Alice in Wonderland



Alice in Wonderland is the composite title often given to Lewis Carroll's two Alice novels, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which was written in 1865, tells the story of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into the magical world of Wonderland, where she meets a variety of strange and often nonsensical creatures before returning to the real world.

A sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There was published in 1871. In it, Alice crosses through a mirror into a land made up of a giant chessboard where ordinary logic has been reversed. Aside from Alice, her cat Dinah, and cameo appearances by "Hatta" (the Mad Hatter) and "Haigha" (the March Hare), the characters in the sequel are all unique to the book. Through the Looking-Glass also includes Carroll's original poem "Jabberwocky."

In many film adaptations, including the animated Disney film, characters and incidents from the two novels are combined and set in Wonderland. Many such adaptations adopt the title Alice in Wonderland. The stories, which have been adapted and referenced in several Muppet and Creature Shop productions, have often followed this pattern. Dreamchild, whose fantasy sequences are based entirely on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, is the notable exception.

The Muppet Show
In episode 506, the Muppets stage their own version of Carroll's tales, featuring guest star Brooke Shields as Alice.

Characters from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland include the Queen of Hearts (Miss Piggy), the King of Hearts (Link Hogthrob), the Mad Hatter (Gonzo), the Cheshire Cat (Dr. Teeth), the Caterpillar (Floyd Pepper), the Dormouse (a chicken), the White Rabbit, the March Hare, and the Duchess.

Characters from Through the Looking-Glass include Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum (Statler and Waldorf), Humpty Dumpty, the Jabberwock, the Son (Scooter), the Father (Rowlf), the Slithy Toves, the Borogoves, and the Mome Raths.

Muppet Babies
Muppet Babies' Classic Children's Tales featured photo puppet versions of Baby Piggy as Alice, Baby Gonzo as the Mad Hatter, and Baby Fozzie as the March Hare a scene from the Mad Tea Party from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The photograph is by John Barrett.

Jim Henson's Creature Shop
The Creature Shop provided the special effects and Creatures for the film Dreamchild, which is a fictionalized combination of Carroll's life and his novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

In 1999, the Creature Shop supplied realistic puppet characters for a more straight-forward Hallmark TV movie, simply titled Alice in Wonderland. This version combined events from both novels, adapting the majority of the first book, and incorporating the White Knight, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, various chess-pieces, and Walrus and Carpenter from Through the Looking Glass.

The title of the Farscape episode "Through the Looking Glass" is a reference to Carroll's books.

Sesame Street

 * In a Sesame Street News Flash sketch, Kermit interviewed Alice.
 * On the LP Grin & Giggle with Big Bird, Big Bird recites the "Jabberwocky" poem.