My Personal Interests and Influences in Film

Why Is A Raven Like A Writing Desk?

The film “Alice in Wonderland” (2010)  directed by Tim Burton. is a great inspiration to me. When I was growing up Alice in Wonderland was one of my favourite stories, combined with Tim Burton being my favourite director, I knew I was going to love the film before I saw it.

However the reason I have chosen this piece to write about it because it was the first piece of inspiration that made me think I want to go into film.  It was a year 8 English class we were analysing the film was part of our studies and it blew me away to think of the level of depth and thought that had gone into a piece of media and consequently has stuck with me all this time. To me Lewis Carroll and Tim Burton are a dream team. Visually they are two imaginative creatives and together they made a spectacular film with a haunting design for Wonderland, a seamless meeting of live action with animation, and a great deal of offbeat, twisted charm. The film tells the story neither of Alice Adventures In Wonderland nor Through The Looking-Glass but more a kind of sequel that references both and incorporates characters from both.

I love hurtling down the rabbit hole and experiencing life from various size perspectives thanks to the ever-popular potions and cakes, as the audience, Alice, and I are re-introduced to some of the most unforgettable oddballs in literature. I think it was worth losing a few classic lines of surrealism, satire, poems and freaky stuff in nonsense literature to impose a very Burtonesque brand of bizarreness makes for an engagingly creepy story of girl power.

In my opinion, exchanging the child Alice for an Alice who bravely infiltrates the Red Queen’s court of tantrum-driven whimsy and rage as a secret agent, rescues her comrades from the head chop and bursts beautifully into battle in armour on the back of the Bandersnatch creates a pleasing, exciting adventure in its own right.

But for me, with my background in cinematography and photography, ultimately, it's the breathtaking visuals that make Alice's adventure so wondrous, as technology has finally been able to catch up with Burton and Carroll's endless imagination.