Alice in Wonderland
Rated PG
Just like his dad and grandpa, your son has spent years on the baseball field. He’s pretty good at it, but his enthusiasm is beginning to wane. As the school year winds down, he announces it will be his last as a baseball player. Disappointed, you try to find out why the change of heart. Your son explains that baseball was never his dream, but yours. And now he wants to turn his attention to his true passion: music.
Being true to yourself sometimes means standing up to someone else’s expectations, even when they’re well-intentioned. Your son discovered this at an early age; others never do. The young heroine of Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland,” available this month on DVD, learns the same lesson before she makes a life-altering choice that’s not her own. Make it a family movie night with Alice and then talk about this theme and others with our Talk Together points. Then play the Curious Game, our Play Together activity.
In “Alice in Wonderland,” 19-year-old Alice Kingsleigh questions everything and everyone — including the wisdom of entering into an arranged marriage with a spoiled aristocrat named Hamish. When he proposes, she flees into the nearby woods to ponder the situation. She accidentally falls into a rabbit hole and lands in the mysterious Underland. Alice has visited often, mistakenly calling it “Wonderland,” but always thought it was a dream.
Now she has returned just in time to fulfill her destiny. She has been chosen to kill the dreaded Jabberwocky and free the residents of the evil Red Queen’s rule. Alice balks; she could never kill anything, she declares. But soon the queen’s henchman, the Knave of Hearts, is hunting her down to destroy her chances of success.
Alice meets the Mad Hatter, who hides her in a teapot from the Knave and advises her to go to the White Queen, the Red Queen’s good sister, for help. Then he is captured by the Knave and sentenced to die by the Red Queen. The Cheshire Cat rescues him, and Alice and the Mad Hatter join forces with the White Queen.
Finally, Alice agrees to fight the Jabberwocky. She knows that the Red Queen has been controlling her kingdom using the frightening monster. In a terrifying battle, Alice slays the Jabberwocky. The White Queen banishes her sister and the Knave to the Outlands. Underland is free! Alice returns to her world and refuses Hamish’s marriage proposal. Instead, she bucks tradition and becomes an apprentice to a wealthy shipping magnate. By following her heart, Alice finds true happiness.
Talk together
Alice never quite lives up to her society’s expectations of young women. What are some of the ways she is different? Why does she choose to not “play by the rules?”
Even in Underland, Alice finds there are expectations of her that she did not choose. For example, everyone expects her to kill the Jabberwocky. How does she feel about it? Why does she change her mind? Where does she find the courage to complete such a scary task?
Plan a family movie night this month! Check out our archives at www.Cinematters.com and get some great ideas for fun with your favorite films!
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