- Dormouse (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)
-
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. He 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, including mousetraps, memory and muchness.
Eventually the Hatter and the March Hare put his head in a teapot. 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.
Contents
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". 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". The British rock band Radiohead also refer to the dormouse in the song "Knives Out" with the lyrics, "Catch the mouse/ Don't look down/ Shove it in your mouth" and "Cook him up/ Squash his head/ Put him in the pot".
The Dormouse makes an appearance in American McGee's Alice, where he and the March Hare are held captive as the Mad Hatter's experiments. He is tied to a dissection table and continues to fall asleep from the Hatter's medicines. The Dormouse also appears in the 2011 game Alice: Madness Returns, where he captures a part of the Mad Hatter as revenge for the events in American McGee's Alice.
In the SyFy TV Miniseries Alice, the Dormouse is a sidekick of the Hatter.
Disney version
Dormouse Disney character First appearance Alice in Wonderland (1951) Created by Lewis Carroll Portrayed by Jimmy MacDonald Information Species Dormouse Gender Male 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 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 Bonkers, 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 Underland 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. She is seen the first time 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. According to the official Alice in Wonderland guide, Mallymkun is secretly in love with the Hatter.
Computer/Video Games
- The Dormouse appears in American McGee's Alice. He and the March Hare are victims of the Hatter.
- The Dormouse appears again in Alice: Madness Returns. This time, it is the Hatter who is the victim of the March Hare and the Dormouse.
- Mallymkun appears in the video game adaption of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland as a playable character.
References
Lewis Carroll's Alice Source texts Alice's Adventures in Wonderland · Through the Looking-Glass · The Nursery "Alice" · "The Hunting of the Snark"Authors Illustrators John Tenniel · Arthur Rackham · Blanche McManus · Peter Newell · Fanny Y. Cory · Bessie Pease Gutmann · Charles Robinson · Harry Rountree · Harry Furniss · Mabel Lucie Attwell · Milo Winter · Oliver Herford · Uriel Birnbaum · Jessie Wilcox Smith · Charles Folkard · Mervyn Peake · Alex Blum · Leonard Weisgard · Walt Disney · Marjorie Torrey · Tove Jansson · Ralph Steadman · Frank Bolle · Charles Blackman · Barry Moser · Michael Hague · Anthony Browne · Willy Pogany · Marie Laurencin · Salvador Dali · Greg Hildebrandt · Gavin O'Keefe · Tony Ross · Angel Dominguez · Helen Oxenbury · Lisbeth Zwerger · Oleg Lipchenko · Franciszka ThemersonCharacters Alice's Adventures
in WonderlandAlice · The White Rabbit · The Mouse · The Dodo · The Duck · The Lory · Eaglet · Bill the Lizard · The Caterpillar · The Duchess · The Cheshire Cat · The March Hare · The Hatter · The Dormouse · The Queen of Hearts · The King of Hearts · The Knave of Hearts · The Gryphon · The Mock Turtle · Pat · The CookThrough the
Looking-GlassAlice · The Red Queen · The White Queen · The Red King · The White King · The White Knight · Tweedledum and Tweedledee · The Sheep · Humpty Dumpty · Haigha · Hatta · The Lion and the Unicorn · Bandersnatch · Jubjub BirdPoems "All in the golden afternoon..." · "How Doth the Little Crocodile" · "The Mouse's Tale" · "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat" · "You Are Old, Father William" · "'Tis the Voice of the Lobster" · "Jabberwocky" · "The Walrus and the Carpenter" · "Haddocks' Eyes" · "They told me you had been to her..." · "The Mock Turtle's Song" · "The Hunting of the Snark"Related topics Adaptations SequelsA New Alice in the Old Wonderland (1895) · New Adventures of Alice (1917) · Alice Through the Needle's Eye (1982) · Automated Alice (1996) · Wonderland Revisited and the Games Alice Played There (2009)RetellingsAlice's Adventures in Wonderland retold in words of one syllable (1905) · Alice in Verse: The Lost Rhymes of Wonderland (2010)ParodiesThe Westminster Alice (1902) · Clara in Blunderland (1902) · Lost in Blunderland (1903) · John Bull's Adventures in the Fiscal Wonderland (1904) · Alice in Blunderland: An Iridescent Dream (1904)ImitationsMopsa the Fairy (1869) · Davy and the Goblin (1884) · The Admiral's Caravan (1891) · Gladys in Grammarland (1896) · A New Wonderland (1898) · Rollo in Emblemland (1902) · Justnowland (1912) · Alice in Orchestralia (1925)ReimaginingAlice or the Last Escapade (1977) · Adventures in Wonderland (1991) · American McGee's Alice (2000) · The Looking Glass Wars (2006) · Alice (2009) · Malice in Wonderland (2009) · Alice: Madness Returns (2011)FilmBook:Alice in Wonderland · Category:Alice in Wonderland · Portal:Children's literature Categories:- Lewis Carroll characters
- Fictional mice and rats
- Dormice
- Disney's Alice in Wonderland characters
- Fictional characters introduced in 1865
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.