The Cheshire Cat is Alice's main ally and principal companion in Wonderland. He's a talking cat that constantly smiles, and can disappear (completely and partially) at will. Although a friend to Alice, the Cheshire Cat will commonly have a snarly attitude towards her, and she will return this favor.

The Cheshire Cat is voiced by Roger L. Jackson.

Appearance Edit

The Cat has taken an emaciated, almost skeletal appearance; his bones can be seen through his fur-less, grey skin. He has a large head and paws, a disturbingly human-like smile which is sometimes seen spattered with blood, a long neck, sharp claws, big pointed ears, and a long tail with a tuft of fur on the end. He wears a gold hoop earring in his right ear, and his skin is covered with black marking similar to tribal tattoos. His smile looks maniacal, and he appears to have under-grown yellow incisors that are covered in blood. His eyes are also yellow, and glow with a bright, glowering light.

Biography Edit

Early life Edit

During Alice's first visit to Wonderland, he was the pet cat of the Duchess. Unlike his American McGee counterpart, the Cheshire Cat was very fat. He later followed Alice, asking where the Duchess' baby had gone. Alice told the Cat that the baby had turned into a pig and ran away. The Cheshire Cat disappeared briefly before coming back to double-check her answer, as he thought Alice had said "fig" instead of "pig." He also told Alice about the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, and pointed where they lived. Alice, who was not at ease by the Cheshire Cat's sudden disappearances, asked if he could do it slower. The Cat did as he was asked, disappearing bit-by-bit until all that was left was his smile. Alice responded to this by remarking "I've seen a cat without a grin, but never a grin without a cat!" before the smile disappeared. His head later appeared during the Queen of Hearts' croquet game to cheer up Alice.

The Queen ordered the Cat to be the decapitated, but the executioner argued that he couldn't because the Cat lacked a body to decapitate. This led to an argument between the Queen, the King and the Executioner about whether or not a disembodied head could be decapitated. The Queen ordered that the Duchess should deal with the Cat, as it was her pet, and let her out of jail. After the Duchess took Alice to see Gryphon and Mock Turtle, the Cheshire Cat wasn't seen again during Alice's first trip and never made an appearance during her second trip. However, it is believed that the Cheshire Cat made other appearances in unrecorded trips to Wonderland.

American McGee's Alice Edit

After falling into Wonderland, Alice meets him after briefly seeing the White Rabbit. Alice remarks "You've gone quite mangy, Cat, but your grin's a comfort." He often speaks in riddles and gives cryptic and sometimes nonsensical advice. The player can summon the Cheshire Cat at almost any time in the game by pressing a key, but his help is limited to repeating one of his short supply of phrases. Towards the end of the game, the Cheshire Cat was about to say something to Alice in a non-cryptic way, but, on the Queen's orders, he was killed before he could deliver the full message, which happened to be something about both Alice and her nemesis. After Alice kills the Queen of Hearts, like most murdered characters, he can be seen alive again.

Alice: Madness Returns Edit

When Alice returns to Wonderland, he's the first person that she meets in the Vale of Tears. For some reason, he still remains a mangy cat. Once again, he acts as Alice's guide through Wonderland and gives advice through riddles and leaves clues written on the walls and ground that can only be seen when Alice is using Shrink Sense. The insane children make drawings similar to the Cat's.

Strangely, Alice appears to be dismissive and/or suspicious of the cat. On meeting the cat once again, she is unimpressed and tells the Cat not to bully her. On the tram leading to Hatter's Domain, Alice dismisses the Cat's remark about her being as randomly lethal as before, and flatly tells the Cat to go away. Of note is that in the extra's section, Alice remarks that cats are not known for their altruism, explaining her distrust of the Cat.

Symbolism Edit

In his diary, Dr. Wilson mentions an emaciated cat who seems to be stalking Alice and trying to claim her as his own private property. At the time of the first game, it had been speculated that this was the "real world's version of the Cheshire Cat" (just like Alice's toy rabbit was the "real world's version of the White Rabbit"). However, Alice's comments on that London cat (in the Extra section of the game) seem to suggest that they are two separate characters.

The Cheshire Cat may represent Alice's id : the inaccessible part of one's psyche, which contains one's primary instincts. This theory makes sense for several reasons : if the Cat is Alice's id, he is the embodiment of her desire to escape insanity, and possibly of her desire to finally be able to live a normal life : that would explain why the Cheshire Cat acts as an ally of Alice. Furthermore, Alice's Wonderland avatar is meant to be her ego, the part of one's psyche whose purpose is to please the id's drives, which would explain why Alice takes advices from him. Also, the id is said to be an unconscious part of one's psyche; impossible to understand; which is a possible explanation as to why the Cat speaks in riddles. Moreover, if the Cat is really a reflection of Alice's id, he is the embodiment of all her raw instincts, which means he knows everything about Alice, and therefore all about Wonderland, explaining his omniscience. Additionally, at the end of the second game, he calls Wonderland "our Wonderland," implying he may hold some control or ownership.

Quotes Edit

Cheshire Cat Quotes(19:21)
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American McGee's Alice Edit

• "Haste makes waste, so I rarely hurry. But if a ferret were about to dart up my dress, I'd run."
• "How fine you look when dressed in rage. Your enemies are fortunate your condition is not permanent; and you're lucky, too: red eyes suit so few."
• "Only the insane equate pain with success."
• "Only the foolish believe suffering is just wages for being different."
• "Only the savage find the endurance of pain as the measure of worth."
• "Confront what frightens or offends you. Reckless or insulting talk should never go unchallenged."
• "I can't know everything, pretend you're an orphan. *gasp* That was rude, you are!"
• "When is a croquet mallet like a billy club? I'll tell you; whenever you want it to be."
• "As knowing where you're going is preferable to being lost, ask... Rabbit knows a thing or two and I myself don't need a weather vane to tell which way the wind blows. Let your need guide your behavior, suppress your instinct to lead, pursue Rabbit."
• "Only a few find the way. Some don't recognize when they do, some don't ever want to."

Alice: Madness Returns Edit

• "Forgetting pain is convenient. Remembering it, agonizing. But recovering the truth is worth the suffering. And our Wonderland, though damaged, is safe in memory... for now."
• "Different denotes neither bad nor good, but it certainly means 'not the same'. Find the Hatter, Alice. He knows more about 'different' than you."
• "Abandon that hope! A new law reigns in this wonderland Alice, it's very rough justice all around. We're all at risk here. You, be on your guard."
• "Seek and ye shall find they say, but they don't say what you'll find."
• "Every picture tells a story, sometimes we don't like the ending... sometimes we don't understand it."
• "A reflection sometimes exposes more reality than the object it echoes."
• "You're sufficiently qualified to kick some a- to boot these creature's nether regions"
• "A secret is only a secret when it is unspoken to another."
• "Collect and treasure every memory and never count the cost."
• "Purrrrfect. When you're not on edge, you're taking up too much space."
• "Memories provide important pieces of the past."

Trivia Edit

• Despite being killed by the Queen, the Cheshire Cat can still be summoned for advice during the fight.
• The Cheshire Cat was voiced by Roger L. Jackson in American McGee's Alice, and returns in the sequel. He is heard repeating many of his most well known phrases from the first game.
• Before the final release of the sequel, it's been discovered that the Cheshire Cat was going to be just as accessible as he was in the previous game. The reason for this being cut out is currently unknown.
  • Additionally, in the PS3 and Xbox 360 adaptation of the original, he summons himself at various locations, and cannot be summoned manually.
• The Cheshire Cat has the second-largest number of individual voice-over recordings after Alice herself in American McGee's Alice, with around 600.
• The Cheshire Cat vaguely resembles a Sphinx cat, with its very thin coat of fur and thin body shape.
• The way The Cheshire Cat speaks in rhyme and cryptic tongue could be a reference to Alice's way of speaking when she was in Rutledge, due to Dr. Wilson noting in his journal that she spoke in a strange, cryptic way when she came out of her catatonia.
• The Cat's earring is not consistently on the same ear in promotional artwork, or even between the games.

Gallery Edit

Concept art for Alice

Promotional render for Alice

One of Alice's sketches from Wilson's Casebook

Render from American McGee's Alice

Render from Alice: Madness Returns Storybook

Promotional image for Madness Returns

In the Vale of Tears

A Render of the Cheshire Cat in Alice: Madness Returns

The Cheshire Cat in the Vale of Tears.

The Cheshire Cat in the Hatter's Domain talking to Alice.

The Cheshire Cat talking to Alice about the Vorpal Blade.

The Cheshire Cat telling Alice a riddle.

The Cheshire Cat telling Alice she must talk with the Queen of Hearts.

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