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Alexander Morley
Barabara Cox
Screenwriting: Adaptation
22nd March 2022
Compare and contrast at least two adapted versions (for film or TV) of the same source material.
There are many ways to adapt a novel into a film, and alterations are bound to be made
along the way. From removing and adding characters, to shifting the setting into a modern day
scenario, many changes can occur when retelling these original stories. However, nothing had
quite taken the route that Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (2010,) did. Burton’s work is a
complete reimagining of the original Lewis Carroll tales, acting as both a sequel to the
novelisations as well as a retelling of the two stories. It sits in a strange inbetween of the two,
portraying traits more akin to online fanworks, known as fanfiction, rather than cinematic
adaptations seen in the past. Willian Sterling’s 1972 adaptation, Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland, is a far more faithful adaptation of the original novelisation, not only adhering to
the narrative points and individual scenes, but also to the overall tone and setting of the piece.
Burton’s adaptation, in comparison, serves as a bizarre amalgamation of a tale that utilizes the
original characters, exploring a potential future between them, and a tale that uses the same plot
points as the original narrative in order to retell it for a modern audience. This essay aims to
explore the differences between these two adaptations, and what affects those differences, not
only from each other, but also from the original texts, achieved. Looking at components such as
how the script handles portraying tone, dialogue, and the narrative choices, will allow a closer
examination of what these adaptations seeked out to achieve and whether they were successful in
doing so or not. It’ll give an analysis as to whether the Tim Burton adaptation can be considered
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as an alternative to reading the original texts, or whether it serves more as a supplementary story
that only works with the pre-established texts in the audience’s knowledge.
Tim Burton has a history of his movies holding a child-like gothic feel and atmosphere,
and Alice In Wonderland is no exception to this trend. Despite being a novel more often
considered one akin to the dream-like wonders of psychedelics and hallucinations, this movie
adaptation strips that essence away and replaces it with a darker tone while still maintaining the
childish curiosity that interlaces itself throughout the narrative. When introduced to The Mad
Hatter, the original novel gives no prior introduction to the character other than describing him as
‘mad’. His introduction consists of telling Alice she requires a haircut and asking a riddle out of
nowhere (Carroll, 1865, pp.62). In Tim Burton’s adaptation however, he’s explained to be
“staring into space, pale and morose”, with his clothes “ragged and scorched” and reflecting his
“gloomy mood” . Instantly the tone for his character has been altered from a chaotic rambling
silly man, to one carrying the burden of a past, and when combined with the dialogue: “It’s all
because I was obliged to kill Time waiting for your return.” - note the capitalisation on the word
Time, indicating it as an existing entity rather than a broad concept - his character has already
been assigned much further depth with a layer of darkness coating it all (Woolverton, Linda.
Alice in Wonderland. Unpublished, 2008. Pp.26 https://scripts-onscreen.com/tag/alice-in-
wonderland-script/). In Sterling’s adaptation, the scene plays out identical to the novel, dialogue
reflecting the written text exactly, maintaining the surface level characterisation of The Mad
Hatter, retaining him as a rude, yet goofy, individual. The idea of adding such depth and sorrow
to a character once portrayed as extremely light-hearted is a common trend in fanworks where
there’s no restrictions or pressure to adhere to accurate charactisations, delving into the world of
