Dormouse (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)

The Dormouse
Alice character

The Hatter with the Dormouse asleep on the left. Illustration by John Tenniel.
First appearance Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Created by Lewis Carroll
Information
Species Dormouse
Gender Male
Significant other(s) The Hatter
March Hare
Nationality Wonderland

The Dormouse is a character in "A Mad Tea-Party", Chapter VII [1] from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

History

The March Hare and the Hatter put the Dormouse's head in a teapot. Illustration by John Tenniel.

The Dormouse sat between the March Hare and the Hatter. They were using him, while he slept, as a cushion when Alice arrives at the start of the chapter.

The Dormouse is always falling asleep during the scene, waking up every so often, for example to say:

`You might just as well say,' added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, `that "I breathe when I sleep" is the same thing as "I sleep when I breathe"!'

He also tells a story about three young girls who live in a treacle well, live on treacle, and draw pictures of things beginning with M, such as mousetraps, memory and muchness.

He later appears, equally sleepy, at the Knave of Hearts' trial and voices resentment at Alice for growing, and his last interaction with any character is his being "suppressed" (amongst other things) by the Queen for shouting out that tarts are made of treacle.

Disney version

The Dormouse
Disney character
First appearance Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Created by Lewis Carroll
Voiced by Jimmy MacDonald
Information
Species Dormouse
Gender Male
Occupation Mad tea party entertainer
Nationality Wonderland

The character also appears in Disney's Alice in Wonderland. Like in the book, he is sleepy and lazy, but unlike in the book, he sings Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat instead of telling his story about mouse sisters to entertain the tea-party participants. He panics at the mention of the word "cat", much like The Mouse from the book, and needs to have jam spread on his nose in order to calm down. The Disney version of the character also appears in House of Mouse and Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse.

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland version

Mallymkun, The Dormouse
Alice/Disney character
First appearance Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Created by Lewis Carroll & Tim Burton
Voiced by Barbara Windsor
Information
Nickname(s) Mally
Species Dormouse
Gender Female
Occupation Swordswoman
Nationality Wonderland

In Tim Burton's 2010 Alice in Wonderland film, the Dormouse is named Mallymkun. Unlike the sleepy character in the book, this Dormouse is an action-oriented swordswoman similar to the character Reepicheep from The Chronicles of Narnia. She is voiced by Barbara Windsor.[2] She is initially seen with the group Alice first meets in Wonderland, and saving Alice from the Bandersnatch by plucking out its eye. She is seen a second time at the March Hare's tea party having tea with the March Hare and the Hatter. She is seen a third time rescuing the Hatter from the Red Queen. She is seen a fourth time at the end, fighting the Red Queen's forces.[3]

In other media

Cultural references

The Dormouse is referenced in popular culture by two American rock bands: Firstly by Jefferson Airplane in the song "White Rabbit", in which the last line of the song, repeated twice and building through a crescendo is "Remember what the dormouse said: feed your head, feed your head". From this lyric, John Markoff derived the title of his 2005 book, What the Dormouse Said: How the 60s Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry.[5] Secondly by the progressive metal band Queensrÿche in the song "Right Side of My Mind": "Re-engineer your head is really what the dormouse said".

References

  1. Carroll ,Lewis "Chapter VII — A Mad Tea-Party" in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. classicallibrary.org
  2. Boucher, Geoff (February 14, 2010). "Tim Burton says Alice has "a national treasure" in Barbara Windsor". Los Angeles Times (Tribune Company). Archived from the original on November 15, 2010. Retrieved February 21, 2010.
  3. "Alice in Wonderland – Glossary of Terms/Script (early draft)" (PDF). Walt Disney Pictures. JoBlo.com. Archived from the original on November 15, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2010. early draft of the film script, first started February 2007
  4. "Entertainment - Disneyland Resort". go.com.
  5. Markoff, John (2005). What the Dormouse Said. New York: Viking. p. vii.
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