What can the Alice and Wonderland characters teach us?
Scientists agree: it's good for your psyche to escape in a world of madness, if only for 90 minutes. Taking a break and letting your mind relax will recharge your creative energies and let you pretend that the world as we know it isn't going to hell in a hand basket.
Lewis Carroll – an author with more than a touch of madness – penned some silly stories for a friend's child more than a hundred years ago. Those stories have been adapted for dozens of books, movies, TV shows, and video games. Each Alice in Wonderland character teaches a valuable lesson:
The White Rabbit: It's appropriate to be on time for appointments.
The Caterpillar: Relax. Smoke a hookah and take things slowly.
The Cheshire Cat: Everyone is crazy. I'm crazy. You're crazy. You can't fight it.
The Mad Hatter: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't speak. Also, be crazy.
The Red Queen: Oppressive systems are enforced by violence.
Tim Burton's new adaption of Alice in Wonderland smashed box office records this weekend. The wife and I will be going to the local movie theater this week to take in some of that 3-D CGI goodness. Even though the movie only garnered a 53 percent "fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes, Alice in Wonderland looks like it will be a lot of fun.
When I was younger, I loved the Disney Alice in Wonderland characters, especially the Cheshire Cat. The madness of the Alice storyline really draws you in – that's probably why the new film has been such a success: there is something for both kids and adults.
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