Gryphon (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)

The Gryphon is a fictional character devised by Lewis Carroll in the popular book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. True to the conventional view of a griffin, he has the head, talons, and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.In the book, the griffin is with the mock turtle.

Role and personality

The Gryphon appears to be somewhat overbearing and dismissive of the obsessions and dismays of other characters, such as the Mock Turtle's sorrow and the Queen of Hearts' executions, neither of which (according to the Gryphon) have any basis in fact. He speaks with a slightly ungrammatical Cockney-like accent and makes demands of the Mock Turtle, which are obeyed despite the latter creature's implicit objections. In addition, he is prone to making cough-like sounds written as "Hjckrrh!", which seem to have little meaning and may be involuntary.

In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the Gryphon features with the Mock Turtle in Chapter 9, "The Mock Turtle's Story", Chapter 10, "The Lobster Quadrille", and briefly at the start of Chapter 11, "Who Stole the Tarts?". The Gryphon was ordered by the Queen to take Alice to meet the Mock Turtle; this he did, and stayed with them for a long time, demanding that the Mock Turtle tell its history, as well as several poems. The two creatures go on to explain certain features of their world which are apparently nonsense to Alice, before Alice and the Gryphon are summoned to a criminal trial, leaving the Mock Turtle behind.

Film adaptations

• The Gryphon appeared in the 1933 Alice in Wonderland, played by William Austin.

The Gryphon from a Disney Jell-O advert

• The Gryphon was to be featured in Disney's 1951 Alice in Wonderland, but the part was deleted. Although he and the Mock Turtle appeared in a Jell-O commercial.
• The Gryphon appeared in the 1966 Alice in Wonderland TV film, played by Malcolm Muggeridge.
• The Gryphon appeared in the 1976 Alice in Wonderland film, played by Spike Milligan.
• The Gryphon appeared in the 1985 Alice in Wonderland movie, played by Sid Caesar.
• The Gryphon appeared in Dreamchild, performed by Ron Mueck and voiced by Fulton Mackay.
• The Gryphon appeared in the 1999 Alice in Wonderland TV film voiced by Donald Sinden. The Gryphon was operated by David Alan Barclay, Adrian Getley, and Robert Tygner.
• In the 2010 Alice in Wonderland film, the Gryphon appeared as an "in memoriam" drawing on the wall of the Red Queen's palace, having been killed by the Jabberwocky.

In other media

• Gryphon appeared in the video game American Mcgee's Alice.
• In the anime and manga series Pandora Hearts Gryphon is a chain for Xai Vessalius who is also similar to the Gryphon in the book.

References