Alice has had plenty of adventures since she was created by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson — better known by his pseudonym Lewis Carroll — in 1865.
Her friend, the Mad Hatter, has been with her every step of the way, but his retellings have taken a darker path.
Paul Venzo, a senior lecturer in writing and literature at Deakin University, said there were signs of this new Hatter character in Batman's Joker, in Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands, and even Willy Wonka from Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.
He said the mad professor characterisation had fed into new ideas about psychology and neurodiversity that became prevalent in the 20th century.
"There are so many reinterpretations," Dr Venzo said.
"They're each tailored to a different kind of purpose, so we get those absurdist elements.
"But yes, at times, we get a more sinister interpretation as well."
Dr Venzo said the Hatter is at least somewhat inspired by historical hat-makers of Carroll's time, but his status as the "Mad" Hatter did not come from the original text.
"In the story, he never calls the hatter the 'mad hatter', that's something that we've associated with the hatter later on," Dr Venzo said.
"But certainly there's a historical framework there for this interpretation of him as mad.
"Obviously, there's a reference there to the deleterious effects of mercury in the production of hats and hat-making and, indeed, in the textile industry in around the time Carroll was writing."
Dr Venzo said Lewis Carroll visited an asylum and noted that two of the activities given to inmates were tea parties, held as therapeutic entertainments, and hat-making.
"Interestingly, the effects of mercury poisoning are associated with things like becoming reclusive and shy and introverted," he said.
"Which is almost the opposite of what we get with the hatter character in the story itself."
Lonely tea party
Every interpretation of a beloved children's book character is different.
Likewise, for Carroll's famed eccentric the Hatter — permanently stuck on tea time — no two hatters are alike.
With this in mind, actor Darron Farquhar donned the wig and white face powder to become the Hatter for a central Victorian production of Wondered, a play by Brisbane-based playwright, Elodie Boal, and produced by Dizzy Productions with a neurodiverse cast.
His Hatter is a charismatic and flamboyant character with an element of mystery.
"He's good to be around because he brings excitement to the room, so he's a happy sort of person," Mr Farquhar said.
"Then on the other side, there's that sadness, there's that loneliness, there's that sense of you feel sorry for him."
The actor hopes his depiction of the Hatter — especially his struggle with loneliness — resonates with regional audiences.
"I guess we can relate to that in society today," Mr Farquhar said.
"Where people who do have mental illnesses, and the things that they have to face from other people, can be the worst thing that they face."
"In some way, this play can bring some awareness to being sensitive, being understanding and being compassionate to people who do suffer some sort of mental ailment."
Mental health advocates have said helpful depictions of people living with mental illness can go some way to dispel harmful stereotypes, but that untruthful depictions can be damaging.
"Some of those stereotypes are that people with mental illness are violent," said Sara Bartlett, project lead of Suicide Prevention with Everymind, a national institute dedicated to reducing mental ill-health.
"We know quite strongly from the evidence base that people who live with a diagnosed mental illness are not violent or perpetrators of crime.
"We also know that helpful depictions of mental illness can help people to reach out for help and support when they need it most."
We're all mad here
For Dr Venzo, he thinks the Hatter is not as strange as society's rituals.
"I would like to think that we could celebrate his eccentricities, absurdity, his nonsensical approach to things as a great reflection of a new open-mindedness about neurodiversity and mental health, without the need for madness to be acquainted with being evil," he said.
"One of the most delightful things about the Hatter is the way he draws our attention to the strangeness of social etiquette and the strangeness of everyday life.
"In some respects, he's not so strange, it's the strange way we get stuck in time, the way we go through these ridiculous rituals on a daily basis, that is strange."