Tim Burton is by no means the first director to follow Alice down the rabbit hole. In fact, the influence of Lewis Carroll's classic tale goes much further than faithful adaptations! Alice and her adventures have been quoted in all types of film; from childhood fantasies to science fiction and horror.
Let's take a look at ten great films that were influenced by the classic text.
1. Pan's Labyrinth
Guillermo Del Toro's modern classic takes the Alice story but adds to it a healthy dose of political subtext and dark fantasy. In the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, young Ofelia travels into the country with her mother and step-father, a high ranking soldier. Against the backdrop of guerrilla attacks, Ofelia retreats into an underground world filled with fantastic characters - some friendly, some terrifyingly sinister.
2. The Matrix
The Wachowski brothers must have spent a lot of time with Alice when they were young because references to the story show up all through their Matrix trilogy. In the first installment, Morpheus tells Neo to follow the white rabbit - which turns out to be a tattoo sported by a comely lass at a hip night club. Add to that the red pill/blue pill take on Alice's potions and you have a thoroughly modern take of going through the looking glass.
3. Resident Evil
The movie version of the classic computer game has a version of Alice that kicks a lot more butt than in the original story. Milla Jovovich plays the heroine, who finds herself down a rabbit hole of sorts that happens to be full of zombies. The Red Queen is present and correct but this time she is a corrupt computer programme in charge of security in the underground facility. Alice must avoid being eaten and shut the Queen down.
4. Labyrinth
If you've always loved Alice in Wonderland but thought what it was really missing was a rock legend sporting an alarming blonde mullet then this is the film for you! Jim Henson's Labyrinth follows the Alice tale closely as young girl Sarah must venture into a sinister labyrinthine world to save her baby brother who has been kidnapped by Jareth, King of the Goblins. Sarah meets many weird and wonderful creatures along the way.
5. Mrs. Miniver
This Oscar winning 1942 movie, directed by William Wyler uses Lewis Carroll's book in a very different way from those we have seen so far. This is a film rooted firmly in reality rather than in a fantasy land. Set during World War II, Mrs. Miniver (Greer Garson) and her husband read aloud from Alice's adventures to comfort and distract their children during a German bombing raid.