Lewis Carroll, born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, was an immensely talented writer. He had written two of the most popular novels in the category of children’s fiction. They were Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. Both of these books were adapted into some memorable films over several decades.
It began with Alice in Wonderland, a film from the silent era released in 1903. Since then, many films have been released either with the same title or a different one. Here, we’ll see some of the best films based on these two famous fictional works of Lewis Carroll.
1. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
This British musical was released in 1972. It was based on Lewis Carroll’s 1865 fantasy novel of the same name and its sequel. The film was directed by William Sterling, an Australian television producer and director. John Barry had rendered the music for this film and it had lyrics written by Don Black.
The film had won the awards for best cinematography and costume design at the BAFTA Film Awards Ceremony. The make-up for the artists was created by Stuart Freeborn. It was based on the drawings originally done by John Tenniel for the first edition of the novel.
2. Alice ou la Derniere Fugue
The title of this 1977 French film translates as Alice or the Last Escapade. This fantasy film was written and directed by the French film director, Claude Chabrol. It is loosely inspired by Lewis Carroll’s novel, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The protagonist’s name in the film was Alice Carroll.
It was a combination of the central character of the novel, Alice, and its author’s pseudonymous last name. The cast of this brilliant film included Sylvia Kristel playing the role of Alice Carroll. She was best known for playing the eponymous character in five of the Emmanuelle films.
3. Alicja
Based on Lewis Carroll’s 1865 novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, this film was released in 1982. The musical-fantasy film is a modern take on the Lewis Carroll classic starring Sophie Barjac in the lead role. It was co-produced by Polish and Belgian film companies. The role of a jogger whom Alice falls in love with was played by Jean-Pierre Cassel.
The supporting roles were played by Paul Nicholas, Peter Straker, Tracy Hyde, Paul Nicholas and many other British artists. Despite the participation of some famous talents from the world of films, Alicja remains quite obscure.
4. Alice Through the Looking Glass
This 1998 film is based on the novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. It starred Kate Beckinsale in the lead role. This British fantasy television film was directed by John Henderson. In the film, Kate Beckinsale is a mother who reads the Lewis Carroll novel to her daughter, Alice.
She then finds herself traveling into the Looking-Glass Land. Though she becomes Alice, she remains an adult. The screenplay of this film preserves almost word for word the dialogues in Carroll’s novel. The only apparent difference is that it shows Alice as an adult.
5. Abby in Wonderland
This film adapts Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with the puppet characters of Sesame Street called The Muppets. Abby Cadabby stars in the role of Alice in the film. In addition to being released on DVD, the film had a limited theatrical release in 2008. A website for DVD reviews stated that the film was targeted at a young audience, but it had some adult jokes. However, it also said that the film was certainly not a bad remake of Alice in Wonderland.