Never the Same

I have always found the caterpillar to be a very intriguing character in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. His presence in a children’s book astounds me. His adult subject matter and odd questions have always perplexed me. He smokes hookah and asks a question that seems easy to answer to young children, but is in fact quite difficult for us to answer. How is it that the most basic thing in Wonderland, a caterpillar, can ask the one question that can be answered by no one- “Who are you?”

Therefore I have done a Voice Thread comparing the images of Tenniel’s drawing of the caterpillar, Walt Disney’s version, and the caterpillar of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (hitting theaters March 2010).  My personal favourite is the Disney version. I think it is fun and playful, which always draws my attention. While all three versions have a few similarities, the differences are what excite me. How is it that everyone seems to have a different vision of the caterpillar? Caterpillars are a fairly basic being. We see them everywhere, yet we can all have a completely different perception of the caterpillar in Wonderland. Should it look like a normal caterpillar, like in Tenniel’s? Or should it be pink and purple, like Disney’s? Or perhaps blue and old such as Burton’s? The possibilities are endless and no two people are going to think it looks the same.

You can view the Voice Thread at the link below

http://voicethread.com/share/779710/