FAQ

Many viewers have tried to figure this out, as the film is quite ambiguous about the meaning, if any, behind the Miss Dodger character. It's widely believed that Miss Dodger, who bears a striking physical resemblance to Phoebe but with adult features, may be the adult version of Phoebe coming back to the past, aiding Phoebe in finding herself. Fans have also pointed to the fact that Phoebe identifies quite well with Miss Dodger's eccentricities, beginning to prefer Miss Dodger's company over her own mother's, that Miss Dodger challenges Phoebe's mother directly, that Miss Dodger dodges all the rules and conventions of a normal adult, and that the other adults find both her and Phoebe extremely off-putting and unsettling. Miss Dodger also offers some prophetic advice to Phoebe, that when she gets much older in life, she'll come to accept herself for who she is, that she'll find a kind of love in not fitting in with what's normal. The film's screenwriter never confirmed exactly what Miss Dodger is supposed to be representing or there for.

Jamie is essentially Phoebe's only friend until her other classmates come to learn more about her Tourette's syndrome, and like Phoebe, Jamie understands what it's like to be ostracized for something that you feel an impulse to do. Jamie feels an impulse to like things that are conventionally for girls, like playing with dolls, and he wants to play a female role in the school play. Jamie is loosely implied to be an LGBTQ+ child who hasn't yet discovered this, and the other kids tease him with a homophobic slur. Like Phoebe, Jamie breaks established social rules with his behaviour, and like Phoebe, other people find his behaviour weird before they've had a chance to understand it.

Phoebe Lichten (Elle Fanning) is a 9-year-old "oddball" who decides to try out for the role of Alice in her school's play, "Alice In Wonderland". She lands the role and grows closer to her drama teacher, Miss Dodger (Patricia Clarkson) but increasingly distant from her family. As the film moves on, her "oddball" behaviors become harder and harder to control.

Phoebe in Wonderland is based on a script by screenwriter Daniel Barnz, who also directed the movie.