Alice Madness Returns: The Story Explained

hey guys superhero bro mike here and in today's video we take a trip to wonderland as we explore the twisted mind of a young girl named alice the game in question is alice madness returns the sequel to american mcgee's alice however while this video will focus on the story of this sequel we will touch on story elements from the original game where relevant the following video is an overall synopsis of the story characters and events that take place during alice's twisted adventure and hopefully by the end of it you'll have a decent understanding of what her journey meant so sit back relax drink a tonic and let shrink down to fit inside the keyhole that unlocks the many mysteries of alice's peculiar mind [Music] to frame future events it is important to take the time to understand who alice is and briefly recap the events of the first game which explain why she is currently where she is alice liddle was orphaned as a young child after her family died in a house fire alice is the daughter of arthur little and mrs little and had an older sister named lizzy lizzy seemed distressed as she complained about one of her father's acquaintances making inappropriate advances toward her even at times seeming predatory claimed i'd stolen his heart trifling with his affections creepy sword touching me told the part to never invite him to tea again their father arthur was an amateur photographer who also worked as the dean of oxford university and used for family library to store his photographic chemicals which were highly flammable when the fire was investigated detectives came to the conclusion that the family cat had knocked over a lantern in the library which caused arthas chemicals to quickly spread the flames throughout the house with alice as the only remaining survivor after this tragic event alice felt she was to blame for the fire although couldn't remember why the shocking tragedy sent the poor girl into a spiral of madness as she developed survivor's guilt and post-traumatic stress disorder due to her rapidly declining mental state alice was committed to a loathsome establishment the rutledge insane asylum where she was confined until her mind could heal ten years went by and alice now a young adult showed some signs of recovery it was at this time the year 1874 that alice retreated inside a familiar and magical world from her childhood wonderland although this time things weren't so magical as a dark force had taken hold before moving forward it is important to understand what exactly wonderland is and how it functions to simplify things wonderland is basically a world within alice's mind a place she hallucinates and escapes into when she is overwhelmed by psychological stress in the real world because of this wonderland and its inhabitants often mirror events characters and locations alice is experiencing at that same point in reality for example an ocean-themed bar would become an underwater kingdom as we shall see later in this video so bear this in mind when comparing alice's place in reality versus wonderland as we make our way through this video in the first game the cheshire cat acted as alice's guide informing her the twisted version of wonderland had been born from under the rule of the queen of hearts in fact alice's own insanity played a role in its grim fate too so the events of the first game saw alice setting out to defeat the queen of hearts and restore wonderland to its former glory along the way alice discovered she was deeply connected to the queen of hearts with the two being one and the same she defeated her dark alter ego and this remedied not only the wonderland world but also restored her mental state in reality so now back in the real world alice was deemed sane and discharged from the asylum fast forward one year later and we find alice has been taken into the care of psychiatrist dr angus bundy alice works for the doctor caring for the children and running basic errands at orphanage the houndstitch home for wayward youth while alice has been deemed legally sane she is still haunted by memories of both her family house fire and hallucinations of wonderland in disarray dr bumby tries his best to make her forget the ghosts of her family and get lost in the rapture of wonderland i'll set you free alice memory is a curse more often than a blessing so you've said many times one day alice is running an errand for the doctor on the smoky streets of london when a stray cat begins leading her off the beaten path in the back alley alice is jumped by a group of phantom-like hallucinations resembling jabberwocks luckily alice's former carer from the asylum nurse pris witless draws her back into reality where she takes her to a nearby rooftop unfortunately nurse witless is not looking out for alice's best intentions and attempts to blackmail her using the false confession she gave about being responsible for the fire at her family home this sudden confrontation and reliving of a painful memory sends alice spiraling back into madness once again and she falls down the proverbial rabbit hole soon to find herself back in wonderland [Music] the veil of tears where alice first finds herself seems strangely beautiful weird for sure but then again when is wonderland not but aside from the usual oddities the lush green forests and blue skies are a welcome sight indeed however things are not quite as they seem the cheshire cat appears before alice and informs her a new darkness has infected wonderland a new law reigns in this wonderland alice it's very rough justice all round we're at risk here you be on your guard while journeying through the veil of tears alice encounters the skeletal remains of the jabberwocky a fearsome beast she slayed during her last visit from its corpse she obtains a method of defense the vorpal blade this is the first in several weapons we secured during alice's adventure with the others including a pepper grinder gun hobby horse mallet and teapot grenade launcher this weaponry is used to dispatch the insidious goop infecting wonderland a black tar-like substance which takes on many forms eventually alice reaches a great valley covered in teapot shanty towns inhabited by the troll-like henchmen of the mad hatter an enemy known as madcap after battling armies of these madcap abominations she reaches a giant floating castle in the sky the mad hatter's factory itself alice takes a cable pot across to the factory as the cheshire cat tells her the hatter will be able to provide answers in regard to wonderland's current state find the hatter alice he knows more about different than you the factory walls are home to all manner of deadly defenses including the spider-like eye parts it is also within this factory that we view the first of several flashbacks to the little family fire our lovely library was a fire trap a conflagration waiting to happen upon discovering the whereabouts of the hatter things seem peculiar even for wonderland you see alice had previously defeated the mad hatter in battle but had left him in one piece now he has been taken apart and only his head remains tossed into the waste disposal at the bottom of a facility the hatter explains to alice that a locomotive known as the infernal train is the reason behind the corruption taking hold of wonderland everywhere the train goes darkness and despair follow the infernal train is a monolithic fortress owned by a sinister puppet master known as the doll maker inside it burns and roars like a furnace and each carriage resembles parts of a giant cathedral-like structure this train must be stopped at all costs alice agrees to help reassemble the hatter in return for his help reaching the train he agrees and so alice sets off into a factory to retrieve his arms and legs from the dormouse and march hare who have taken over the factory and attacked the hatter in revenge he had previously tortured them and performed cruel experiments on their bodies i guess that's karma for you once the hatter has been reassembled he sweeps the palace and takes her to the heart of a factory where the infernal train has just finished construction unfortunately they are too late and it pulls out of a station and blazes a trail of destruction ahead the door mouse and march hare prevent alice from pursuing the train attempting to crush her in a giant mech this plan is quickly thwarted by the hatter who mourns over the impending destruction of his domain and the loss of any future tea parties however this isn't much help to alice who needs information about the train and fast my memories are shattered i'm trying to collect the pieces and i now believe the train impedes me you must help me you promised ask the one who helps them without themselves whoever that is very pithy he deserved to die and i'm about to drown in tea in ignorance [Music] alice awakens back in london as she is pulled from the river thames by a pair of fishermen the hatter informed her to speak to the mock turtle as he was the former station master in charge of the looking glass line back in wonderland perhaps mock turtle could shed some light on the infernal train with no way currently back to wonderland alice makes her way to a nearby brothel called the mangled mermaid here her former nanny nan sharp acts as a madame to the women working there nan sharp is threatened by a vicious patron known as jack splatter and so a good-natured alice rushes to assist her i'll burn this dump of yours down to the ground go away she's done no harm sheer me feelings [Music] awakening once again in wonderland this time in the icy plains of tundra fall alice spots a ship in a bottle on the horizon within this ship known as the hms griffin resides for mock turtle who has exchanged his train driver cap for a ship captain one once alice reaches the ship the two quickly dive into the deluded depths in order to escape a killer shark the ship crashes to the bottom of the ocean and in a state of shock mock turtle is too rattled to give alice any useful information about the infernal train instead he sends her off to meet the carpenter who is putting on a grand show in town before too long alice discovers another familiar doorway leading to her second flashback of the house fire i was the last one in the library the night of the fire the log i added to the great was dead when i went upstairs to bed with diner if it wasn't i may be responsible for my family's deaths upon reaching the carpenter's theater alice is instructed that she must help organize the show he intends to put on in exchange for the information she desires so alice sets off to find a script a singer and a selection of performers for the event all the while encountering a host of underwater nasties including the troubled ghosts of pirates who died at sea eventually alice returns to the theatre with all her errands completed but along the way has discovered the terrible truth about the carpenter and his walrus companion you're not an impresario you're a killer the mastermind of a criminal enterprise this world is not so either or alice v2 are savage killers butchering the inhabitants of the deluded depths and tricking everyone involved in the show into appearing on the dinner menu as chaos unfolds the infernal train shows up and bursts into the theatre itself the carpenter claims he was only trying to protect wonderland from this train and that alice has brought it upon them he implores alice to seek out the caterpillar for answers back in the real world alice wakes to find jack splatter has been apprehended by the police and the mangled mermaid engulfed by flames nan sharp has rescued her from the inferno and the two now set off to meet alice's solicitor mr wilton j radcliffe perhaps radcliffe can shed some light on the situation especially as he was involved in legal matters regarding the little family estate after the fire alice also suspected radcliffe may have taken her childhood toy a white rabbit a suspicion immediately confirmed when confronting him in his study as the agitated solicitor recounts his version of events in relation to the fire alice finds herself having a breakdown and once again slipping away into wonderland the streets of london have began to merge with wonderland itself and have transformed into a location called the vale of doom knowing she must locate for wisdom of a caterpillar alice sets off to find him at its center she soon discovers a small mountain melded with one of the caterpillar's smoking pipes by inhaling the smoke emanating from a mountain's peak alice is shrunk down inside it where she enters an eastern themed realm known as the oriental grove this rather picturesque locale is the domain of the caterpillar and he guides alice through it as she helps a clan of origami ants fight a losing battle against a horde of samurai wasps yes you heard that correctly it's a strange game alice even travels through paintings as she becomes a piece of the artwork itself during this journey alison locks another repressed memory documenting the night of the fire despite what mr radcliffe had stated she remembers her cat couldn't have started the fire as it was with her in her room at the time i didn't leave the lamp in the library and dinah didn't knock it over the lamp and diner were upstairs when i went to bed dinah was in the room with me when the fire started upon meeting the caterpillar there is no time for talk the wise creature transformed into a beautiful butterfly before alice's very eyes as he flies away the butterfly tells alice to seek out the queen of hearts who apparently survived her battle with alice and still resides within the walls of her castle it seems things keep going round and round in circles following another futile lead alice awakens back to reality this time behind bars within a prison cell at the local police station the constables arrested alice for disturbance of the peace as she was screaming deliriously on the streets after brief deliberation they decide she is not a danger and so release her back into the world but after stepping outside the police station alice is once again overcome with emotional distress and warped back to wonderland where she tumbles into the cloudy skies of cardbridge she navigates the card-filled skies and ascends into the remains of queensland the kingdom belonging to the queen of hearts which was ravaged and destroyed during alice's last visit the cheshire cat antagonizes alice as he recalls her victory against the queen back to admire your handiwork returning to the scene of the crime it had to be done cat you said so yourself she was completely deranged you picked up her crown but now you've put it down you must speak to her what's left of her anyway the white king has fallen and now blocks the entrance to the castle after the queen imprisoned him there to stop anyone else from entering alice is forced to destroy the king in order to move forward but to be honest she doesn't seem that bothered before alice delivers the death blow the white king warns her of a giant executioner guarding the castle and its queen and it isn't long before alice encounters this terrifying foe the executioner taunts and chases alice every step of the way through the walls of a great castle eventually cornering her at the center of a courtyard maze however not all is lost alice discovers a cake labelled eat me and does just that she grows to an incredible size and squishes her tormentor with one stomp of her boot alice uses her newfound form to stomp her way through the castle keep taking out hordes of the queen's guards and ripping out the many hearts that keep the queen safeguarded in the depths below shrinking back down alice enters the castle's dungeon and finally manages to gain an audience with the queen but not before encountering yet another flashback this time revealing a stranger was in the house at the time of the fire someone incapacitated or killed lizzie then locked her door then took the lamp downstairs and started the fire to cover up their crime their plan was to kill us all alice's sister was found dead yet unburnt by the fire but how could this be upon confronting the queen alice finds that they are indeed one and the same the monstrous monarch acts as a twisted mirror into her own soul and that of her sister the queen tells alice to open her eyes and take notice of all the evidence around her asking her the question who really benefits from alice's madness train is trying to destroy all evidence of your past and especially the fire now who would want that who benefits from your madness the destruction of wonderland is the destruction of me indeed and vice versa she then mutates into a hideous monster consuming alice and sending her tumbling back to reality [Music] upon waking this time things have taken a turn for the worse alice has been recommitted to the asylum and once again taken under the care of dr wilson and his nurses her head is shaven and she is bound within the confines of a straight jacket stumbling through the filthy hallways of this hospital alice bears witness to all manner of vital treatments the doctor and his staff deem necessary however not all is as it seems here we see visions of characters from alice's original trip to wonderland such as tweedledum and tweedledee who now seem to be working at the asylum in the waiting room alice also finds dr bumby nan sharp nurse witless and mr radcliffe all speaking ill of her and frustrated at her resistance toward them i know you're for an unstable and violent person i can't say i'm surprised you've been incarcerated in the asylum again a long stay under supervision would serve you right they give her the option to either conform to their point of view or forever become trapped within the walls of the asylum but things feel off it's not long before alice discovers the asylum and those familiar faces are all simply one big illusion she has not yet escaped wonderland which continues to meld with her reality in london navigating through the thick mist of hyde park alice discovers a wounded child who before dying begs alice to help the other insane children who are in great danger help alice we need your help don't defend us again behind the body of this child is a burning vision of alice's family home and upon approaching she is whisked away to a creepy environment known as the dollhouse as the name suggests this area is made up from giant dollhouses and contains all manner of terrifying enemies including giant china dolls this place is also home to the insane children who ask for alice to help them as parts of them are being taken away by an ominous figure known only as the doll maker the mastermind behind the infernal train and the man responsible for the destruction of wonderland alice fights her way through the maze-like interior of the dollhouse and all manner of grotesque creatures until she finally reaches the dollmaker's lair at its core before she embarks on her final confrontation alice accesses another repressed memory from the knight of the fire i had a role in my family's demise but i did not start the fire centaurs don't live in oxford but a certain doctor did i saw him a preening undergraduate now i remember him that key belongs to lizzy's room the doll maker and the stranger who started the fire in the little home was none other than the corrupt dr angus bumby the entire time he has attempted to infect alice's mind and tells her of how he exploited the children of his orphanage erasing their memories lowering their defenses and then prostituting them to any predator willing to pay murderer you blood-sucking parasite the damage you've done to children the abuse i provide a service in the great and awful metropolis appetites of all sorts must be gratified my family my mind the infernal train the train is your invention your defense i merely set its schedule and itinerary dr bumby was using his skills as a psychiatrist to warp young impressionable minds and exploit them for his monetary gain this makes sense when we look at a few key details within the dollhouse the first being the mangled state of the insane children who enlist alice for her help the second the doll like enemies themselves the method to defeat them comes in three parts first we break their defenses symbolizing the act of the doctor doing so via his mind manipulation secondly we remove their clothes this symbolizing the act of prostitution and finally destroying the heart within this symbolizing the child's loss of innocence even the doorways we travel through within this dollhouse are heavily symbolic of the doctor's perverse enterprise the doll maker then proceeds to try and perform the same ritual on alice turning her into a doll herself so she may forget and become another victim for him to monetize however alice has been through a lot and her mind is actually very strong [Music] back on the streets of london she manages to locate dr bumby at a train station where she confronts him about his terrible sins it is here that she discovers her sister lizzie was not burned in the fire because she had been locked in her room away from the flames and it was in this room where the doctor had assaulted and killed her in the night dr bumby was the undergraduate friend of alice's father studying at oxford university and the man making inappropriate advances toward her sister lizzy his hand was slimy alice like an eel from the isis and his name won't help bumby if he ever qualifies his bedside manner will require improvement the fire was simply a cover-up after he accidentally killed lizzie during his attack no wonder he was so desperate for alice to forget the truth meanwhile back in wonderland alice finds herself on the infernal train she has escaped her doll form and now makes her way through the carriages to the driver's car each carriage contains the characters she has encountered through her journey these characters explained to alice that trying to forget her past has led to her confusion in the present and by fixating on her own pain she had overlooked the neglect of the children under her care at the orphanage after discovering the truth behind dr bumby her family tragedy and the horrifying fate of the orphans alice reaches the head of the train and faces off against the doll maker in a battle to the death after a long and grueling fight she emerges victorious and the destruction of this monster and his train cleanses wonderland once again back in reality alice stands up to the doctor and tells him she will report him to the authorities for his hideous crimes dr bumby merely laughs certain that no one would believe the ravings of a former asylum patient alice thinks this over for a second and is inclined to agree so she takes matters into her own hands embracing her wonderland form and merging both sides of her persona together before pushing the drained doctor in front of a passing train [Music] oh as alice steps back out onto the london streets things have changed drastically london and wonderland much like alice now appear to her as one and the same a new location dubbed londonland the cheshire cat explains the situation ah alice we can't go home again no surprise really only a very few find the way and most of them don't recognize it when they do delusions too die hard only the savage regard the endurance of pain as the measure of worth 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 so while alice can never return to normality and must forever be interwoven with both of her realities she has at least taken ownership of her past present and future now no longer a frightened and confused child she has become a strong and powerful woman alice must forever walk for wonderland path but she has protected the children of the orphanage discovered the truth behind her family's cruel fate and avenged them and is ready for the next chapter in her story whatever that may hold and with that we come to the end of this video looking at the story of alice madness returns i hope this video has been interesting and informative and if you enjoyed it remember to leave a like comment down below and subscribe for more horror related content thanks for watching and i will see you on the next video you

Channel: SuperHorrorBro

Views: 3,050,770

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Id: XoTP3Mm25f0

Length: 28min 58sec (1738 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 06 2021