SARAI HINES

‘the unspoken path’

Alice in Wonderland (1951 film) has always been one of my favorite Disney movies. From the
Cheshire cat to the Mad Hatter the joys and craziness of Wonderland brought me the best
giggles. A scene that lives in my brain is when Alice locates a path and sees it as her way out
only to be met with a dog that is sweeping the path away. Alice is met with an array of emotions
and has a moment on a rock where she is crying. I remember crying to this scene as a little girl
and wanted to see how it would feel to watch now as an adult. I am happy to say it was a
beautiful moment where my tears this time came from a place of feeling proud of Alice.

When Alice is crying on the rock and says, “I give myself very good advice but I very seldom
take it, that explains the trouble I am always in.” Being able to reflect on oneself is an important
skill that I notice most people struggle to do in life. Listening to Alice now as an adult, I felt
understood but also a reminder on how much I need to keep going and listen to my own advice.
My deleted scene connotes the unspoken path of life, all the thoughts and feelings that cause
the reflections Alice has at the end of this scene. I wanted to capture the journey we didn’t see,
the twists and turns before the moment of having your path end in front of your eyes. The signs
placed on the trees along the way speak for the advice and reminders we need to hear as we
grow and change through the minutes, hours and days of our lives.

‘The unspoken path’ is hopefully a visual reminder to learn to love who you are and trust
yourself, we got this!