THE DISCREPANCY // 195
The Cheshire Cat can disappear and still leave a grin behind. Now try to hear his familiar remark about Wonderland. Does it begin we’re all, or most everyone? Disney’s reference for the 1951 film gives the latter. The other wording has a genuine home in Lewis Carroll’s book, leaving two real versions circling the same remembered smile.
CHOOSE A VOICE BEFORE A QUOTATION
Do you hear the animated cat, a narrator reading the book, or someone quoting a favourite line? Picture the branch and the colours around him. The words may feel completely natural in more than one setting. Keep the one you first remembered before checking which version speaks it.
FOLLOW THE BOOK AND THE ANIMATION
The published Carroll text uses we’re all mad here. Disney’s official quotation page gives most everyone’s mad here for its animated adaptation. The mismatch is reported as a film memory, with the book’s genuine phrase left in place. Merchandise, later adaptations and performances need their own references rather than one universal wording.
A SENTENCE THAT SURVIVES ITS SPEAKER
Imagine the cat fading away while the line continues in your head. Would you notice that its opening had slipped from one Wonderland to another? Two familiar objects can preserve different sentences. The mystery is why one version of the voice seems to bring the other version’s words with it.
Source trail & editions
Disney — Alice in Wonderland quotations ↗
Primary Disney reference explicitly gives most everyone.
Carroll — original book text ↗
Public-domain primary literary text; ChapterVI contains we’re all mad here.
Reported film-phrase comparison ↗
Records the all versus most recollection.