Alice Upside Down
Encyclopedia
Alice Upside Down is a film adaptation
of the Alice series
written by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
. The film was shot at Bishop DuBourg High School
in St. Louis, Missouri
. Originally screened in limited cinema
in 2007, it was released wide straight-to-DVD on July 29, 2008. In North America, it airs on Starz Kids & Family, but in the early years, it was on demand
. In Latin America, the movie was shown on Disney Channel
. The film's plot centers around Alice (Alyson Stoner
), an 11 year old girl starting the sixth grade at a new school. This is a coming-of-age story.
) is an 11-year-old girl who is facing many challenges. Her mother Marie died when she was young, and she never really got to know her. She lives with her brother Lester (Lucas Grabeel
) and her father, Ben (Luke Perry
). Then they move to a new house, and the neighbors Elizabeth (Parker McKenna Posey
) and her mother try to introduce themselves.
The next day Alice goes to school with Elizabeth, and tells her she's really nervous. She runs into a guy Patrick (Dylan McLaughlin
) whom she accidentally walked in on. They line up to find their teachers, and Alice really hopes she's in Miss Cole's (Ashley Drane
) class. But instead she winds up with the evil Mrs. Plotkin (Penny Marshall
) who gives her a hard time. Alice tries out for a play Miss. Cole's class is directing, and really wants the princess role. But she can't really sing that well, and her arch rival Pamela (Bridgit Mendler
) gets the part instead. And Alice lands the role of a frog. Pamela hasn't been very nice to Alice ever since she came to school. Such as telling her secret about Patrick, and trying to steal Elizabeth away, and embarrassing Alice at a restaurant. Alice tells her dad and brother about it, but they tell her that she could never really sing. Her dad opens a new shop, and Alice tries to hook her dad and Miss Cole up, but her dad says she is too young for him. Then her dad starts dating a new girl, Kelly, and Alice is afraid her father will marry her. On top on that, Alice sneaks downstairs one night and see her father and Kelly kissing, and it really hurts her. Their father's sister, Aunt Sally (Ann Dowd
) and her husband come to visit. Their father finds Aunt Sally tedious, because she thinks they can't take care of themselves. As their preparing, Alice finds a video of her mother, and later watches the video. But her father reprimands her, saying that those videos were private. Back at school, Alice slowly begins to bond with Mrs. Plotkin, and finds that she isn't the witch everyone thinks she is. And she finds out that Miss Cole isn't the all-together person she appears to be, and finds it's all an illusion. The night of the play, Alice accidentally tears down the set, and everyone is upset at her, even Miss Cole. They tell her to leave, but Mrs. Plotkin is right there to help her though. After the play, everyone apologizes, even Pamela. At the end of the movie, Pamela and Alice are friends, Patrick asks Alice out, which leads to her having a daydream about her and Patrick kissing, and Lester is seen playing with his band, the Naked Nomads.
Film adaptation
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
of the Alice series
Alice series
The Alice series is a [book series] written by [Phyllis Reynolds Naylor]. There are three prequels to this series. The first one, Starting with Alice, describes Alice in third grade. Alice in Blunder land is Alice in fourth grade. The final prequel, Lovingly Alice, follows Alice through the...
written by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is an American author best known for her children and young adult fiction books. Naylor is best known for her children's-novel trilogy Shiloh , Shiloh Season and Saving Shiloh, all made into movies...
. The film was shot at Bishop DuBourg High School
Bishop DuBourg High School
Bishop DuBourg High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in St. Louis, Missouri. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis.-Background:...
in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. Originally screened in limited cinema
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
in 2007, it was released wide straight-to-DVD on July 29, 2008. In North America, it airs on Starz Kids & Family, but in the early years, it was on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
. In Latin America, the movie was shown on Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
. The film's plot centers around Alice (Alyson Stoner
Alyson Stoner
Alyson Rae Stoner is an American actress, dancer and singer. Stoner is known for her roles in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody , Cheaper By The Dozen and Cheaper By The Dozen 2 , Step Up and Step Up 3 , and Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2...
), an 11 year old girl starting the sixth grade at a new school. This is a coming-of-age story.
Plot
Alice McKinley (Alyson StonerAlyson Stoner
Alyson Rae Stoner is an American actress, dancer and singer. Stoner is known for her roles in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody , Cheaper By The Dozen and Cheaper By The Dozen 2 , Step Up and Step Up 3 , and Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2...
) is an 11-year-old girl who is facing many challenges. Her mother Marie died when she was young, and she never really got to know her. She lives with her brother Lester (Lucas Grabeel
Lucas Grabeel
Lucas Stephen Grabeel is an American actor, singer, dancer, songwriter, director and producer. As a performer, he is best known for his role as Ryan Evans in Disney Channel Original Movie's High School Musical and its sequels High School Musical 2 and High School Musical 3: Senior Year , and as...
) and her father, Ben (Luke Perry
Luke Perry
Luke Perry is an American actor. Perry starred as Dylan McKay on the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role he played from 1990–95, and then from 1998–2000. Much publicity was garnered over the fact that even though he was playing a sixteen-year-old when 90210 began, Perry was actually in his...
). Then they move to a new house, and the neighbors Elizabeth (Parker McKenna Posey
Parker McKenna Posey
Parker McKenna Posey is an American teen actress, best known for her performance as "Kady Kyle" on the ABC sitcom My Wife and Kids.-Personal life:...
) and her mother try to introduce themselves.
The next day Alice goes to school with Elizabeth, and tells her she's really nervous. She runs into a guy Patrick (Dylan McLaughlin
Dylan McLaughlin
Dylan McLaughlin is an American actor. He has appeared in television series including ER and Bones as well the motion pictures Alice Upside Down, Georgia Rule, and Kicking & Screaming. He has also appeared as Benji in iCarly.-Personal life:McLaughlin was born in La Mesa, California...
) whom she accidentally walked in on. They line up to find their teachers, and Alice really hopes she's in Miss Cole's (Ashley Drane
Ashley Drane
Maria Ashley Eckstein , credited as Ashley Eckstein or Ashley Drane, is an American film and television actress known to audiences of Blue Collar TV and as the voice of Ahsoka Tano on Star Wars: The Clone Wars. She also plays a small role as Allicia in the movie Sydney White and plays the teacher Ms...
) class. But instead she winds up with the evil Mrs. Plotkin (Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall is an American actress, producer and director.After playing several small roles for television, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley...
) who gives her a hard time. Alice tries out for a play Miss. Cole's class is directing, and really wants the princess role. But she can't really sing that well, and her arch rival Pamela (Bridgit Mendler
Bridgit Mendler
Bridgit Claire Mendler is an American actress, singer, musician and songwriter. She plays Teddy Duncan on the Disney Channel Original Series Good Luck Charlie and starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Lemonade Mouth...
) gets the part instead. And Alice lands the role of a frog. Pamela hasn't been very nice to Alice ever since she came to school. Such as telling her secret about Patrick, and trying to steal Elizabeth away, and embarrassing Alice at a restaurant. Alice tells her dad and brother about it, but they tell her that she could never really sing. Her dad opens a new shop, and Alice tries to hook her dad and Miss Cole up, but her dad says she is too young for him. Then her dad starts dating a new girl, Kelly, and Alice is afraid her father will marry her. On top on that, Alice sneaks downstairs one night and see her father and Kelly kissing, and it really hurts her. Their father's sister, Aunt Sally (Ann Dowd
Ann Dowd
Ann Dowd is an American actress.She decided to become an actress while a premed student at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. She graduated in 1978 and went on to study at The Theatre School at DePaul University. In 1993 she won the Clarence Derwent Award for her performance...
) and her husband come to visit. Their father finds Aunt Sally tedious, because she thinks they can't take care of themselves. As their preparing, Alice finds a video of her mother, and later watches the video. But her father reprimands her, saying that those videos were private. Back at school, Alice slowly begins to bond with Mrs. Plotkin, and finds that she isn't the witch everyone thinks she is. And she finds out that Miss Cole isn't the all-together person she appears to be, and finds it's all an illusion. The night of the play, Alice accidentally tears down the set, and everyone is upset at her, even Miss Cole. They tell her to leave, but Mrs. Plotkin is right there to help her though. After the play, everyone apologizes, even Pamela. At the end of the movie, Pamela and Alice are friends, Patrick asks Alice out, which leads to her having a daydream about her and Patrick kissing, and Lester is seen playing with his band, the Naked Nomads.
Cast
- Alyson StonerAlyson StonerAlyson Rae Stoner is an American actress, dancer and singer. Stoner is known for her roles in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody , Cheaper By The Dozen and Cheaper By The Dozen 2 , Step Up and Step Up 3 , and Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2...
as Alice McKinley - Lucas GrabeelLucas GrabeelLucas Stephen Grabeel is an American actor, singer, dancer, songwriter, director and producer. As a performer, he is best known for his role as Ryan Evans in Disney Channel Original Movie's High School Musical and its sequels High School Musical 2 and High School Musical 3: Senior Year , and as...
as Lester McKinley - Luke PerryLuke PerryLuke Perry is an American actor. Perry starred as Dylan McKay on the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role he played from 1990–95, and then from 1998–2000. Much publicity was garnered over the fact that even though he was playing a sixteen-year-old when 90210 began, Perry was actually in his...
as Ben McKinley - Penny MarshallPenny MarshallPenny Marshall is an American actress, producer and director.After playing several small roles for television, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley...
as Mrs. Plotkin - Ashley DraneAshley DraneMaria Ashley Eckstein , credited as Ashley Eckstein or Ashley Drane, is an American film and television actress known to audiences of Blue Collar TV and as the voice of Ahsoka Tano on Star Wars: The Clone Wars. She also plays a small role as Allicia in the movie Sydney White and plays the teacher Ms...
as Miss Cole - Boris KodjoeBoris KodjoeBoris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe , better known as Boris Kodjoe, is an Austrian-born German actor and former fashion model who works primarily in the United States...
as Mr. Edgecomb - Parker McKenna PoseyParker McKenna PoseyParker McKenna Posey is an American teen actress, best known for her performance as "Kady Kyle" on the ABC sitcom My Wife and Kids.-Personal life:...
as Elizabeth Price - Bridgit MendlerBridgit MendlerBridgit Claire Mendler is an American actress, singer, musician and songwriter. She plays Teddy Duncan on the Disney Channel Original Series Good Luck Charlie and starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Lemonade Mouth...
as Pamela Jones - Dylan McLaughlinDylan McLaughlinDylan McLaughlin is an American actor. He has appeared in television series including ER and Bones as well the motion pictures Alice Upside Down, Georgia Rule, and Kicking & Screaming. He has also appeared as Benji in iCarly.-Personal life:McLaughlin was born in La Mesa, California...
as Patrick Long - Ann DowdAnn DowdAnn Dowd is an American actress.She decided to become an actress while a premed student at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. She graduated in 1978 and went on to study at The Theatre School at DePaul University. In 1993 she won the Clarence Derwent Award for her performance...
as Aunt Sally - Jona Xiao as Loretta
Soundtrack
An exclusive CD was packaged with DVD copies in Walmart.- Alyson StonerAlyson StonerAlyson Rae Stoner is an American actress, dancer and singer. Stoner is known for her roles in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody , Cheaper By The Dozen and Cheaper By The Dozen 2 , Step Up and Step Up 3 , and Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2...
- "Lost & Found" - Alyson StonerAlyson StonerAlyson Rae Stoner is an American actress, dancer and singer. Stoner is known for her roles in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody , Cheaper By The Dozen and Cheaper By The Dozen 2 , Step Up and Step Up 3 , and Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2...
- "Free Spirit" - Bridgit Mendler - "Jenny Got a Fever"
- Lucas GrabeelLucas GrabeelLucas Stephen Grabeel is an American actor, singer, dancer, songwriter, director and producer. As a performer, he is best known for his role as Ryan Evans in Disney Channel Original Movie's High School Musical and its sequels High School Musical 2 and High School Musical 3: Senior Year , and as...
- "I Just Gotta Rock n Roll"