comment on my mirror-image ranking at Letterboxd, including checking any titles I tagged as "alice-books" but didn't include in my lists and suggest any title I may've missed even if it does upend the happy accident that my lists initially reflect each other in their numbers of entries of 24 and 42, respectively: https://boxd.it/8FNq8
(My average rating of ranked films: 6.2 stars)
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- DirectorJacques RivetteStarsJuliet BertoDominique LabourierBulle OgierA mysteriously linked pair of young women find their daily lives preempted by a strange boudoir melodrama that plays itself out in a hallucinatory parallel reality.Allusions to the White Rabbit with the two leads taking turns following each other as the other drops items, tarot cards, a spectating cat, an otherworldly house, a little girl, as well as to the boating, for an episodic and reflexive film by French New Wave filmmaker Jacques Rivette in a vein comparable to the books.
My Review - DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossWhen a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.Morpheus explicitly references "Alice in Wonderland," while Trinity tells Neo to follow the White Rabbit (a tattoo, in this case), among less-obvious allusions, both stylistic and psychedelic, for a narrative from the Wachowskis that is also about two worlds: one real and another a dream.
My Review - DirectorGeorge DunningStarsPaul McCartneyGeorge HarrisonRingo StarrThe Beatles agree to accompany Captain Fred in his yellow submarine and go to Pepperland to free it from the music-hating Blue Meanies.Psychedelic limited animation featuring The Beatles, some of whose songs also allude to the Alice books. There are many sly Carrollian hints between the two worlds of this one, including a character who briefly transforms into an obvious image of the White Rabbit.
My Review - DirectorYorgos LanthimosStarsOlivia ColmanEmma StoneRachel WeiszIn early 18th-century England, the status quo at the court is upset when a new servant arrives and endears herself to a frail Queen Anne.Best Picture nominee from the idiosyncratic Yorgos Lanthimos, its Alice allusions are debatable, but there are rabbits and a mad queen in this fish-eye view of a liberally interpreted historical court of Queen Anne.
My Review - DirectorChristiane CegavskeA handmade stop-motion fairy tale for adults that tells the tale of the struggle between the aristocratic White Mice and the rustic Creatures Who Dwell Under the Oak over the doll of their heart's desire.More debatable allusions, this time from a stop-motion animated fairy tale 13 years in the making. There are caterpillars with psychedelic effects, though, along with an Alice-like doll, chattering flowers, anthropomorphic animals, and a woodland setting, among other things. Plus, cards are played beside a raven--recalling the Hatter's famous riddle.
My Review - DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsDaveigh ChaseSuzanne PleshetteMiyu IrinoDuring her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.More slight inspirations from the Alice books for an original fairy tale, this time from famous animator Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli in the Oscar-winning Best Animated Feature. Again, we have two reflexive worlds, identity crises, plus there seem to be allusions here to the chapter "Pig and Pepper," with parents turning pigs and a witch with a baby seemingly inspired by the illustrations of John Tenniel.
My Review - DirectorJan SvankmajerLewis Carroll's poem is read and followed by a free-form animated depiction of images and toys from childhood, repeatedly overturned by a live cat.
- DirectorMay el-ToukhyStarsTrine DyrholmGustav LindhMagnus KrepperA successful lawyer jeopardizes her career and threatens to tear her family apart after engaging in an affair with her teenage stepson.The English interpretation of this Danish title, "Queen of Hearts," rather gives the "Alice in Wonderland" theme away. There's a great stylistic looking-glass motif, plus the titular queen has twin daughters whom she reads to at least one of Carroll's books.
My Review - DirectorJordan PeeleStarsLupita Nyong'oWinston DukeElisabeth MossAdelaide Wilson and her family are attacked by mysterious figures dressed in red. Upon closer inspection, the Wilsons realize that the intruders are exact lookalikes of them.Jordan Peele's sophomore horror movie is replete with mirror images, both literal and reflexive doppelgängers. Plus, there are rabbits, which besides working with the biblical Easter theme, may do double service as underground allusions to "Alice in Wonderland."
My Review - DirectorWalt DisneyHugh HarmanCarman MaxwellStarsVirginia DavisWalt DisneyHugh HarmanAlice visits an animation studio, where the animators show her various scenes on their drawing boards. A few of them: a cat dancing to a cat band; a mouse poking at a (live) cat until it moves; a couple mice boxing, while the animators crowd around cheering and acting as corner-men. That night, she dreams of taking a train to cartoon-land, where a red carpet reception awaits. She appears in live action. They have a welcoming parade, with Alice riding on an elephant. The cartoons dance for her, and she dances for them. Meanwhile, the lions break out of the zoo. The lions chase her into a hollow tree, then into a cave and down a rabbit hole. Finally, she jumps off a cliff and awakes back in her bed.Walt Disney's first effort in his decades-spanning interest in cinematic transmutations of Carroll's books transports a little (live-action) girl named Alice to a dreamworld, "Cartoonland," reflexive of the animation studio she visits.
My Review - DirectorRobert ClampettStarsMel BlancBilly BletcherRobert ClampettPorky Pig goes on a hunt to catch the surreally elusive last Do-Do bird.
- DirectorClaude ChabrolStarsSylvia KristelCharles VanelFernand LedouxAlice Carol leaves her husband one rainy night, telling him that she does not love him anymore. She travels alone but when her windscreen breaks on a lonely road, she has to stop and seek help. She goes to a creepy manor and is welcomed by the owner, Henri Vergennes, and his butler, Colas. Alice is invited to spend the night in the house. The next morning, Alice can't find the two men from he previous night but finds her car surprisingly fixed. She tries to leave but cannot find the gate. She stops the car and walks around the wall trying to find an exit but becomes increasingly worried with what she finds.Another one from the French New Wave, Claude Chabrol includes a protagonist named Alice Carroll for an explicit reference, while the rest of the picture includes an otherworldly haunted house through the looking-glass of her broken car window. Plus, there's a mysterious door and some interesting, if misogynistic, stuff is done with the cinematic gaze.
My Review - DirectorHenry SelickStarsDakota FanningTeri HatcherJohn HodgmanWandering her rambling old house in her boring new town, an 11-year-old Coraline discovers a hidden door to a strangely idealized version of her life. In order to stay in the fantasy, she must make a frighteningly real sacrifice.Full of obvious if not always explicit references to "Alice in Wonderland" from a book that is also Carrollian. Stop-motion animation about a little girl who, like Alice, also travels to a reflexive dreamworld via a tunnel and through a door. Features one of the better variations of the Cheshire Cat.
My Review - DirectorRichard GlatzerWash WestmorelandStarsJulianne MooreAlec BaldwinKristen StewartA linguistics professor and her family find their bonds tested when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.Julianne Moore finally won an Oscar for her portrayal of this Alice, who likewise faces an identity crisis (in this case, brought on by Alzheimer's Disease). Meanwhile, her daughter played by Kristen Stewart provides the reflexivity of an actress-playing-an-actress. I also suspect there's a sly allusion here to Carroll's Caterpillar with a butterfly necklace.
My Review - DirectorDaniel BarnzStarsElle FanningPatricia ClarksonFelicity HuffmanConfounded by her clashes with the seemingly rule-obsessed world, a troubled young girl seeks enlightenment from her unconventional drama teacher.From the title forward, this one is full of blatant Carrollian references, including the little girl playing in an "Alice in Wonderland" play, along with a mother writing a book about the Alice books, and the girl faces a crisis in distinguishing reality and dreamworld.
My Review - DirectorRoland WestStarsLon ChaneyGertrude OlmsteadHallam CooleyA meek clerk who doubles as an amateur detective investigates some very strange goings-on at a remote mental sanitarium.Debatable allusions to the Alice books in the old-dark-house silent film, although the ones to Shakespeare's "The Tempest" are bit more obvious with the mad doctor and an assistant named Caliban, as is the "Watson" and Arthur Conan Doyle "Sherlock Holmes" parody, but characters do enter a (literal) mad house through a mirror and by falling down a sort of rabbit hole.
My Review - DirectorHoward S. MossMary and Gretel meet a fairy who promises them long life as long as they don't cut certain flowers. If not, the price is the head of them.A drunken White Rabbit makes an early appearance along with other fairy-tale characters in this charming early stop-motion animation.
My Review - DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsKevin BaconColin FirthAlison LohmanKaren O'Connor, a young journalist known for her celebrity profiles, is consumed with discovering the truth behind a long-buried incident that affected the lives and careers of showbiz team Vince Collins and Lanny Morris.Explicit reference with the "Alice in Wonderland" play-within-play, which underscores a highly reflexive noir complete with a lesbian sex scene between the two Alices--one of the scenes that may've got the movie its controversial NC-17 rating.
My Review - DirectorJonas MiddletonStarsCatharine BurgessJamie GillisLaura NicholsonA rich socialite escapes her boring lifestyle when a ghost takes her to a sexual hell where anything goes.And, if NC-17 weren't explicit enough, here's actual pornography from the so-called "Golden Age of Porn." With a title from Carroll's second Alice book, the narrative that's arguably more horror than stag film revolves around mirrors and two worlds, along with an Alice-like daughter who may face the same threat as her mother.
My Review - DirectorFederico FelliniStarsGiulietta MasinaSandra MiloMario PisuVisions, memories, and mysticism all help a 40-something woman to find the strength to leave her cheating husband.Fellini film with slight allusions to "Alice in Wonderland," including childhood trauma and dreams, mirrors and reflections, madness, a small door and a butterfly tattoo.
My Review - DirectorWoody AllenStarsMia FarrowWilliam HurtJoe MantegnaA spoiled Manhattan housewife re-evaluates her life after visiting a Chinatown healer.Woody Allen's reworking of the above Fellini film, the protagonist takes on a more explicit reference to Carroll's text with the "Alice" name. Plus, there's all the ingested transmogrification, including Cheshire Cat-like invisibility, along with a sort of mad tea party, spiral-induced hypnotic dreaming and Caterpillar-like hookah smoking, for a reflexive plot regarding the Alice taking control of her own story.
My Review - DirectorStephen QuayTimothy QuayThe story of Alice in Wonderland, explored in the stop-motion world of the Quay brothers.The connection to the Alice books in this one are explicit and thorough, so much so that, come to think of it, may make it more deserving of inclusion in my other ranking. Brief stop-motion animation from the brothers Quay, there's the typical conflation of the two books with allusions to the mad tea party from Wonderland beside Alice's reflection trapped in a looking-glass nightmare.
My Review - DirectorVince CollinsLike 'Alice in Wonderland' - but surreal, sexual and utterly horrifying.Another one more for adults rather than children despite being a short cartoon, what with the obvious "Alice in Wonderland" allusions making rabbit holes out of vaginas. Exploits the transmogrification of the books well for a comparable animated style.
My Review - DirectorAleksandr RouStarsOlga YukinaTatyana YukinaTatyana BaryshevaOlya and Yalo save the people of the looking glass from lies.Here's a kid's film, however, although it's exploited for Soviet propaganda. An original fairy tale, it seems to borrow its mirror-motif reflexivity quite well from the Alice books.
My Review - DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJeff BridgesJennifer TillyJodelle FerlandBecause of the actions of her irresponsible parents, a young girl is left alone on a decrepit country estate and survives inside her fantastic imagination.The better and more mature feature from Terry Gilliam on this list, from a book that's also Carrollian, it likewise feature a little girl creating a dreamworld to cope with the adult world. Plus, the "Alice in Wonderland" book is explicitly referenced as the book-within-the-book.
My Review - DirectorJacek BromskiJerzy GruzaStarsSophie BarjacJean-Pierre CasselSusannah YorkAlice falls in love with a jogger called Rabbit.Obvious references in this to "Alice in Wonderland," with characters taking their names from the corresponding ones from the books, although all of it is curiously employed for a rom-com musical.
My Review - DirectorPaul LederStarsZooey HallGeri ReischlJoanne Moore JordanAlbert tried to kill his rich snobby mother once. Then he was institutionalized. Now he's escaped. Albert is after his mother again. And he will torture and kill anything that lays in the way...Debatable allusions to the books here, where although there's a character named Alice, she's the maid and the mother of the little girl (who, ironically, would later star in "The Brady Bunch," which also featured a maid named Alice). The girl, however, does go on boat and train rides akin to episodes from the books with the creepy killer of this horror exploitation, as if testing the theory of Lewis Carroll's supposed pedophilia.
My Review - DirectorFrancesco BarilliStarsMimsy FarmerMaurizio BonugliaMario ScacciaSylvia, an industrial scientist, is troubled by strange hallucinations related to the tragic suicide of her mother.Get through the boring parts that comprise most of this giallo and there are plentiful references to "Alice in Wonderland" in its bonkers final act. And the lead is played by an actress named "Mimsy" of all things.
My Review - DirectorMario BavaStarsTelly SavalasElke SommerSylva KoscinaA tourist spends the night in a derelict Spanish villa seemingly held in the supernatural grip of an eccentric butler, who resembles a depiction of the Devil she had seen on an old fresco.And this giallo is more consistent although the "Alice in Wonderland" allusions are more debatable--mostly resting on a devilish character resembling the White Rabbit with the gloves and use of playing cards. The "Alice" also enters a haunted-house dreamworld through a painting.
My Review - DirectorDonn GreerStarsJulia BlackburnRoger GentryDonn GreerCollege students Alice, who lives with her widower father, and nymphomaniac Kathy are invited to a pool party by their lesbian French teacher Frieda. Alice gets drunk and uses LSD, then Frieda takes a bath with her and they have sex. Alice joins a group of hippies, uses LSD and marijuana with them, and takes part in wild orgies. Then one night, a bad trip could halt the good times forever.Sexploitation seemingly made out of an outright stag film, the "Alice in Wonderland" references here are largely tacked on with the narration pretending the entire exercise to be an anti-drug and deviant sex cautionary tale--think "Reefer Madness," but more pornographic. This is arguably worth it, though, for its unique, psychedelic finale in color.
My Review - DirectorShin'ichirô WatanabeStarsJames Arnold TaylorCarrie-Anne MossTerrence 'T.C.' CarsonA private detective is hired to track down the computer hacker known as Trinity. But as he gets close his goal, reality takes a weird turn for him.Full of Looking-Glass references more explicit than the Wonderland ones in "The Matrix," the world from which this Animatrix short is derived. Kind of interesting in its mixture of the Alice books with noir.
My Review - DirectorLes ClarkJoshua MeadorWolfgang ReithermanStarsJane FowlerPaul FreesClarence NashDonald's goes on an adventure in which it is explained how mathematics can be useful in real life. Through this journey it is shown how numbers are more than graphs and charts, they are geometry, music and magical living things.Educational animation from Disney with explicit references to Lewis Carroll, including that he was a mathematician, and the Alice books. Nominated for the Best Documentary Short Oscar.
My Review - DirectorDavid SladeStarsFionn WhiteheadCraig ParkinsonAlice LoweA young programmer starts to question reality when he adapts a mad writer's fantasy novel into a video game.Interactive Netflix feature with obvious allusions to the Alice books, including with the title adopting the word "bandersnatch," along with a white rabbit, doors, mirrors, drugs and dreamworlds.
My Review - DirectorTerry GilliamStarsMichael PalinHarry H. CorbettJohn Le MesurierA young peasant with no interest in adventure or fortune is mistaken for the kingdom's only hope when a horrible monster threatens the countryside.The lesser Terry Gilliam and "Jabberwocky" title on this list, the reference is obvious in the film's literalizing of Carroll's poem, although most of the picture is merely a parody of medieval fairy tales.
My Review - DirectorRudolf IsingStarsKen DarbyRudolf IsingThe King's MenAn old man is reading a book by the fire. The clock strikes 8, and he heads off to bed. From his book, Alice in Wonderland, out crawls Alice, who turns the radio to the title tune. This wakes up Rip Van Winkle; Alice then rouses the Three Musketeers, who sing a bit. Next tune: Nero fiddles, Rome burns, and Cleopatra sizzles in a slinky dance. Uncle Tom sings a spiritual as Mr. Hyde sneaks up and abducts Alice. Tarzan to the rescue, along with several other characters who mount a spirited attack using such office supplies as pen points, matches, and a fountain pen. They box him up and carry him off.Alice is the pivotal character in this animated short where characters emerge from books for some shenanigans.
My Review - DirectorGene DeitchStarsLuce EnnisNorma MacMillanHoward MorrisAfter Wonderland, Alice dreams of going to Paris. A mouse named Francois, the grandson of Anatole, agrees to take her there if she will tell him her favorite cheese. Along the way they share several stories."Alice in Wonderland" serves as a framework for an anthology of short films that have rather little do with Carroll's texts.
My Review - DirectorPixote HuntJoe JohnstonStarsMacaulay CulkinChristopher LloydKanin HowellA cowardly boy, who buries himself in accident statistics, enters a library to escape a storm, only to be transformed into an animated illustration by the Pagemaster. He has to work through obstacles from classic books to return to real-life.Another film about characters emerging from books, although the "Alice in Wonderland" one here is more Disney than Carroll or Tenniel.
My Review - DirectorNeil MarshallStarsDavid HarbourMilla JovovichIan McShaneCaught between the worlds of the supernatural and human, Hellboy battles an ancient sorceress bent on revenge.Audiences and critics rightly panned this comic-book reboot--even its explicit "Through the Looking-Glass" references, including the book being within the picture, doesn't seem to have a good reason for being.
My Review - DirectorRobert ShayeStarsJoely RichardsonRainn WilsonTimothy HuttonTwo siblings begin to develop special talents after they find a mysterious box of toys. Soon the kids, their parents, and even their teacher are drawn into a strange new world and find a task ahead of them that is far more important than any of them could imagine!The allusions here are obvious--mainly "mimzy" being from "mimsy," of the Jabberwocky poem, which in the case of the movie is the name of a white rabbit from another world. Kiddie stuff.
My Review - DirectorPaul W.S. AndersonStarsMilla JovovichMichelle RodriguezRyan McCluskeyA special military unit fights a powerful, out-of-control supercomputer and hundreds of scientists who have mutated into flesh-eating creatures after a laboratory accident.More explicit references, but for choppy zombie action based on a video game this time. There's the lead being named Alice and a dreamchild hologram of sorts from an AI named "Red Queen."
My Review - DirectorPaul MarcusStarsKiefer SutherlandHenry CzernyPolly WalkerA washed-up detective discovers his own psychic ability when assigned to investigate a serial murder case. The killer has a deranged obsession with the novel "Alice in Wonderland." As the psychopath's bloody reign of terror continues, the cop spirals deeper and deeper into the case where the horrors of the past and present come together.Explicit and otherwise obvious references to the Alice books, including inclusion of the book within the movie, which is otherwise a direct-to-video detective procedural that borrows character names from Carroll, including the "Jabberwocky" serial killer, for no good reason.
My Review - DirectorEdward SlomanStarsHarry RichmanJoan BennettJames GleasonA vaudeville and nightclub performer becomes successful and forgets who his friends really are.Early talkie backstage musical that has nothing to do with "Alice in Wonderland" except that one of those musical numbers is based on the book. Originally, it was in Technicolor, but the color is now lost and which would've been about the only highlight in this otherwise creaky and morally dubious picture.
My Review - StarsGwendolen TremayneCadbury commercial of a silent short film, it appropriates "Alice in Wonderland" for a chocolate-brown bunny and the offensive message that kids best put such pesky books down and get to being good consumers of their candy already.
My Review