'Chessur,'The Cheshire Cat is a fictional character from
the novel, Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Stephen Fry voices Chessur the Cheshire Cat in
the 2010 movie.
Alice first encounters it at the Duchess's house in her kitchen, and then
later outside on the branches of a tree, where it appears and disappears at
will, engaging Alice in amusing but sometimes vexing conversation. The cat
sometimes raises philosophical points that annoy or baffle Alice. It does,
however, appear to cheer her up when it turns up suddenly at the Queen of Hearts'
croquet field, and when sentenced to death baffles everyone by having made its
head appear without its body, sparking a massive argument between the
executioner and the King and
Queen of Hearts about whether something that does not have a body can indeed be
beheaded.
At one point, the cat disappears gradually until nothing is left but its
grin, prompting Alice to remark that she has often seen a cat without a grin
but never a grin without a cat.
History
Cheese moulds
According to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, "The
phrase has never been satisfactorily accounted for, but it has been said that
cheese was formerly sold in Cheshire moulded like a cat that looked as though
it was grinning" It's all a happy ending . The end :)
Chiesa carving
"Grinning like a cheshire cat" was an old proverbial
expression long before it was used by Lewis Carrol.One theory for the origion
of this saying involves the Cheshire cheese molds, another says that Cheshire
was a country palatine. Yet another comes frome the villiage of Cheshire
itself, where - it is said - that some of the painted inn signs "look more
like grinning cats than growling lions" (Quoted from Notes and Queries,
of which Carroll was a regular subscriber)
Further reading: Notes and Queries no. 55, 16 November 1850, and
no. 130, 24 April 1852. Here, the origions of the saying are discused and
debated in great detail.
There are many reports that Carroll found inspiration for the name and
expression of the Cheshire Cat in the 16th century sandstone carving of a
grinning cat, on the west face of St Wilfrid's Church tower in Grappenhall, a
village adjacent to his birthplace in Daresbury, Warrington.i love pie!!!+
cows1!1!!!!!
Other Appearances
Cheshire cat appears in the anime Ouran Highschool Host Club as the twins
Hikaru and Kaoru.
Film Adaptations...
The Cheshire Cat as he appears in the 1951 movie
Disney's Alice in Wonderland
(1951)
He appears as a mysterious, villianous pink and purple cat with a
devious, mischievous personality. Alice encounters him in the woods and ask for
directions back home so he directs her to the Mad Hatter and March Hare. After
the confusing and useless visit Alice gets lost and encounters him again and
the Cheshire Cat directs her to The Queen of Hearts for help, but before she
goes he warns her of The Queen's evil ways. During the visit the Cheshire Cat
constantly humiliates the queen and she thinks it's Alice every time. While in
court the Cheshire Cat repeats the insult Alice gives the Queen and it leads to
the climactic chase. He was voiced by Sterling Holloway (who also previous
played the role of the Frog in another film version of Alice in Wonderland) in
the 1951 film and Jim Cummings in the House of Mouse TV series.
During the making of Alice in Wonderland, a song called I'm Odd which
was suppose to be sung by the Cheshire Cat was scrapped then later rediscover
years later and put on the Alice in Wonderland special edition DVD.
Despite being a generally neutral character the Cheshire Cat was
apparently considered a villain by the Walt Disney Company, as evidenced by his
inclusion in Disney Villains merchandise. However, as of 2010, this is no
longer so.
Alice in Wonderland (1999)
(S)he appears as a grey cat who speaks to Alice in Wonderland, as well
as a visitor at the garden party at which Alice is finally confident enough not
only to sing in front of her audience, but also to change from her rehearsed
song "Cherry Ripe" to "Lobster Quadrille." The voice (and
face) of the cat are both played by Whoopi Goldberg.
The Cheshire Cat saves the Mad Hatter from execution
Disney's Alice in Wonderland (2010)
He appears as a grey, light blue striped, turquoise eyed tabby cat in
which he resides in a misty and mysterious looking forest called Tulgey Wood.
He only ever walks once, and that's when he looks back to Alice when he takes
her to tea with the Hare and Hatter. His main use of transportation is floating
in the air.
He is encountered by Alice and offers to purify her Bandersnatch claw
marks on her arm, but she declines and says she will be fine when she has woken
up but he insists on wrapping it, which Alice allows him to do. He then guides
Alice to the mad tea party. Then he appears and seats himself at the end of the
table and spends time with them, stirring his tea all the while. The Mad Hatter
accuses him of betraying them when the jabberwocky first attacked by
disappearing, and that it was his fault after the cat says, "All this talk
of blood and slaying has put me off my tea. The Cheshire Cat denies that it was
his fault and is yelled at and insulted by the Hatter, until Mallymkun yells
angrily, "Hatter!"
When the Knave, Bayard, and the Red Knights approach, he disappears,
when the March Hare tries to hide behind him.
Later on, he helps the Mad Hatter during his execution by sparing his
life, taking his place while wearing the Mad Hatter's hat and vanishing before
he is executed, then the hat floats up into the air, and the Cheshire Cat head
appears under it and he wishes everybody a good morning. In the movie he had
always wanted the Mad Hatter's hat, but appears later and returns it, then asks
Alice how her arm is doing before evaporating.
He appears throughout the movie but always disappears when something
disgusting is mentioned or seen. In the battle, while Alice is fighting the
Jabberwocky, the March Hare hides behind the Cheshire Cat who whips his tail at
his own face and then evaporates. After the battle and the Jabberwocky is
slain, when the Red Queen's knights turn against her, and she is captured, her
crown suddenly lifts off her head, floats away, and goes to the White Queen's
head, and the Cheshire Cat, who had been holding it and was invisible,
appeared, and put the crown on her head, and then disappears. He is last seen
grinning at Alice before she drinks the Jabberwocky blood. Here, his
disappearing abilities are described as "evaporation". His name is
given as Chessur (Chess for short), and he is voiced by Stephen Fry.
Video Games
- In the Laserdisc game Dragon's Lair II, The Cheshire Cat appears
only as a head, reciting the Jabberwocky poem
while trying to devour the hero "Dirk the Daring".
- He also appears in Kingdom Hearts series aiding the character with
clues.
- In the otome game "Heart no Kuni no Alice, he appears as Boris Airay, a
human form of the Cheshire Cat and one of the characters who fall in love
with Alice.
- The Cheshire Cat appears in American Mcgee's Alice as Alice's guide,
and his appearance is mangy and emaciated, with dark markings similiar to
tribal tattoos, in keeping with the dark tone of the game. He is voiced by
Roger L. Jackson. He comes back in the sequel.But just to not be trusted
by Alice, but he is still an Ally of hers.
- The Cheshire
Cat makes a brief apperance in Kingdom
Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. He is voiced
by Jim Cummings. He appears as an aid in all three games, though he is not
a direct ally.
- In Tim
Burton's Alice in Wonderland game, he has a special ability,
Invisibility. Which he can disappear anytime he wants, he can also make
things disappear, such as walls and pillars.
- Cheshire Cat also appears as a cranky, impatient customer in the
computer game Alice's Tea Cup Madness.
Other Appearances
- In Frank Beddor's The Looking Glass
Wars, the Cat is an assassin
working for Redd.
- In the anime Pandora Hearts,
there is a Chain based off of the Cheshire Cat, and it even shares the
same name. The Cheshire Cat of PH appears as a humanoid cat, however at
one point it takes the form of a large shadow with a grin characteristic
of the Cat of the novel. He is the Will of the Abyss's (and Alice's) loyal
chain and protects her lost memories, which she lost on purpose so she
doesn't have to suffer from them
- Cookie Monster was the Cheshire Cookie Cat in Abby
in Wonderland from Sesame Street on PBS Kids.
- In the TV miniseries "Alice",
a fusion of Alice's pet cat Dinah and himself appears in a dream
- Hikaru and Kaoru play the Cheshire Cat in an episode of Ouran High
School Host Club.
- Sammy Davis, Jr. provided the voice of a "hip" animated
Cheshire Cat in the 1966 Hanna Barbara TV special "Alice in Wonderland or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing
in a Place Like This?" Dressed in a beret, scarf and chin
beard, Davis' Cheshire Cat also sings the title song.
- Richard Arlen played the Cheshire Cat in the 1933 Paramount film
version of "Alice in Wonderland."
- As part of a limited edition set of decor and animals, Farmville (a
Facebook
application) has released the caterpillar, seen in the Alice in
Wonderland (2010) movie, along with the Cheshire cat, Chessur.
- In the anime Card Captor Sakura, the Cheshire Cat was portrayed by
Eriol Hiragizawa (who was in fact the responsible for taking Sakura into
the book). His playful persona, which contrastes with Eriol's, confuses
Sakura at first, but he claims that this was his real one.
- In CLAMP's Miyuki-chan in Wonderland, the cat was portrayed by a
catgirl that tried to seduce Miyuki, but she eventually escaped.
- In the manga "Heart no Kuni no Alice", or "Alice in
Heartland", the character Boris is a human representation of the
Cheshire cat.
- In the sequal of "Little Big Planet", a downloadable
costume based on the 2010 Cheshire Cat is availible to buy.
Memorable quotes
1951 film
"That depends on where you want to get to!"
"Then, it really really doesn't matter, which way, you go!"
"Oh, by the way, if you really like to know, he went, that
way."
"Can you stand on your head?"
"Oh, you can't help that. Most everyone's mad here."
2010 film
"What do you call yourself?"
"The Alice?"
"I never get involved in politics. You'd best be on your way."
"I do love that hat."
"Goodbye, sweet hat."
"You do have very poor evaporating skills. I should be the
one."
Source: http://aliceinwonderland.wikia.com/wiki/The_Cheshire_Cat
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