First Appearance: Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Played By: Joseph Kearns
Attached to the door at the end of the Rabbit Hole, the Doorknob is
the only way for people to enter Wonderland.
"Alice in Wonderland"
When Alice entered the empty room at the end of the passage of doors
(opening each one after the other to gain access) she comes across the
doorknob fast asleep behind a small curtain at the far end. When she
twists the knob, he wakes with a start that shocks her. He accepts
her apology, jesting that he had "given me quite a turn"
and interrupts her explanation of following the rabbit by
complementing his own wordplay. He tells her that "one good turn
deserves another" and asks what he can do for her in return. She
moves closer to him telling him that she is "looking for a white
rabbit". The Doorknob opens it's keyhole wide and she sees the
Rabbit and begs that she must get through. However he pulls away
saying that she was "much too big" and that the situation
was "impassible". She tries to correct him by saying he
meant "impossible", but he is defiant that he meant what he
said with the justification that nothing can be "impossible."
He directs her to "the bottle on the table" which has just
appeared before her and tells her to "read the directions and
directly you will be directed in the right direction." He is
confused when Alice talks to herself about the potential for the
contents of the bottle being poisonous and watches as she drinks some
of the bottle and shrinks to the right size. He chuckles when she
asks him what had happened and he replies that "you almost went
out like a candle." She points out that she is the right size to
pass, but he says that he "forgot to tell you" that he was
locked. Thinking she had the key he remarks that she is able to get
in and is surprised that she doesn't have it- the key having
materialised seconds later on the glass top. He recommends her to
"try the box" and eat one of "eat me" biscuits.
As Alice grows bigger, he foot presses against his mouth and he makes
a comment that is inaudible. Asking what the Doorknob said after
removing her foot, he jokes that "a little of that went a long
way"
He tries to cheer her up as Alice begins to cry, which results in a
large build up of water filling the corridor. He hurriedly points her
to the bottle. When she shrinks herself down to a size small enough
to fit within the bottle, it is carried on the "tide" and
is swallowed by the Doorknob.
