‘Finding Alice in Wonderland’
California students contribute to animation confronting mental health
Being in middle school can frequently be disorienting, but a project crafted by students throughout the region might help some of their peers feel a little bit less like they’ve tumbled down a rabbit hole.
Throughout this academic year, students in the California Area School District and eight other districts created the animated feature “Finding Alice in Wonderland.” It’s based, of course, on the classic Lewis Carroll story and finds Alice struggling during her first days at a new middle school. She feels self-conscious and alone, but a journey to Wonderland shows her how she can cope and help some of her friends along the way.
Alice “is trying to be accepted,” according to Jennifer Edwards, a seventh-grade English teacher at California Area Middle/High School who supervised three students who made a three-minute segment of the movie. “It relates back to what our middle and high school kids are dealing with. In middle school, they’re trying to figure out who they are.”
“Finding Alice in Wonderland” is now completed, and it will be having its premiere May 22 at Woodland Hills High School in Churchill. Edwards said there is a possibility that it will eventually be shown at California Area Middle/High School and elsewhere.
The movie was made with assistance from Wonder Media, the educational animation company. Terry Thoren, Wonder Media’s CEO, explained on the phone from his Los Angeles-area home, “We took the idea and took it into nine segments,: with each district contributing a segment. The other districts participating were Carolynton, Clairton City, Cornell, Franklin, Highlands, Quaker Valley, Seneca Valley and Woodland Hills.
The debut of “Finding Alice in Wonderland” coincides with Mental Health Awareness Month, and experts say that issues surrounding teen mental health are a cause for concern for their friends and family. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 20% of high school students have thought about suicide, and 40% have reported feelings of sadness or hopelessness that have been persistent. The Pittsburgh-based Grable Foundation, which is dedicated to helping children and youth, provided support for the movie.
The three California students who were involved in the making of “Finding Alice in Wonderland” – Raziel Jones, Grace Hatalsky and Benjamin Caldwell — participated in a series of Zoom calls to determine what the movie would look like, and then writing a script and pulling together the visuals. Throughout the process, the students were supportive of one another, Edwards said.
Along the way, they also learned about what it takes to make an animated feature, and how long and painstaking the process can be.
“It was powerful for the kids to be involved in this collaboration,” Edwards explained.