You are probably most familiar with Disney’s Alice, a blond girl in a blue dress with a pinafore (apron).
Disney Animation’s Alice was based on the original illustrations of John Tenniel, a well-known political cartoonist who illustrated the first Alice books.
Lewis Carroll’s Drawings
Lewis Carroll illustrated a handwritten version of Alice’s Adventures Underground in 1864 before it was published with the above drawings. His Alice is somewhat similar.
Illustration by Lewis Carroll, printed in 1917, Public Domain, via WikiMedia Commons
Illustration by Lewis Carroll, printed in 1917, Public Domain, via WikiMedia Commons
Illustration by Lewis Carroll, printed in 1917, Public Domain, via WikiMedia Commons
Explore Other illustrations of the character of Alice
Colored versions of Tenniel
Illustration by John Tenniel, colorized for The Nursery Alice, 1889, Public Domain
Illustration by John Tenniel, hand colored for The Nursery Alice, 1889, Public Domain.
Illustration by John Tenniel, hand colored for The Nursery Alice, 1889, Public Domain.
More Alices
Carrol, Lewis and Gerstenberg, Alice, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chicago, A.C. McClurg & Co,, 1915Illustration by Charles Robinson, 1907, Public Domain via WikiMedia Commons
Illustration by Charles Robinson, 1907, Public Domain via WikiMedia CommonsIllustration by Peter Newell for Alice in Wonderland, 1901, Public Domain via WikiMedia Commons
Illustration of Alice, Arthur Rackham, 1907, Public DomainCover of the score for the stage musical ‘Alice in Wonderland’ (1906) with lyrics by H. Savile Clarke and Walter Slaughter; W, George (1906), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The header for this class website features a painting by George Dunlap Leslie first exhibited in 1879. It features a mother reading the book to her child who is dressed in a style similar to Tenniel’s illustrated Alice.
Each illustrator contributes their unique visual vision of Ariel, which modifies the portrayal of Alice’s personality. Alice’s naive, wide-eyed appearance in some depictions make Wonderland seem wonderful, delightful, and shocking, while in others, she reflects the darker, more bizarre side of her adventure by appearing more serious or reflective. Depending on each of these artists’ tone, intricacy, and style, Ariel and her world’s mood drastically changes.
The portrayal of Alice in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland can vary significantly depending on the illustrator. Different artists bring their own unique interpretations to the character, influencing her appearance, emotions, and overall demeanor. Some illustrations depict Alice as a young child, while others show her as a more mature teenager or even a young adult. This can affect how readers perceive her vulnerability, curiosity, and adaptability.
I agree with you that these illustrations can change how readers see her because Alice’s appearance changed a lot depending on the illustrator because each artist brought a unique view in which Alice looks, feels, and acts. Some showed her as a young child, others made her look like a teenager or a young adult, and in some illustrations she had a long neck. I really liked the illustration of Alice by Arthur Rackham. In this illustration she is beautiful, not like in other illustrations, but she looks thoughtful. This illustration gives a feeling of calmness due to its light colors.
Each illustration of Alice gives us a different perspective on the creativeness in each story. Alicecan be seen in many different ways and versions like all other fairytales we know and love, come different creative versions.
Each Alice is depicted differently depending on the author. While most of them have Alice as the young blonde girl, we know they all depict her situation, expression, and clothes differently, which tells a unique story. The feeling of the character changes between the authors, as some of the Alice’s feel more human-like while others touch more on the magical side that she explores.
I think each illustrator represents Alice differently. Most of them have Alice as a young blond girl, but some of them show Alice as more human like and in others she is more magical. She also wears different clothes, has different facial expressions and emotions, which influence the mood of the illustrations. Alice is also older in some versions than others. She is depicted as playful, innocent and vulnerable while in others she is more serious and mature. Each illustration tells a unique story.
Caroll and Tenniel’s versions of Alice looked more confident and even a little bossy, while the other illustrations of Alice looked more meek or scared and curious. Some of these depictions also have more of a magical feel. I feel like the Disney Alice kind of took on the tone of all these different Alices.
I think the difference in each Alice lies in her facial expression. I agree with Naurah that in Tenniel’s version, Alice looks a little bossy, as if she’s the one in charge. In Peter Newell’s illustrations, Alice seems amazed or in shock. However, I feel that most illustrations make Alice look more like a doll than a real girl with expressive reactions. She often has a straight face, and I would expect the illustrations to show Alice looking more responsive to everything happening around her!
After looking through all of these different versions of pictures and drawings of Alice, I have been able to see similar patterns within each illustrator, but also many differences. Each illustration portrays its own perception upon Alice and some that show her surroundings, but the details in surroundings and upon Alice’s facial features, expressions, and physical traits all vary. The illustrators use their own perception to create these images and drawings, showing their own details as an illustrator and how it does not need to always be a playful perception, but also strange in a way, such as her long neck in some drawings, but also such a magical and mystical tone and effect within their own perceptions.
Each illustrator portrays Alice in their own unique way. A lot of the illustrations have things in common but every single one of them has their own differences. The biggest difference I see is the way that Alice’s face is portrayed. I feel like each illustrator portrays the face differently.
All these different images of Alice was interesting to look at because you can see how Alice is all different in each picture. You can see especially the facial expressions of Alice changing in each picture and also what’s around Alice. What things or who was next to her and also where she is looking at.
Each image of Alice has a different emotion behind it and I think that mainly stems from the facial expressions that are portrayed. As well, the different color choices that certain images include providing different feelings. A similarity that I noticed between all of the images is that Alice does not look happy, she mainly looks confused, curious, and upset.
Sometimes Alice is made to look like a regular girl, which would relate to the reader who would think she looks like her. Other times, Alice looks not human at all, which is meant to pull the reader into another world.
All of these Alices have their own creativity and ideas drawn to them. This comes to show that everyone has their own perspective on how we view things. The feelings change depending on the illustrator because you start to think of new ways of how to view Alice and you try to understand their view point.
The author observes both similarities and differences in Alice’s illustrations. By depicting various aspects of her face, body, and emotions, each drawing illustrates Alice’s perspective on herself and her environment. The authors employ their diverse perspectives to generate distinctive and enigmatic effects. Alice is often shown as a youthful, blonde female. Every narrative is distinct due to variations in her clothing, emotions, and facial expressions.
It is so interesting how much you can get out of one illustration. We can see how each illustrator had a unique and different perspective of Alice, including her facial expression, and her environment surrounding her.
The illustrations show Alice in different ways. Some make her look proper and reserved, fitting her Victorian background. Others use soft, whimsical details to make her feel dreamlike and adventurous. Some are playful and exaggerated, adding humor. In some illustrations, Alice is depicted as odd or surreal, like having a long neck with a regular body, emphasizing the strange nature of Wonderland. Each style changes how we see Alice, from a polite child to a curious, lively, explorer.
What do you make of these different Alices? How does the feeling of the character change depending on the illustrator?
I think all the different alices are beautiful and describes the story in a different way. The character feels sad and a little dark.
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