THE ALICE APP

A full version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, expressively read in a semi-British accent and decorated with illustrations that echo the elegant surrealism, and often the composition, of Tenniel’s originals.

The text appears on screens that mimic double-page spreads with patterned headers and, frequently, pale floral vignettes in the margins. It is sandwiched between an introduction composed of lightly massaged passages cut from various Web sources and notes from the artist with links to images of the Renaissance paintings from which many of his figures and landscapes are copied. Along with such mild amusements as watching Alice change sizes in the Sistine Chapel and a lobster quadrille featuring fish-headed dancers with lissome Botticelli bodies, digital enhancements include pinball-style flamingo croquet, among other touch- and tilt-activated movements. Also noteworthy are a disquieting Cheshire Cat with human teeth and hilariously literal Brueghel-style illustrations for “You Are Old, Father William.” On the other hand, Alice doesn’t visibly shrink when she drinks the potion, the “Eat Me” cake is inexplicably transformed to a wordless fortune cookie, and with a head that is clipped from a standard playing card, the Queen of Hearts looks staid rather than properly choleric.

Though Alice apps abound, this offers some audio and visual pleasures of its own.