If you have fond memories of falling down the rabbit hole with Alice in the 1951 Disney animation or venturing into Tim Burton’s dark Wonderland in his 2010 live action film, then we’ve got good news: Alice has landed in Melbourne. Wonderland is a highly interactive and immersive journey through Alice's many incarnations in pop culture over the years, from Lewis Carroll's original texts to countless adaptations.
The exhibition begins with the earliest moving image adaptations of Carroll’s three Alice stories, and moves chronologically through each major work. The result is an exploration of the evolution of film, as Alice graduates from silent film into animation, live-action cinema, CGI, 3D and video games. Audiences can also discover the influence of the story on fashion, music videos and advertising.
Here’s where it gets curiouser and curiouser: ACMI has collaborated with some of the country’s most cutting-edge artists and designers to make Wonderland an interactive and immersive experience. With collaborators like creative studios Sandpit and Grumpy Sailor (who collaborated on a VR work at ACMI last year) on board, there are plenty of surprises along the way. Theatrical elements will also come into play, as will activities for children.
