Caterpillar (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)
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The Caterpillar (also known as the Hookah-Smoking Caterpillar) is a
fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
appearing in
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...
's 1865 book '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''.


In the book

Introduced in Chapter Four ("Rabbit Sends in a Little Bill") and the main center of interest of Chapter V ("Advice from a Caterpillar"), the Caterpillar is a
hookah A hookah (Hindustani language, Hindustani: (Nastaleeq), (Devanagari), IPA: ; also see #Names and etymology, other names), shisha, or waterpipe is a single- or multi-stemmed instrument for heating or vaporizing and then smoking either tobacco ...
-smoking
caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
exactly three inches high (a height, the virtues of which, he defends against Alice's complaint). Alice does not like the Caterpillar when they first meet, because he does not immediately talk to her and when he does, it is usually in short, rather rude sentences, or difficult questions. The original illustration by John Tenniel is something of a visual paradox, wherein the caterpillar's human face appears to be formed from the head and legs of a naturalistic caterpillar.


In other media

The Caterpillar makes an appearance in many other works since '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'':


Disney film

His memorable phrase is a breathy "Whooo ... are ... you?". In the Disney animated film, this line is visualised as exhalations of smoke in the shapes "O", "R" and "U". Alice remarks in the original that the Caterpillar will one day turn into a
butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
, and in both the 1999 television film and Disney's 1951 version he does so in Alice's presence. He is voiced by Richard Haydn. The Caterpillar in the Disney film is a blue creature who, as in the original Tenniel illustration, smokes a hookah. He is seen as a very forthright character as he yells at Alice quite often during the scenes in which they both appear. He blows smoke in Alice's face and when she needs assistance he ignores her. He is a quite mean character providing little to no assistance to Alice and ends up confusing her more while she is trapped in Wonderland. He then ignores her and turns into a butterfly and flutters away not caring whether or not Alice makes it out alive. He also instructs her to eat a mushroom but does not say what it does thus putting her into possible danger. He briefly appears during the second caucus race. He reappears one final time during the ending chase, still in butterfly form but once again smoking on his hookah, and again ignoring Alice when she asks for his help escaping the Queen of Hearts.


Tim Burton films

Alan Rickman Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his deep, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and became a member of the Royal Shakespe ...
voices the Caterpillar, who in this adaptation is named Absolem. (early draft of the film script, first started Feb. 2007) Rickman was filmed while recording his voice in a studio, but his face was not composited onto the character's face as originally planned. He appears five times in the movie. The first time is outside Wonderland, when a young man named Hamish Ascot is about to propose to Alice and she notices a blue caterpillar on his shoulder. The second time is when Nivens McTwisp the White Rabbit,
Tweedledum and Tweedledee Tweedledum and Tweedledee are characters in an English nursery rhyme and in Lewis Carroll's 1871 book ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There''. Their names may have originally come from an epigram written by poet John Byrom. The ...
, Mallymkun the Dormouse, and the Uilleam the Dodo consider Alice's identity, and they consult him. Absolem appears in a thick cloud of hookah smoke, which he blows at Alice. He appears again after Alice arrives at the White Queen's Castle, and again to remind Alice of her previous visit to Wonderland. He blows smoke at her twice this time, and Alice asks him to stop it. At the end of the movie, Absolem, as a butterfly, appears on Alice's shoulder as she sets off for China. Rickman reprises the role in '' Alice Through the Looking Glass'' (2016), though he remains a butterfly, leading Alice to the looking-glass portal to Underland and informing her that matters require her urgent attention. He isn't seen again for the rest of the film but makes a cameo in the credits. This was also Rickman's final film performance and the film is dedicated in his memory.


''Once Upon a Time''

* The Caterpillar appears in an episode of ''
Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in the ...
'', voiced by
Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...
. * The Caterpillar appears in the 2013 '' Once Upon a Time in Wonderland'' episode "Forget Me Not" voiced by
Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...
, wherein he operates a meeting-house for the transaction of criminal business. He is consulted twice by Alice for assistance in an adventure of her own.


In other media

* The Caterpillar appeared in the 2004 novel '' The Looking-Glass Wars'' and he plays the role of an oracle. * In the 2009
SyFy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
TV miniseries ''
Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
'', the Caterpillar is the leader of the underground resistance to the
Queen of Hearts The queen of hearts is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck. Queen of Hearts or The Queen of Hearts may refer to: Books * "The Queen of Hearts" (poem), anonymous nursery rhyme published 1782 * ''The Queen of Hearts'', an 1859 novel by W ...
. * In the ''
Murdoch Mysteries ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick B ...
'' TV show 2011 episode “Murdoch in Wonderland,” the titular character is framed for murder following an ''Alice in Wonderland'' themed costume party. The host, Constance Gardenier, dresses herself as the Caterpillar. *The Caterpillar appeared in the 2000 video game ''
American McGee's Alice ''American McGee's Alice'' is a 2000 third-person action-adventure video game developed by Rogue Entertainment under the direction of designer American McGee and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Games banner. The game was originally re ...
'' and its 2011 sequel '' Alice Madness Returns'', voiced by Jarion Monroe. He is the wisest denizen in Wonderland and provides guidance to Alice in both games. *The Caterpillar makes a cameo appearance in the Sunsoft's 2006
mobile game A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...
. The Caterpillar appears only in one scenario branch of the bad endings, warning Ariko (the "Alice" of the game) that
Cheshire Cat The Cheshire Cat ( or ) is a fictional cat popularised by Lewis Carroll in ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and known for its distinctive mischievous grin. While now most often used in ''Alice''-related contexts, the association of a "Ch ...
has become dangerous, but is shortly squished to death by Cheshire Cat. The Caterpillar takes the form of a miniature human man in a green sleeping bag. * In several
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
stories featuring
Doctor Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...
, the magical entity Agamotto has appeared in a form resembling the Caterpillar. * In the 2003 horror crossover film ''
Freddy vs. Jason ''Freddy vs. Jason'' is a 2003 American slasher film directed by Ronny Yu and written by Mark Swift and Damian Shannon, Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It is a Crossover (fiction), crossover between the A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise), ''A ...
'', Freddy Krueger takes the form of the Caterpillar and smokes a hookah in Freeburg's dream. * In one episode of '' Ouran High School Host Club'' called "Haruhi in Wonderland", Kyoya Otori is dressed as the Caterpillar.


References

{{Alice, state=expanded
Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
Fictional butterflies and moths Literary characters introduced in 1865