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Alice in Wonderland (2010) — Directed by Tim Burton
Film Details:
Title: Alice in Wonderland
Director: Tim Burton
Year: 2010
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
Based on: Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
Synopsis:
Nineteen-year-old Alice Kingsleigh, trapped in the rigid expectations of Victorian England, stumbles upon a familiar face — a rabbit in a waistcoat. Chasing it, she falls back into Underland (or Wonderland, as she once called it), a place she visited as a child but has long forgotten.
There, she is told she is the prophesied hero destined to slay the fearsome Jabberwocky and free Underland from the tyrannical Red Queen. But Alice refuses. "That's not me," she insists. Throughout her journey, she must confront the question that haunts every human being: Who am I, and what choices will define me?
An Existential Reading
While many scholars have analyzed Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland through psychoanalytic, feminist, or cognitive lenses, I chose to read the film through the lens of existentialism — a philosophical framework that asks what it means to be free, to choose, and to create meaning in an absurd world.
1. The Existential Crisis: "Who Am I?"
From the moment Alice returns to Underland, she is plagued by doubt. The Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit, and even the Caterpillar all insist she is "the right Alice" — the prophesied hero. But Alice resists.
This is what Butėnaitė et al. (2016) describe as an existential crisis: a moment when a person feels alienated, lost, and disconnected from any predetermined identity. Alice's confusion is not just about memory — it is about selfhood. She is being handed an identity she never chose.
2. "Condemned to Be Free" — Sartre in Wonderland
Jean-Paul Sartre, as discussed by Pardosi (2025), famously argued that humans are "condemned to be free." We cannot escape freedom — and with it comes the crushing weight of responsibility.
Alice's journey is a perfect embodiment of this idea. When she finally takes up the Vorpal Sword and faces the Jabberwocky, she is not fulfilling a prophecy. She is choosing to act. And in that choice, she becomes authentic. She stops asking "Am I the right Alice?" and starts asking "What do I choose to become?"
3. The Absurdity of Wonderland
Wonderland is, by definition, absurd. Its rules are illogical, its inhabitants are irrational, and its logic defies reason. This mirrors what Garbe (2025) describes as the existential condition: life itself is often chaotic, unpredictable, and devoid of inherent meaning.
Yet, it is precisely within this absurdity that Alice finds herself. The chaos of Underland becomes a mirror for the chaos of her own life — the pressure of an unwanted engagement, the expectations of Victorian womanhood, the fear of becoming someone she does not recognize.
4. The Solitary Individual — Kierkegaard's Echo
Kierkegaard, as noted by Rempel (1959), speaks of the "solitary individual" who must confront anxiety, despair, and the burden of becoming oneself. Alice's journey is deeply solitary. Even surrounded by the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, and the White Rabbit, she walks her path alone.
Her final decision — to reject the engagement, to defy her mother's expectations, and to set sail as a trader with her father's ship — is a Kierkegaardian leap. She chooses authenticity over conformity. She chooses herself.
Personal Reflection
What makes Alice in Wonderland (2010) so powerful is not its fantasy elements, but its deeply human core. Alice's struggle is not unique to Wonderland — it is the struggle of every person who has ever felt trapped by expectations, confused by choices, or lost in the absurdity of modern life.
As a literature student navigating my own expectations and uncertainties, I find Alice's journey deeply relatable. Her refusal to accept a predetermined identity — "That's not me!" — is a reminder that we are not bound by the roles others assign to us. We are free to choose, to fail, to become.
Tim Burton did not just adapt a children's story. He crafted an existential tale about the courage to become who you truly are.
Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5/5
A visually stunning and philosophically rich reimagining of a classic tale.
Watch the Trailer:
References:
Butėnaitė, J., Sondaitė, J., & Mockus, A. (2016). Components of existential crisis: A theoretical analysis.
Garbe, J. K. (2025). The limits of existential freedom.
Pardosi, M. T. (2025). Freedom and responsibility in Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialism.
Rempel, G. Sören Kierkegaard and existentialism.
Andalas, E. F. (2017). Eskapisme realitas dalam dualisme dunia Alice.
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