VOA标准英语2010年-'Alice in Wonderland' Film Returns in

One of the most popular children's stories in modern literature is back on screen in a 3-D version directed by Tim Burton and starring his frequent collaborator¹, Johnny Depp in the latest version of Alice in Wonderland.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll has been a hit with young readers since it was first published in 1865; and from the earliest days of cinema, the tale of the little girl and her trip down the rabbit hole has fascinated and challenged filmmakers. The latest of them is Tim Burton, who has touched on similar themes in films from Beetlejuice to Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

"It just seemed like the world that Lewis Carroll created [had a] kind of 'trippiness;' but I knew more about it from listening to music and bands and other illustrators and artists that would incorporate that imagery in their work," Burton says. "It made me realize how powerful the material was. If it were written today, it would be mind-blowing today. So the combination of the medium and the material just seemed really right."

In this latest version, adapted by Linda Woolverton from elements of the original book and the sequel Through The Looking Glass, an older Alice returns to Wonderland a decade after her first visit.

As Alice learns from her occasionally lucid² guide the 'Mad Hatter,' things have changed. It is up to the puzzled visitor to slay³ the Jabberwocky and return Wonderland to its former …wonderful …state.

Tim Burton, Mia Wasikowska on set of “Alice in Wonderland”

"I think that a lot of people in this time of their lives experience something that Alice is going through, which is this discomfort⁴ in your skin and sort of who you are," says Australian actress Mia Wasikowska, 20, who stars as this almost grown-up Alice. "She just has this awkwardness about her that I think a lot of people go through in their life. That was something that I kind of understood and ultimately her story is her coming back to who she was as a young girl, which is very assertive⁵ [and] very sure of what she believes is right and wrong. So the story is her kind of reconnecting with herself."

Johnny Depp is the 'Mad Hatter' in this Alice in Wonderland, his seventh film with director Burton.

"I would have done whatever character Tim wanted, but certainly the fact that it was the 'Mad Hatter' was a bonus because of the great challenge to try to find this guy and not sort of be a rubber ball that you heave into an empty room and watch it bounce all over the place …to find that part of the character, but also a bit more history and gravity to the guy," he says. "So he could go from one second being very high-faluting and a lot of levity⁶ straight into some kind of dangerous, potential rage and then tragedy. Trying to map that out was very interesting."

Helena Bonham Carter in “Alice in Wonderland”

The cast features Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen with Anne Hathaway as her sister and rival the White Queen. English TV star Matt Lucas plays both Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Stephen Fry gives voice to the quizzical Cheshire Cat; and Michael Sheen is the White Rabbit in the story that he believes continues to resonate.

"Probably as most people do, I knew the characters of Alice in Wonderland before I ever read the book. I think they are just ingrained into western consciousness," he says. "For me the allure⁷ of the story is that we all live in this illusion that we are civilized⁸ and that everything makes sense and everything has a place. "Alice in Wonderland" shows you that actually it is very thin film between sanity⁹ and insanity¹⁰ and total wildness and chaos¹¹ and fear and all that kind of stuff. Somehow that seems to be the most true expression of what it is like to be a child …where things are most familiar and strange at the same time. When you think you know what something is, suddenly, it shifts and it becomes something else and we kind of grow up and forget the truth of that or buy into the illusion that it's not the case. I think one of the reasons we are drawn¹² back to Alice in Wonderland is that somehow reminds us of what the actual truth of our life is."

Alice in Wonderland is produced by the Walt Disney studio, which made the 1951 animated¹³ version familiar around the world. The musical score for this Alice is by Danny Elfman, another frequent collaborator with director Tim Burton.
 

1 collaborator   

n.合作者，协作者

参考例句：

• I need a collaborator to help me. 我需要个人跟我合作，帮我的忙。
• His collaborator, Hooke, was of a different opinion. 他的合作者霍克持有不同的看法。

2 lucid   

adj.明白易懂的，清晰的，头脑清楚的

参考例句：

• His explanation was lucid and to the point.他的解释扼要易懂。
• He wasn't very lucid,he didn't quite know where he was.他神志不是很清醒，不太知道自己在哪里。

3 slay   

v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮

参考例句：

• He intended to slay his father's murderer.他意图杀死杀父仇人。
• She has ordered me to slay you.她命令我把你杀了。

4 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

5 assertive   

adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的

参考例句：

• She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
• China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。

6 levity   

n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变

参考例句：

• His remarks injected a note of levity into the proceedings.他的话将一丝轻率带入了议事过程中。
• At the time,Arnold had disapproved of such levity.那时候的阿诺德对这种轻浮行为很看不惯。

7 allure   

n.诱惑力，魅力；vt.诱惑，引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• The window displays allure customers to buy goods.橱窗陈列品吸引顾客购买货物。
• The book has a certain allure for which it is hard to find a reason.这本书有一种难以解释的魅力。

8 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

9 sanity   

n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确

参考例句：

• I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。

10 insanity   

n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐

参考例句：

• In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。
• He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。

11 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

12 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

13 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。