On this Halloween, a night of pretending to be someone we aren't, "Who are you?" Tim Burton asks this question as he has recently filmed a new version of Alice in Wonderland.
In the film, after Alice falls down the rabbit hole and enters Wonderland, she encounters the hookah smoking caterpillar, Absolom. He poses the question, "Who are you?” to which, Alice replies, "Alice." However, the White Rabbit and the Tweedles are certain she is the "wrong Alice." They are looking for the "right Alice" to defeat the Red Queen’s champion, the fire breathing dragon called the Jabberwokky, and return the White Queen to the throne. Is this mild mannered Alice the one?
Alice begins her quest through Wonderland to meet The Mad Hatter. He explains that she is the Alice who must save Wonderland. After she insists that she is not, the Hatter explains that the Alice from dreams past was "much muchier.” This Alice has lost her “muchness" and Wonderland is doomed.
Alice continues through Wonderland experiencing impossible acts along the way. She meets cakes that make her smaller, potions that make her larger, animals that talk, and cats that disappear. All of these hurdles lead to the climax of Alice volunteering to be the Champion for the White Queen and fight the Jabberwokky. As she walks on to the battle field to face the dragon, she reminds herself that she often thinks of "6 impossible things before breakfast every day." She can conquer the impossible, she will slay the Jabberwokky, and Wonderland will be saved.
As all fairy tales go, Alice wins. She answers the question "Who are you?" She is Alice, the slayer of the Jabberwokky, the Champion of Wonderland.
So, ask yourselves, “Who are you?” When you reply, remember your “muchness” and prepare to defeat the Jabberwokky.
