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New "Alice" Film Draws Influences from Grace Slick
The new film adaptation of Alice in Wonderland from Tim Burton wasn't inspired by the original Lewis Carroll story, but rather the ripples that the story has had in culture.
"I'm from Burbank so we never heard of 'Alice in Wonderland' except for the Disney cartoon, the Tom Petty video, the Jefferson Airplane (song "White Rabbit")," the director said. "I knew more about it from listening to music, other illustrations and artists that would incorate that imagery into their work. That's what made me realize the power of it."
The juxtaposition is fitting enough. Burton, who has evolved into one of Hollywood's premiere filmmakers in the genre of fantasy and sci-fi.
With films like Edward Scissorhands and Batman on his resume, the director has proven to have a knack for delivering a touch of the obscure to his films. Though to be sure, Grace Slick's mesmerizing descriptions of "hookah-smoking caterpillars" and "the white knight talking backwards" were logical starting points for the filmmaker in undertaking the Alice film.
It wasn't until he had successfully rendered his 1993 animated film 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' in 3-D that he decided to undertake the project.
However, Burton believes that Carroll's writing constitutes the right fit for 3-D technology, with its fantastic and surreal descriptions.
To accomplish, Burton filmed the movie in 2-D and then used computer effects to make it appear in three dimensions, a tactic which was required since so much of what actually appears onscreen was applied in post-production.
Meanwhile, Burton has the extra security of knowing that there are a number of Alice works out there already.
"I had never seen a version I really liked," Burton said. "So I didn't feel like there was a definitive version we were fighting against."
Image used with permission by Getty Images.
