Garden Party guests
At the garden party, Hamish requests that Alice meet him at a gazebo so that he can propose to her. When she first arrives, it seems as though they are meeting in private, but the camera shifts to reveal that the entire guest list of the party is standing by to watch what will happen. We see a nearly endless sea of English society members, all dressed in whites and pastels, expectantly waiting to see what Alice will say. The image represents public opinion and conformity, and the pressures that Alice feels so overwhelmed by.
The Red Queen
The Red Queen's head is massive, and it stands out throughout the film as an evocative, unsettling, and whimsical image. This imagery is illustrative of the fantastical proportions of Wonderland, but it also serves a symbolic purpose, representing the queen's arrogance, grandiosity, and overblown self-importance.
Blue Butterfly
At the end of the film, Alice boards a ship to China, ready to stake out a new trading route to the East. She seems happier and more self-assured than she has been at other times throughout the film, and as she looks out from the bow of the ship at the expansive future stretching out ahead of her, a blue butterfly lands on her shoulder. That butterfly is Absolem, who has transformed from a caterpillar and who thus also represents a state of becoming and transition. The image evokes a sense of possibility, adventure, and change.
Stuffed in a teapot
When Alice is at the Mad Hatter's tea party, they are interrupted by the Knave and the Red Queen's soldiers. As the enemy approaches, the Hatter urges Alice to drink a potion which shrinks her. He then stuffs her in a teapot. This imagery shows us that she is trapped and feels out of control of her destiny.
