{"id":2605,"date":"2017-02-23T21:58:58","date_gmt":"2017-02-23T21:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=2605"},"modified":"2018-08-30T20:23:13","modified_gmt":"2018-08-30T20:23:13","slug":"theatre-in-film-phoebe-in-wonderland-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-phoebe-in-wonderland-2008\/","title":{"rendered":"Theatre in Film: Phoebe in Wonderland (2008)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-header-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><h3>Theatre in Film: <i>Phoebe in Wonderland<\/i> (2008)<\/h3>\n<font size=\"2\" color=\"grey\"><span style=\"border:1px solid ;-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;-moz-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);margin-right:25px;float:left;\" class=\"fusion-imageframe imageframe-glow imageframe-1 hover-type-none author-image\"><a class=\"fusion-no-lightbox\" href=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\" target=\"_self\"> <img src=\"http:\/\/mgs.performerstuff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/authorimage.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"img-responsive\" style=\"-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;\"\/><\/a><\/span><p>Written by Ashleigh Gardner<\/p>\n<p>February 22, 2017<\/p>\n<\/font><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-body-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><p style=\"text-align: left;\">Welcome to Part VII of Theatre in Film, our weekly feature on a film that depicts a life in the theatre. In Part VII, we examine films with biting humor, fantastical plots, and theatre family values. This week, we\u00a0feature\u00a0the 2009 film that celebrates a young girl&#8217;s unconventional quirks \u00a0\u2014 <em>Phoebe in Wonderland<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><i>Phoebe in Wonderland<\/i> (2008)<\/h4>\n<br><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/j-hdYw4I1DQ?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><b>Director: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daniel Barnz<br \/>\n<\/span><b>Starring: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Elle Fanning, Felicity Huffman, Patricia Clarkson, and Bill Pullman<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\">What happens:<\/h4>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nine year old Phoebe (Elle Fanning) has a disorder called Tourettes that causes her engage in impulsive speech and behavior at home and school. Her mother (Felicity Huffman) and father (Bill Pullman) attempt to deal with their own problems amid their struggles with their odd and unique daughter, and Phoebe\u2019s sister (Bailee Madison) feels neglected, jealous of the attention that her sister gets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Phoebe sees a posting at school for a production of Alice in Wonderland, she signs up and is given a role by her quirky director, Miss Dodger (Patricia Clarkson). Phoebe lights up when she\u2019s onstage, and her performance betrays a wiser and richer persona than Miss Dodger expects. But after Phoebe starts acting out during class, she is pulled from the show and her dreams of being lost in Wonderland are crushed. Her mother works with her and Miss Dodger to get her back in the play, but a series of events endangers her life and the safety of others until she is finally forced to openly accept her disorder along with her uniqueness she\u00a0once\u00a0feared.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\">Why it matters:<\/h4>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Phoebe seemingly can\u2019t catch a break, especially from herself. Her mother denies that she has a problem, which confuses Phoebe into thinking her Tourettes isn\u2019t a big deal, and when she is reprimanded at school for her behavior, she can\u2019t understand the consequences she must face. When Tommy bullies her about her condition, she can\u2019t answer his question with a sufficient reply, resorting to metaphors to explain her behavior.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes when performers and technicians (artists in general) are young, they think that they are unworthy of love, either because they act in an unusual way or they say things that don\u2019t necessarily align with \u201cnormal\u201d ideologies. It is in art that the weird, unique, abnormal, strange, and mysterious flourishes, and the unconventional <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">beautiful instead of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">becoming <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">beautiful. Phoebe, discovering her personal artistic preference, finds that her solace lies in performance &#8212; her quirks disappear and she is better able to manage her unconventional behavior.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Phoebe is not unlike every thespian who enters the auditorium for the first time. She doesn\u2019t know what she\u2019s getting into, but it\u2019ll ultimately provide her with a serenity she never knew she could experience. <\/span><\/p>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\">This film is the fifth\u00a0film in\u00a0Part VII. See below for the other films\u00a0in Part VII.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-synecdoche-new-york-2008\/\"><em>Synecdoche, New York<\/em>\u00a0(2008)<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-hamlet-2-2008\/\"><em>Hamlet 2\u00a0<\/em>(2008)<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-the-imaginarium-of-doctor-parnassus-2009\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">(2008)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-dont-think-twice-2016\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Don\u2019t Think Twice\u00a0<\/em>(2016)<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Want to start with\u00a0<strong>Part I<\/strong>? Begin with\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em><a href=\"http:\/\/mgs.performerstuff.com\/?p=133\">42nd Street\u00a0<\/a><\/em>(1933)<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nMiss\u00a0<strong>Part II<\/strong>?\u00a0Check out\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-series-the-band-wagon-1953\/\"><strong><em>The Band Wagon<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<strong>(1953)<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<br \/>\nNeed a refresh for\u00a0<strong>Part III<\/strong>? Start with\u00a0our feature on\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-series-all-that-jazz-1979\/\">All That Jazz\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/strong><strong>(1979)<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nHow about a recap from\u00a0<strong>Part IV<\/strong>? Jump into\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-a-chorus-of-disapproval-1989\/\"><strong><em>A Chorus of Disapproval\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong>(1989)<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nCheck out\u00a0<strong>Part V<\/strong><em>,\u00a0<\/em>and start with\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-an-awfully-big-adventure-1995\/\"><em><strong>An Awfully Big Adventure\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><strong>(1995)<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<br \/>\nStart reading\u00a0<strong>Part VI<\/strong>\u00a0with\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-camp-2003\/\">Camp\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/em><strong>(2003)<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><hr \/>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\"><em><strong>Ashleigh Gardner<\/strong>\u00a0received her AA in Theatre\/Drama\/Dramatic Arts\u00a0from Valencia College and\u00a0her Bachelors Degree in English Literature and\u00a0Masters Degree in Literary, Cultural, and Textual Studies from\u00a0the University of Central Florida. She is a playwright, an actor, and PerformerStuff.com\u2019s Editor.\u00a0<\/em><\/h5>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\">Thumbnail image from\u00a0<em>Phoebe in Wonderland.\u00a0<\/em>Copyright THINKfilm, 2009.<\/h5>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [...]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[259,265],"tags":[6,139,128,105,114],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}