For those of you who don't know, Lewis Carroll is my very favorite writer of all time. I've read the Alice books 30 times at the very least (including the annotated version), and I've read The Hunting of the Snark even more than that. I've read his poems, essays, bits and pieces he wrote as a teenager; both volumes of his little-known, seemingly endless novel, Sylvie & Bruno; I've looked at all his photography, read a handful of biographies and criticisms; I even tried reading some of his math books and pamphlets, though sadly I don't have the capacity to enjoy that area of his work.

I've also seen a number of film/TV adaptations of his work, including;
- Alice in Wonderland (1903) directed by Cecil Hepworth
- Alice in Wonderland (1933) directed by Norman Z. McLeod
- Alice in Wonderland (1951) produced by Walt Disney
- Alice in Wonderland (1966) directed by Jonathan Miller
- Jabberwocky (1971) directed by Jan Svenkmajer
- Jabberwocky (1977) directed by Terry Gilliam
- Alice in Wonderland (1985) directed by Harry Harris
- Neco z Alenky (a.k.a. "Alice") (1988) directed by Jan Svenkmajer
- Alice in Wonderland (1999) directed by Nick Willing

Would I welcome more adaptations when there have already been so many? Yes, definitely. Personally, I think Alice in Wonderland is unfilmable, insomuch as adequately translating Carroll's unique vision is concerned. Carroll's novels are so steeped in verbal playfulness that no film version can accurately recreate the same feeling. Instead, I find it far more interesting when a director takes what he or she sees in the story personally and translates that to the screen. Indeed, my very favorite adaptation of Alice is Svenkmajer's 1988 stop-motion feature, which of all the versions I've seen is the least faithful to Carroll's work by far.

So that's what this list represents. I'm not looking for someone to make the definitive Alice film. Rather, these are directors who I think would bring an interesting, unique personal touch to the stories and turn out adaptations that would stand out in the crowd rather than simply fall into the abyss of failed adaptations that tried to treat Carroll's books as a legitimate narrative.

(NOTE: To my knowledge, no one is currently working on any Alice adaptations. American MCgee's Alice, the video game in which a psychologically traumatized Alice comes back to Wonderland ten years later to battle the Queen of Hearts, was going to be turned into a film by Wes Craven, but that project appears dead now. There was also talk a few years ago of an MTV musical version starring Britney Spears. The fact that this one died as well proves that God has not forsaken us.)

THE TOP TEN DIRECTORS WHO SHOULD TAKE A CRACK AT ALICE

Special Mention: Federico Fellini - My list includes only living directors, but I just wanted to contradict myself for a moment and say that if there was ever a director who could have made a "definitive" Alice film, it would have been Fellini. Aside from his obvious visual prowess, his knack for making a simple conversation maniacally kinetic would make him pefect for Carroll's prose, even if it was translated into Italian. And then my ears perk up at the thought of Nino Rota setting Carroll's poetry to music.... Fellini would have been an absolutely perfect match for these books.

10. Joe Dante - I'm not exactly sure how this would turn out, but that's part of the fun. Dante's films have this wild, manic energy to them that would make for a very enjoyable Alice, I think. He also knows how to cram a lot of humor into a small space, so I think he'd be able to preserve a lot of material that less talented directors often have to cut out for pacing. The only caveat here is that Dante is obsessed with pop culture, and I'm not sure how he could bring that into Alice (because I'm sure he'd find a way). I don't think this would result in one of the "best" Carroll adaptations, but it could easily be one of the most fun to watch.

09. David Lynch - You can hate Mulholland Drive if you want...I like it, but I don't blame anyone who doesn't...but you have to admit that Lynch captured the nature of dreams perfectly, in everything from tone to character to structure. Since both of the Alice books are dreams, I think Lynch would have an almost instinctive understanding of how to put them on celluloid. And knowing Lynch, it would probably be one of the more disturbing adaptations, sitting comfortably next to Jan Svenkmajer's version.

08. Terry Jones - If you wanted to take all the songs in the Alice books and turn the film into a full-blown child-friendly musical, no one would do it better than Terry Jones. Just look at his infinitely charming adaptation of Wind in the Willows. He could even bring in Eric Idle and John Du Prez to supervise the music, and then he could cast some fellow Pythons in a few roles. Jones himself would be fantastic as the Duchess.

07. Alfonso Cuaron - Cuaron, quite simply, rules. A Little Princess and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban show that he really understands how to make truly magical, emotional children's films that don't play down to their audience or sacrifice any serious filmmaking standards. Moreover, he has a great eye and understands that when you're adapting a novel you're going to have to stray from the material in order to get a good film out of it.

06. Jean-Pierre Jeunet - I imagine Jeunet's Alice having sort of a Wes-Anderson-meets-Terry-Gilliam vibe, much like Amelie. In fact, Jeunet's hypothetical adaptation might be the closest any director could come to what Fellini would have hypothetically done with it.

05. Tim Burton - Maybe he's an obvious choice, but he's still a good one. I think Burton would have the distinction of making an Alice film that was both suitable for children and deeply creepy (though many people inexplicably feel this way already about the Disney version). Of course, the prospect here of having Danny Elfman work with Carroll's poems is what would really have me rushing to see this version (and rushing to buy the soundtrack).

04. Hayao Miyazaki - And following an obvious choice, here's one that should be obvious. Miyazaki really knows what he's doing. His visual imagination is boundless, his storytelling is captivating, and most of all, his ability to build new worlds for his characters to inhabit is nothing short of extraordinary. Watching his films, you never get the sense that anything exists only for telling the story, but rather that these are living, full-realized worlds that you happen to be catching a glimpse of. That's what Wonderland should feel like.

03. Richard Linklater & Bob Sabiston - Like Mulholland Drive, only moreso, Waking Life perfectly captures the essence of wandering through a dream. Linklater's structure, combined with the mind-warping animation that Sabiston wrangled together for that film, would make for a powerful, unique take on Alice, and one that would also inadvetantly satisfy all those eager drug-users who think that Carroll's books are all about acid trips. Linklater & Sabiston are currently collaborating again on Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly, and if they want to continue doing projects together I think Alice would be a great direction to go.

02. Terry Gilliam - My very, very favorite director ends up in the #2 slot. Terry Gilliam just knows how to do this sort of thing. You could take any of his films, pick any five minutes at random and have a perfect case for Alice. Everything from visuals to acting to writing to pacing to the satirical sense of humor is dead-on. Furthermore, I know Gilliam is a great admirer of the Alice books, as I've heard him speak very highly of them in the past. I've often wondered why he never tried his hand at it, but I guess he feels it's been done too many times and should probably be left alone. Nevertheless, if it was possible to make a "definitive" adaptation of Alice, Gilliam is probably the only living director who could manage it.

01. Henry Selick - I've wanted Selick to direct an Alice film ever since I saw the extremely under-rated, almost universally hated Monkeybone. And my imagination here has come to a very specific vision: Henry Selick doing Alice with a combination of live action footage and spot-motion animation. It would be nothing short of spectacular. Selick is the greatest out there now, and I can barely begin to imagine what he could do with Carroll's characters. He knows kinetic mania and he has that touch of magic that makes everything surreal and dream-like. He can build whole worlds without ever losing touch of his characters. Out of all the scenarios I've presented here, this is the one I would be the most anxious to see.

That's all I've got. Perhaps you'd like to suggest directors for some of your favorite books or stories?

Kirk
NP - A Streetcare Named Desire (Alex North)

I do have the soundtrack to that version, though. I like it well enough, especially "Will You Walk a Little Faster?" and "They Told Me".

Well, Alice really should be English, but I think Fanning has the right personality for it so I can't complain too much. And even though she's three years older than Alice is supposed to be, she's still a lot closer than most of the girls they get for live-action productions, so I won't go there, either.

I'm very happy to see that they plan on adapting each book seperately. But my really big fear is that they'll feel the Alice books are too "cerebral" for today's kids and they'll end up dumbing it down and losing pretty much everything that sets it apart. And with Spielberg producing, you can bet they'll try to impose some sort of moral on the story.

But I'll try to remain hopeful, and wait to see who ends up directing it (if it even happens, that is).