Is the movie Alice in Wonderland based on a true story?

Answer 1

There are several things in Alice in Wonderland which found their origin in real life, and several more which might have.

Alice herself was named after Alice Liddell, a real little girl who Lewis Carroll knew. Elsie, Lacie and Tillie, the girls who lived in a treacle well in the Dormouse's story, were references to Alice Liddell and her sisters, and the Lory and the Eaglet are also based on Alice's real-life sisters.

The Lory and the Eaglet appear in the Pool of Tears as do the Duck, the Dodo and 'several other creatures'. The Dodo is based on Carroll himself and the Duck is Robinson Duckworth, Carroll's friend. The story of them all getting soaked and attempting to get dry again is based on a real incident when the Liddell girls, Carroll, Duckworth and Carroll's sisters and aunt went on a rowing trip which had to be abandoned because it rained and everyone got drenched. The 'several other creatures' are Carroll's aunt and sisters.

It's possible that the White Rabbit was inspired by the Liddell girls' father, Dean Henry Liddell. He used to give sermons in the Cathedral near where Carroll lived and worked in Oxford, but because there was no convenient door, he always had to go the long way round and was often late.

The door to the beautiful garden, and the garden itself are probably real places in Oxford. The Liddell children played in the Dean's garden, but were forbidden from going through the door into the Cathedral garden, which they could see from their nursery window. Carroll could see the Dean's garden through the window of the library where he worked, and it's possible that he himself wished he could be outside with the children and the flowers instead of stuck inside with his books and lesson plans.

The Dormouse might be based on the artist Gabriel Rossetti's pet wombat. Carroll was friends with the Rossettis, and when he went to visit them, their wombat was frequently to be seen sleeping on their table.

The Mad Hatter, the March Hare and the Cheshire Cat all have their origins in well known sayings of the time. 'As mad as a hatter' and 'as mad as a March hare' were phrases which Carroll was bound to be familiar with, and 'grin like a Cheshire cat' might have had extra significance to Carroll, because it mentions his birth-place, Cheshire.

It is also possible that the Mad Hatter was based on Theophilus Carter, a furniture dealer in Oxford, who was known as 'The Mad Hatter' because of his eccentric ideas and habit of wearing a top hat.

Most, if not all of the songs and poems in Alice in Wonderland are parodies of real life verses that the Liddell children would have known either from the nursery or their lessons. 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat' for example, is of course based on 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'.

These are just some examples. There are many other real world things which may (or may not) have influenced Lewis Carroll's most famous work.

sources: Martin Gardner's Annotated Alice and Lenny's Alice in Wonderland Site (see Related Link below)

Answer 2

The movie Alice in Wonderland is based on the famous childrens' novel of the same name, by Lewis Carroll.

The novel Alice in Wonderland is not based on a true story, but the character Alice was inspired by a real person named Alice Liddell.

Answer 3

It's not old enough to be considered a fable story, seeing as it was first written in 1865. Not to mention fables stories are known to teach morals, where as Alice in Wonderland is too nonsensical.

Answer 4

Alice in Wonderland is the messed of version of the truth. Alice in Wonderland? It's Alyss

Read "The Looking Glass Wars" By Frank Beddor.