So when Leanne from Midas PR emailed me if I wanted to listen to Scarlett Johansson's reading of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, I said I would once I caught up with my audiobooks. And now that I have, I have downloaded, listened and am going to talk about the story and Scarlett's reading of this tale.
I think we all know the story of Alice in Wonderland. Alice falls down a rabbit hole chasing a White Rabbit. She falls into a world where she has tea with the March Hare and the Mad Hatter, playing croquet with the Queen of Hearts, meeting the Caterpillar and talking to (my fave character!) the Cheshire Cat.
As you guys are probably aware, i have very mixed feelings on this. If I had read this as a child, I would be obsessed with this story and the world (hence my love for Disney and any other version I can watch). But as an adult... well, it's really surreal. There's not much plot - but that's the point. This is a story of a young girl have a dream of a world that makes no sense. Dream logic and all.
So, Scarlett Johansson's reading of this tale. I have two feelings on this. Once I found my footing with Scarlett's voice and got use to how she read, I found myself enjoying it. It flowed and Scarlett has a voice I could listen to.
However, there were times I found her reading jarring. There were a few times Scarlett reading made me feel like she was a school governess. It was so strict and straight-laced. And I wonder at times, if it's because Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is such a British story and Scarlett is American that maybe this was the wrong story for her to narrate. I can't help but wonder if The Wonderful Wizard of Oz would have been a better choice (and if she does, I would very happily devour that! I believe Anna Hathaway has done an audiobook version of this so I will be investigating that!)...
It was a lovely reading and am intrigued over who Scarlett reads next...
I have a press release for you guys. Now, don't groan. I think you might like this. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is getting a new audiobook. Read by Scarlett Johansson. Yes, THAT Scarlett Johansson.
Audible has been very busy in the past few months, have they? Because of this, and I am quite curious over this, I'm going to just pop this press release here (thank you Midas for the press release!).
SCARLETT JOHANSSON PERFORMS ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND FOR AUDIBLE
VANESSA JOHANSSON DIRECTS HER SISTER IN A NEW RECORDING, NOW AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD AT AUDIBLE.CO.UK
February 24, 2016 – Audible Studios, a production arm of Audible.co.uk, today announced the release of Golden Globe nominee and Tony Award-Winning actress Scarlett Johansson’s audio interpretation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. This vivacious performance of the famously fanciful tale by the star of Lost in Translation, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Girl with a Pearl Earring is now available for download at http://www.audible.co.uk/alice
Scarlett Johansson was joined in the recording studio by her sister, actress and accomplished audiobook narrator Vanessa Johansson, who served as director of this production. Vanessa has narrated dozens of audiobooks in her own right, and brought her own experience and unique perspective on the art form to the recording process.
"It was a great pleasure to work alongside my sister, Vanessa, to read aloud the great works of Lewis Carroll,” said Scarlett, who won a Tony Award in 2010 for her performance in A View from the Bridge on Broadway. “Having grown up loving the story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and reading many books aloud with Vanessa, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to share my love for Alice with an audience. I hope that this recording is enjoyed by not only those who are existing fans of the material, but also by new and curious readers, who may just be discovering Carroll’s work for the first time.”
“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is such a deliciously whimsical and curious story,” added Vanessa, whose audiobook credits span a variety of categories including children’s books, history, fantasy, biography, fiction, self-development and more. “We had such a blast dialoguing during the recording process, thinking about the characters, and creating an audio world for this book. I hope the joy that we experienced together comes across to listeners.”
“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a delightfully peculiar story that really comes alive when performed,” said Audible EVP and Publisher Beth Anderson. “We knew that Scarlett’s distinctive voice and exuberant characterization combined with the vision for the performance she shared with her sister Vanessa would create a recording of surpassing artistry, as befits this magical story. This is a delectable treat for listeners of all ages.”
In addition to Johansson, among the acclaimed performers who have narrated works of literature for Audible are Rosamund Pike, Dan Stevens, James Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, Jake Gyllenhaal, Kate Winslet and Tim Robbins. In 2013, Audible Studios won its first Grammy Award, for its production of Janis Ian’s memoir Society’s Child, and also won the Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year, for Colin Firth’s performance of Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair.
Audible, the world’s largest seller and producer of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word content, invented and commercialized the first digital audio player in 1997, and has since been at the forefront of the explosively growing audiobook download segment. In 2015, listeners around the world downloaded 1.6 billion hours of audio from Audible; Audible members downloaded an average of more than 17 books over the course of the year. Two thirds of new Audible members are first-time audiobook buyers.
