Week 3: Still (Representing) Alice

Alice in Wonderland,
Tenniel illustration

For Professor Galey’s project last term in Analytical and Historical Bibliography, I had the opportunity to examine examples of Alice over the last one-hundred and fifty years. After examining dozens of examples, and flipping through articles and books breaking down the story of Alice, something became abundantly clear to me: the illustrations continue to change in interesting ways. From Tenniel’s early illustrations to modern interpretations, people were always reimagining Alice. What’s the first image that pops into your mind when you think of Alice? The cute blonde girl with the blue dress and white apron? Would it surprise you to know that she wasn’t always imagined in that way?

Alice for the iPad

An application is available for free download on iTunes called “Alice for the iPad” which presents the story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland on a digital platform. The most interesting decision to me in this digitized version was the choice to animate some of the illustrations. While there are static black-and-white Tenniel images throughout the story, the chapter pages and some additional pages have coloured illustrations that move. The reader can interact with the illustration, making heads move or items float around. Tilting the iPad around allows the user to interact with the story in their own way, whether it’s making Alice rock the pig faster, or scatting rose petals across the page.

The animation of these illustrations is meant to physically engage the reader in a different way, or entice those that would not have read the story to continue. The story can become more of an interactive experience, in a different way than a paper copy. Personally, I thought it was a very interesting choice to use early examples of the illustrations in a contemporary, digital version. Is it for nostalgia sake, using the older images for a more “true” representation of the original work, distancing us from Disney’s Alice? If that is the intention, then why consciously decide to alter it by allowing moving images? To me, the iPad application could speak to the power of the illustrations to draw you into the story. Unlike many contemporary picture books, Tenniel’s illustrations aren’t on every page of the story. But when they occur, they bring you one step closer into Wonderland.

Maybe the representation of the book is meant to show how a story written one-hundred and fifty years ago is still relevant. The digital pages are darkened with blackened edges, and the illustrations are fitting. Maybe not all good things are lost in a world that actively digitizes its past.  

Alice in Wonderland,
Tenniel illustration

 Sources:

Alice in Wonderland. "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." Accessed January 28, 2016. http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/resources/pictures/alices-adventures-in-wonderland/

Links:

Check out Alice for the iPad here:  https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/alice-for-the-ipad/id354537426?mt=8