I decided that I would do my part in celebrating Albert Hoffmann’s life by watching Disney’s animated ‘Alice In Wonderland’ and, in watching it, I happened to create the following list.* If you’ve both watched this movie and tripped on acid, you will really understand this. If you’ve done one of those two things, this list may help you imagine what it would be like to do the other one of those two things. If you haven’t watched the movie or tripped on acid, f*** you.
7. It’s colorful. Everyday items are depicted in ridiculous colors and nobody seems to notice or care.
6. It’s musical, and most of the songs don’t really make any sense.
5. There is just some generally weird random shit. If you want one ‘for example,’ consider the case of the walrus that dances and sings the baby clams away from their seabed and later chows them all down (alive, apparently) within a matter of seconds. That is weird, especially with the songs this guy sings…and his underwater cigar.
4. (Get ready for a big word) Synesthesia. It basically means that one’s senses get cross-wired, in a sense. You may see sound, for example. It’s this same example that is used in the movie multiple times. Once when the butterflies fly away when certain sound happens, even though there is no obvious connection between them leaving and that certain sound. Another instance is in the conversation with the caterpillar. When he says words like “you” or “why” he exhales smoke-letters (in the shapes “U” and “Y”, respectively for the two example words).
3. There is a constant shifting of perspectives. Furthermore, there is a relatively easy acceptance of the craziness by Alice as well as everybody around her.
2. Alice is always chasing the white rabbit. If you haven’t had an acid trip where you came to a realization that this term applied to you or your actions in some manner, that’s too bad.
1. The ridiculous amount of smoking. The caterpillar’s hookah-style pipe, the walrus’s cigar (that he took with him underwater), the dodo’s pipe, etc.
* Aldous Huxley, a well-known LSD advocate, wrote the original screenplay for the movie. However, it was rejected for its literary aspect.
March 31st, 2009 at 5:43 pm
god i never saw such ignorant comment about a movie
May 14th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
YOU ARE AWESOME AND SO RIGHT ON THE MONEY. THE REFERENCE TO THE WHITE RABBIT IS SO TRUE. I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THAT MEANS AND YET BECAUSE IM NOT TRIPPIN RIGHT NOW MY MIND CANT GRAB IT. I JUST KNOW IT HAPPENED. WHAT A TRIP!
May 15th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
true man, check this vid out it shows some of the random trippy shit you see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAwR6w2TgxY
June 21st, 2009 at 4:41 am
well no shit it resembles an acid trip it was originally based on a acid trip when it was first published as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland a father who use to do a lot of acid had a flashback while telling his daughter a bedtime story then later wrote about it
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:58 pm
[...] in Wonderland. Directed by Tim Burton. Looks like it’s’ going to be even more of an acid trip than the original… [...]
July 30th, 2009 at 11:58 am
It’s not about an acid trip because the book was written before LSD was discovered therefore that is all bullshit, however I can see why someone would think that after watching the film. But apparently the author did use opium so he was out his nut when he wrote probably cause its a fucking mad story haha.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:18 pm
To Hoff:
Actually LSD was founded in the 1930’s. This movie was made in the 1950’s.
January 6th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
LSD-25 was discovered in and around 1911.. but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t shit for this guy to trip off of if you think about it. opiates weren’t the only things around ha ha
i believe it, everything in the movie defines acid in the way the creatures act and how things feel and how Alice perceives her reality. beaaaaaaaaaautiful
this post isn’t ignorant its just the thoughts that come to a real pot head ha ha thank you!
February 8th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
he may have smashed heaps of shrooms?
February 25th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Alice In Wonderland is about a trip on multiple hallucinogenics
March 2nd, 2010 at 1:45 am
well all i know is i am going to do like 3 tabs and camp in front of the theater in a fucking tent and trip out on that new movie.
March 6th, 2010 at 11:33 am
uhh actually this story was written in 1865 so no acid wasnt invented then :p
March 7th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
i like how you asume people are really retarted, because most of us are stupid and ignorent creatures.
March 14th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
Your so Stupid!
The author was never on Acid
Its just stupid BS the whole world is making up.!
You people have no life but to Critize the world!!
March 23rd, 2010 at 6:40 pm
I think if you actually check the dates, (of when it waas first written) you will discover, LSD was not about (but baring in mind shrooms were), but the HUGE similaritys, (from even the most obvious ways like the way the twins talk to each other) really do suggest that it was based on some sort of trip.
I think it leaves a big question as to, was he sober with VERY creative imagination, under the influence , or maybe even mad??
Either way, Brilliant story.
April 3rd, 2010 at 6:53 am
the truth is nobody knows what he was on,if he was on anything, or if he was just crazy.It is a great story to tell a kid and thats all i know.ive triped plenty of times and wrote a short story about the trip and then later made the real life story into a trippy ass kids story for my little sister and its been passed around for years throughout my family.This guy mitehave been on something and balled out and made a great story
April 26th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
sorry but i didn’t read all the comments, any way he was most likely on something when he wrote this, possibly acid, but it seems that that wasn’t fully discovered around then yet, shrooms could be a great explanation, led in in a hat he wore (made hatter, lol) possibly saliva divanorium, it is extremely strong, but short trip. there are many possibilities……were all right hahhaha
April 26th, 2010 at 8:31 pm
and i made this video its pretty tripy hope you like it
http://www.vimeo.com/10708641