Articles on Animation &Comic Art &Commentary &Disney &Theater 01 Oct 2007 07:55 am
Alices
- I am a lunatic for the work of Lewis Carroll.
As such, naturally his Alice In Wonderland has always intrigued me. The book, itself, has inspired so many artists since it was written that we have to recognize it as a great work of art.
I think I’ve seen a dozen film versions and have seen at least four theatrical versions. I must say that some incredibly inspirational moments have come for me out of the best of these. Off the top of my head I think immediately of Alice by Robert Wilson. This was a theatrical version which dealt with the relationship between Alice and Charles Dodgson. I think of Haddock’s Eyes by David Del Tredici as performed by Tom Hulce. This was a small show that somehow touched me; I’ve thought of it often since I saw it in 1987. Or I think of David Del Tredici‘s Final Alice, a stunning piece of music. There’s the beautiful film Dreamchild, which includes some stunning puppetry by the Henson group. I think of moments from the Lou Bunin film, or even Disney’s version. I think of some of my favorite illustrated versions, led by Ralph Steadman‘s book. When I see a version on line, any version, I’m conditioned to stop.
- Nonsenselit.org features the entire comic book 1951 Unbirthday Party with Alice in Wonderland. The art is quite interesting and the layout of the comic book is certainly creative. Once they get to Wonderland, the boxed format of the traditional comic book is out the window, and the strip is more chaotic. The inking for the strip is beautifully done, and the magazine is worth viewing for that alone.
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(Click any image to enlarge.)
- A favorite site, the Blog of Bosh led me to the site of the Bavarian State Opera. There I found a lot of information about an operatic version of Alice which they produced in June of this year. It was written by David Henry Hwang and composed by Unsik Chin. This is obviously a creatively produced theatrical version of the story. There are many stills on the site and a stunning little video with clips from what is obviously an imaginative production. I urge you to look at the video if you have any interest in Alice or creative theatrical productions.
Despite the imagination and creativity on display in the video, there seems to have been some in-fighting between the composer and the designer. Some reviews have called the staging static. You can read a positive review from the LA Times which gives a full history of the show. There’s a negative review in the International Herald Tribune. I’d like to see a production for myself.
New Yorkers and puppet theater fanciers might take note of the Alice In Wonderland Puppet Festival underway at the Here Arts Center.
Drama of Works presents this festival of puppetry now performing through Oct. 7th. As the program states: “…this production takes a look at (Dodgson’s) diary as well as Alice’s memoirs. It weaves together these texts and also real snapshots taken by Carroll of Alice, poems of his turned into songs, and fragments of Wonderland.”
It includes free film showings of Svankmajer’s Alice and Lou Bunin’s Alice In Wonderland.
The Here Arts Center, 145 6th Avenue (Spring St.) New York, NY 10013
Curiouser and curiouser.
Talking about another Alice, my friend Tom Hachtman has sent me a nice drawing featuring his Gertrude and Alice characters. I always like sharing these since they usually cheer me up.
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on 01 Oct 2007 at 5:26 pm 1.Luke Farookhi said …
I’m a first time poster, but have been following this blog religiously for a while!
My favourite Alice illustrations are probably David Hall’s inspirational sketches made back at Disney in the late 1930s. Though they do not resemble the final film, they were later used to illustrate an edition of the book, and were most recently seen in the exhibition ‘Il était une fois Walt Disney’. Here are two examples:
http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/aa146/LukeFarookhi/David%20Hall%20sketches%20for%20Alice%20in%20Wonderland/?action=view¤t=croquet-1.jpg
http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/aa146/LukeFarookhi/David%20Hall%20sketches%20for%20Alice%20in%20Wonderland/?action=view¤t=tower.jpg
on 01 Oct 2007 at 10:59 pm 2.Michael said …
The David Hall watercolors are certainly expertly done, however I’ve never quite warmed up to them. I do respect his talent, but it’s hard to get past the Tenniel illustrations. Few other illustrators have allowed me to do that. Unfortunately, nothing in the Disney film gets me past Tenniel’s brilliance, either.
on 02 Oct 2007 at 3:26 pm 3.Luke Farookhi said …
The Disney version certainly was no match for the original illustrations, though there are moments of brilliance, such as the March of the Cards and the Cheshire Cat, that make it the most memorable – though by no means the best – of the 50s Disney features. The Tenniel illustrations are probably still the definitive versions for me, and the story of how some of his ideas came about for the illustrations (such as the design of the Duchess) is fascinating. Tenniel’s definitely one of my favourite illustrators. I also have a great fondness for the Ralph Steadman illustratons.
on 02 Oct 2007 at 6:15 pm 4.Pete Emslie said …
The artwork for the “Unbirthday Party” comic book was drawn and inked by Al Hubbard. He did a lot of the Disney movie comic adaptations and, though he took some slight liberties with the style, his drawings were full of life and had the same flair for calligraphic inking as Walt Kelly’s “Pogo”. I particularly like his adaptations of “Lady and the Tramp” and “the Jungle Book”.
on 02 Oct 2007 at 7:39 pm 5.Thad Komorowski said …
Yay for Carroll! Yay for Alice! Yay for Al Hubbard! Great post today.
on 19 Jul 2015 at 9:16 pm 6.Erin Mcafee said …
Lve your work
on 19 Jul 2015 at 9:16 pm 7.Erin Mcafee said …
Amazing work