Neil Gaiman betrayed us all

 A quick note about the horrific prolonged SA cases that have come out around Neil Gaiman. I have been reading his work since the age of 11. I knew 0 about his character aside from what he wrote in introductions, and wikipedia's then small background tab.

Gaiman preyed on fans, people like you, people like me. He was not who anyone thought he was. 

I have talked about Coraline (2002) as its original novel, animated film, opera, and stage versions. I can do so no longer. Whilst the posts will remain on this site I will pin to each the article by New York Magazine on Gaiman's crimes, which I will link underneath this post. 

I believe every victim who has come forward.

LINK: THE SIDE OF NEIL GAIMAN HIS FANS NEVER SAW, BY LAUREN STARKE (TRIGGER WARNINGS APPLY)

Alice Dos Anjos (2021) is truely a wonderful adaptation of Carroll

NOTE: I saw this in December when it was streaming on Innsaei TV Brazil for 2 days. It has since come to my attention that this film is no longer streaming anywhere. As such I will try and keep spoilers to a minimum.

(Tiffanie Costa as Alice in Alice Dos anjos) 

Directed by: Daniel Leite Almeida

Adapted from: Alice's adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass 

(parts of both books)

Due to the amount of adaptations currently filming, it may be best to consider this adaptation 1 of the decade... it certainly looks like there will be more. 

The first adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice books in TV or film (Excluding filmed theatre performances) for 20 years (yes, 1999 really was THAT long ago)  Alice Dos Anjos (2021) carries a lot of weight of expectation on it. A small, indie Brazilian Portuguese language film, this was released at an online festival for an extremely limited time. 

Alice (played fantastically by Tiffanie Costa) walks into a land of wonder accidentally after being given some momentous family news. She finds a place populated with her grandmother's stories, a place that is alternately strange and wondrous, and also under threat from local developers...

The influence of previous adaptations such as 1999 and 1985 can be felt in this version with the inclusion of a subplot. However unlike those two versions, Dos Anjos integrates a subplot in far more seamlessly, so much so that a first time audience may barely notice the subtle slide from Carroll's material to subplot. In a sense, this can be considered a re-visioning of these two adaptations, taking in elements of both but also finding ways to make those elements better. Because Alice Dos Anjos's subplot is political in nature (concerning hydro politics and land building) it will be interesting to compare this film to 1976 Pla and 1988 jan svankmajer which also used Carroll as a theme to talk about government and climate. 

The nature of the adaptation is one which is extremely unique: it relies on the audience recognizing and knowing parts of Carroll are being adapted, but it does not strictly use Carroll's texts or words. For example, a white rabbit's house scene and a dum and dee scene happen at the same time, but because the characters are not called "traditional" names, this might be harder to spot than usual. Another key part of this adaptation that sadly I cannot know fully is its culture and values: the film is rooted in the culture of Northeast Brazil and its people. The idea of a highly localized Alice is similar somewhat to Svankmajer: a specific adaptation set at a specific time and place. 

ARCHIVE POST: Alice Film Opinion: Hallmark’s Alice in Wonderland (1999)

So this is my re-evaluation of the 1999 adaptation which was a Hallmark production and was shown on channel 4 here in the UK.

I did not like this version at all when I first saw it, but after the catastrophies of 2010 and 2016, it is fair to say it has grown on me a bit more. For one, this is an adaptation of Carroll's books, a very flawed one yes, but 2010 and 2016 aren't even that, so I should be a bit more greatful! 

 So this is me attempting to right a few wrongs.

First off, the opening sequence is really unusual, dark, and I love it. The film opens with a massive metronome swinging back and forth. A very nervous Alice (played by Tina Majorino) appears and begins to sing “Cherry Ripe” a song which actually dates to the Victorian era. Fear overcomes Alice and she sings off key. She suddenly finds herself staring into a mirror as her grandmother is brushing her hair, humming aforementioned song.



After that surprisingly dark opening the moral of the story is introduced. Unfortunately Alice has to sing later in front of strangers at her parents party, something that she is horrified at. So stepping out of the house and in a attempt to run away from everything she inevitably discovers Wonderland. 

It is in the moral that the major flaw of this film sits upon. The novels mocked morals, particularly in the character of the Duchess who thinks that everything has a moral. 

`You’re thinking about something, my dear, and that makes you forget to talk. I can’t tell you just now what the moral of that is, but I shall remember it in a bit.’
`Perhaps it hasn’t one,’ Alice ventured to remark.

Unlike say, the 1985 film which also has a moral, I felt that this one sticks out badly. I would be fine with the moral if it was in the background but unfortunately every so often the film will bring it up. The characters in Wonderland actively tell Alice that they’re there to boost her confidence and to me this feels unnatural. It also takes a bit of the weirdness away because we know that the only reason Wonderland exists in this version is to help a dilemma.

The other major problem with this version is its length. After the mock turtle and gryphon scene the film takes a odd, and in my opinion, unnecessary detour into the second novel, “Through the Looking-Glass” where it goes through several chapters very quickly. I don’t really get the need for this. It just makes the film overly long.

Away from the negatives, there are great, great moments in this film. For example, the scene where Alice falls into wonderland is just stunning. The visual look of it all is gorgeous. There’s also the fantastic moment when Alice crosses into the Queen of Hearts’s garden, she walks through a mirror door and switches places with herself. How amazing is that? Oh did I mention the music? Its just beautiful. Richard Hartley’s score is to die for.

Lets talk about the performances, and first up, I have a bit of a confession to make. I don’t get Tina Majorino’s Alice at all. Maybe its because her interpretation is so far away from Carroll’s Alice, maybe I just don’t like her acting style. I have to like the portrayal of Alice and unfortunately, and although it pains me to say this, I just can’t like this interpretation.




On the positive side, three words: Elizabeth Springs, duchess. “MORE PEPPER!” The duchess in this version is one of the very best interpretations, completely mad and hilarious, the pig and pepper scene is one of the film’s best highlights with Springs and Shelia Hancock as the cook hamming it up like mad. The cook later steals the show in the trial scene with an unexpected Oxford reference!

Martin Short as the Hatter delivers a solid performance, even if I can’t stand the song he sings, “Auntie’s wooden leg”. Miranda Richardson is the Queen of Hearts. Think Queenie from Blackadder 2 doing Carroll and you’re somewhere near the ball park, she’s great, if not very threatening.



If you watch this with a Carrollian eye you will notice several references to things that are in the books. For example when Alice falls down the rabbit hole we see a goldfish in a bowl (possibly a reference to the “incident of the goldfish” a comment made by Carroll in the trial scene in the first book) and chess pieces (referencing the second book). In the opening credits toy versions of Tweedle-Dum and dee stand in front of a looking-glass, a reference to the second novel. There are lots of throwaway references and I love how many they managed to squeeze in.

Overall, this version is an extremely mixed bag that differs between great and questionable attributes. Its one of those films I can admire in places, but due to its flaws, it often feels like a fascinating, if failed, experiment.

ARCHIVE POST: Alice Film Opinion: Alice through the Looking-Glass (1982)

First off, sorry that this commentary is a bit late but I really had to gather my thoughts before I talked about this one. Before I go on to talk about this film I should tell you this- I am very bias towards this adaptation. Very. I love every part of it. Seriously this is in my top 5 Alice adaptations.

This is, in my opinion one of the best adaptations of the second Alice book ever filmed. One of the few fully fledged adaptations, this one boasts the unique idea (Only seen again in Irwin Allen’s 1985 film) of having the same actress reprise the role as Alice. In this case, its Marina Nylova’s voice acting. I really like this idea and I wish more versions were made with this ideology.



The animation is an improvement on the last film, with the cut-out animation blending in better with the traditional animation. Unfortunately in this film we don’t see the black and white representations of Alice’s thoughts, which is a shame, although we do get some great visual representations, for example the Red Queen’s bizarre questions (like the dog’s temper one)  and a interesting take on “the Jabberwocky”, complete with Alice imagining that she is the hero of the poem.

In translation to Russia things inevitably change a bit, which makes for a fascinating look at how this story is interpreted by another culture. Here the only major change is that the Red Queen becomes the Black Queen. In the last film “how doth the little crocodile” was substituted for another poem. That was also very interesting.

Aside from that the script is almost completely verbatim from Carroll, it feels like it was made by someone who loved the book very much and you can tell. From the opening shot of the snow outside Alice’s house, right to the end. The voice acting is fantastic as always, but a special mention goes to the White Knight, he is apparently a singer and he does a excellent job of singing a condensed version of “A sitting on a gate”


I’m sorry if this commentary is turning into me gushing about this version. I just love it. Its beautifully made and well adapted. The only downside is that, unlike the 1981 wonderland adaptation, it is less easier to find, especially with English subtitles. If you do ever come across a subtitled version, please watch this film. Its fantastic and deserves to be seen by Carrollians.

ARCHIVE POST: Alice film Opinion: Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass (1985)

I’ve never been quite sure on this film, to be honest. I know that a lot of people love it and some people can’t stand it. But I’m sort of in the middle on this one. There’s some really good parts and some not so good parts.

Part 1 adapts Alice in Wonderland and part 2 adapts through the Looking-Glass. The screenwriter also adds a subplot about Alice wanting to be older and to grow up, and introduces the idea of her adventures teaching her a lesson. Although this might sound awful it is actually well executed for the most part and blends in well with the stories. Carroll’s dialogue is often watered down a bit, but this is a hollywood-ized version of the Alice stories if you will, so its sort of expected and not too annoying.

However the songs are quite a different thing, like the performances of the actors, the songs are either really good, OK or terrible. Unfortunately the worst song “I hate Dogs and Cats” sung by the mouse, is the first one we hear. The songs do get better and are really good in the Looking-Glass adaptation.

In terms of actors, Natalie Gregory’s Alice takes a long time to get used to as she is not Carroll’s Alice but by the time we get to part 2 we’ve warmed to her more. The acting again ranges from the good (Sammy Davis Jr as the caterpillar, complete with tap dancing “You are old Father William” sequence, surely one of the highlights of the Wonderland adaptation, also Ann Gilllian as the Red Queen is great, one of the best parts of the Looking Glass adaptation) and the not so good (Ringo Starr as the Mock Turtle)

I like the fact that this film attempts to adapt both books back to back and fully. We actually get a fully fledged adaptation of Through the Looking-Glass here, which is really nice to see. On the flipside Carroll’s dialogue is often thrown out of the window in some scenes. 

For example when Alice talks to the gnat in the Looking-Glass act, he simply warns her not to go into the wood. I would have liked to have seen the conversation that’s in the novel about the looking-glass insects. But what is in here is very good, we get the Walrus and the Carpenter as well as You are old father william and The Lion and the Unicorn. Most of Carroll’s poems are here, if not all.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about this adaptation and despite its flaws, I really admire its overall ambition to dramatize more of Carroll’s stories.