Analysis of Genre

Analysis of Genre

Alice in Wonderland

Genre:Fantasy/Adventure/Family

This trailer shows that the film follows the typical conventions of the Fantasy genre. Within the two and a half minute trailer the audience are shown. a variety of costumes, at the beginning before entering Wonderland, the characters dressed in elegant suits/dresses at what looks to be a high-class social event. However, once the Alice enters 'Wonderland' the audience see colourful costumes that they would find to be 'Unusual' or 'Strange', this is typical of a fantasy film because they combine clothes that look familiar to the audience and make them look like they are from a completely different world. The character’s hair and make-up is used to exaggerate the character’s features. In this film there are many characters that look 'odd' for example the character 'The Mad Hatter' has bright red, curly, wild hair that helps to symbolise how 'mad' the hatter actually is. The Villain of this movie is 'The Red Queen' this is easy for the audience to distinguish due to the chosen hair and make-up choices, the queen is made to have an enormous head compared to her body, which can help symbolise her power. Another typical character in a fantasy film is for example talking animals, the character of the Cheshire Cat is completely impossible for many reasons yet seems normal in a fantasy film like this. The main character Alice, drinks a potion and then shrinks this is typical of the fantasy genre because a lot of events that occur are impossible or based upon things such as magic.

This film stays within the conventions of a fantasy film, At the start the film is set at a mansion on a bright sunny day However the trailer then shows Alice falling down a hole into a place called 'Wonderland'. An unusual looking place made up of forests and castles. Throughout the trailer it gradually gets darker as Alice travels through Wonderland. This is normal for a fantasy film because it is a set in an unusual place and as the brightness decreases it creates a sense of danger and make the character’s environments seem unsafe. At the beginning of the trailer the scenes are longer as the audience see a man proposing to Alice, however as the trailer moves on the scenes get shorter and more fast paced which helps to build tension and create a sinister atmosphere. This also links to the music throughout the trailer due to it being quiet and slow at the beginning and building up into a fast pace and dramatic. Another typical convention of a fantasy film is it being high production value, not only are the costumes due to them being so eccentric but this film used a lot of CGI for the settings in the film.

I think that the plot is very typical of a fantasy film, the film is set in the past and the main character Alice is accidentally transported into another world and is needed to help solve a problem/ defeat a villain. Which in this case Alice is needed to help defeat The Red Queen. Throughout the film Alice goes on an adventure of self-discovery and has to believe she is strong enough to defeat the queen and help save her friends. The trailer seems to start off slowly as Alice is in her normal life but as soon as she enters Wonderland the trailer shows the movie becoming fast paced and full of action, the ending is also typical of a fantasy film due to the positive outcome and Alice has completed her quest. This film also has a lot of popular actors, for example Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter who are both known for portraying characters in other high value production fantasy films such as 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and 'Harry Potter'. The director of this film is also Tim Burton who is renowned for his dark fantasy films. I think Propp's character roles can also link to this film because Alice can be seen as a 'hero', the Hatter is like a 'mentor' and the red queen is the 'Villain'

I think that a binary opposition in this film is Good V Evil, this follows the conventions of a fantasy film because the main character battles against a villain and tries to improve people's lives. A theme that definitely runs through this film is 'Friendship' because Alice's quest is to defeat The Red Queen and help her friends who are in Wonderland. Another theme that is in this film is 'Anything is possible' this is shown in the trailer when Alice says 'This is impossible' and The Mad Hatter replies saying 'Only if you believe it is', this theme is used to encourage the audience to believe in themselves and portray a positive message that is usually shown in a fantasy film.