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“I don't know what you mean by your way, all the ways about here belong to me...”

~ The Red Queen
The Red Queen
200px-Tenniel red queen with alice
General Information
Gender Female
Hair color Red
Eye color Turquoise
Address Wonderland (formerly)
Marginalia
Salazen Grum (2010)
Occupation Red Queen
Relationships
Family The White Queen (sister)
The Red King (husband)
Lily (niece)
Relationships The Red King (husband)
Knave of Hearts (lover, 2010)
Time (lover, 2016)
Enemies Alice
The White Queen (2010)
Behind The Scenes
Portrayed by Edna May Oliver (1933)
Ann Jillian (1985)
Helena Bonham Carter (2010, 2016)

The Red Queen is a fictional character originally from the novel Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. She is a representation of the red queen piece in a game of chess and persuades Alice to join the chess game as the White Queen's pawn. She is depicted as being rude, domineering and obsessed with nonsensical etiquette. In many of the Alice in Wonderland adaptations, the Red Queen will appear as an amalgam of herself and the Queen of Hearts, and even sometimes the Duchess.

Description[]

With a motif of Through the Looking-Glass being representations of the game of chess, the Red Queen could be viewed as an antagonist in the story as she is the queen for the side opposing Alice. Despite this, their initial encounter is a cordial one, with the Red Queen explaining the rules of Chess concerning promotion — specifically that Alice is able to become a queen by starting out as a pawn and reaching the eighth square at the opposite end of the board. As a queen in the game of Chess, the Red Queen is able to move swiftly and effortlessly. The Red Queen's design in the book was based on the Queen chess piece.

It has been asserted in Martin Gardner's The Annotated Alice (1960) that during the story's climax, the Red Queen had the White King under check until Alice captured her, putting the Red King under checkmate.

Chess Pieces[]

The, "Dramatis Personæ" at the beginning of the book identifies certain characters in the book as representing the Queen's pieces on the board.

Pawns[]

Other Appearances[]

Alice in Wonderland (1933)[]

The Red Queen was portrayed by Edna May Oliver in the 1933 Paramount film version of Alice in Wonderland.

Alice in Wonderland (1951)[]

In the 1951 Disney animated classic, the Red Queen appears as another Amalgam of the Queen of hearts and herself. The character is referred to as the queen of hearts and has nothing to do with chess. Instead, she has an army of playing cards. The is married to The King of Hearts. She has a very short temper and wants everything her way. In the 1951 movie when the flowers are singing - there is a red rose that resembles the Red Queen and it is the same with the white flower that resembles the White Queen.

American McGee's Alice (2000)[]

In the video game, American McGee's Alice, the Red Queen is the main antagonist and the final boss. She resembles in this game the darkest part of Alice. She took advantage of Alice's insanity and ruled Wonderland. By turning it into a twisted version of itself. She's mostly made out of limbs and tentacles

The Looking Glass Wars (2004)[]

In the novel series The Looking Glass Wars, she and the queen of hearts are re-imagined as Redd, the main antagonist and the aunt of Alyss.

Alice in Wonderland (2010)[]

The Red Queen appeared in Tim Burton's 2010 film, Alice in Wonderland as an amalgam of the Queen of Hearts, the Duchess and herself. Her name is Iracebeth of Crims. The Red Queen is also referred to as The Bloody Big Head and The Bloody Red Queen. She is also married to the knave of hearts, Stain. She is completely spoilt, callous, arrogant and demanding, coercing her courtiers to agree with every word she says, almost blindly.  She has become significantly paranoid, going so far as to execute her husband for fear that he would leave her for her sister. When she has a decision to make, she twiddles her fingers about as she decides. She is portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter. This rendition is referred to as the Red Queen, but has a bit more in common with the queen of hearts, considering the fact that she is not associated with chess at all. Instead, she is represented by playing cards. She is known for her large head. Her castle area is called Salazen Grum. However, in the recent 2010 Tim Burton film, she is quick to anger if things do not go the way she wants them do. She is merciless against her enemies and those who have betrayed her.

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (2014)[]

In the 2014 ABC television series spin-off, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, the Red Queen is a major antagonist portrayed by Emma Rigby. Here, the Red Queen's name is Anastasia and she is made into a composite character with Cinderella's step-sister Anastasia Tremaine from the 1950 Disney film. She was trained in magic by the Queen of Hearts and is the ex lover of the Knave of Hearts who is her, "True Love". It is revealed by the end of the show that she becomes redeemed then she the Knave become the White Queen and the White King.

Alice: Madness Returns[]

In Madness Returns, she is left destroyed after Alice took Wonderland out of her rule. She has a very important part in this game and resembles Alice's older sister, Elizabeth Liddell and/or a younger version of Alice herself.

Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)[]

Trivia[]

  • In development for the third American McGee Alice title, Alice: Asylum, American McGee stated that he liked the idea of the Queen of Hearts and Red Queen having originally been separate characters in Alice's mind (Wonderland) as they were in the book, who eventually merged.

Gallery[]

Edna May Oliver (1933)[]

Helena Bonham Carter (2010 & 2016)[]

Emma Rigby (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland)[]


Through The Looking-Glass Characters

Alice The Mad Hatter The Red Queen The Red King The Red Knight The White Queen The White King The White Knight The March Hare The Sheep Humpty Dumpty Tweedledum and Tweedledee The Lion and the Unicorn The Bandersnatch Jubjub Bird The Jabberwocky Kitty The Flowers The Aged Man Lily The Monstrous Crow The White Horse The Bread-and-Butterfly The Rocking-Horse-Fly Snap-Dragonfly The Gnat

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