Some people have real problems.
Some people have sensible, grown-up problems.
And then there’s me…
Standing in front of three completely different Mad Hatter figurines thinking:
“But… which one is my favourite?”
A true collector’s dilemma. A princess problem, if you will. 😂
Because the thing about the Mad Hatter is — he isn’t just one character. He’s chaos, colour, imagination and complete nonsense all wrapped up in one oversized hat. And somehow, every artist seems to capture a totally different piece of him.
So… let’s discuss the contenders.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Bright, Bold & Completely Bonkers Hatter 🎨
First up — the colour explosion. Moments like these remind me just how much I LOVE Britto figurines! Bright - expressive - shining! The just feel so....special!
This one looks like he has literally jumped straight out of Wonderland after drinking three cups of tea, arguing with a dormouse, and forgetting what day it is.
The colours are unapologetic. The expression is pure mischief. The giant pocket watch instantly takes you back to the madness of Wonderland.
This is the Hatter who would absolutely invite you to tea…
…and then inform you that you’re three days late for it (I guess some people would accuse him of gaslighting - but if your name is The Mad Hatter - I think you can get way with it!)
He’s fun. He’s playful. He’s everything wonderfully ridiculous about Alice in Wonderland.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Charming Storybook Mad Hatter Gentleman 📖
Then we have the classic Jim Shore style Hatter. And yes - I love Britto - but i really really love Jim Shore's work! Aragh! THIS is why it is so difficult!
And this is where things get difficult.
Because Jim Shore has this incredible ability to take a character and add warmth. Suddenly the Mad Hatter isn’t just silly — he’s loveable. His face is soft, he is welcoming.
The folk-art patterns, the softer colours, the little details in the clothing… it feels like a character from a storybook you’ve loved since childhood.
This Hatter looks like he has stories (and I would love to hear them!)
He looks like he’d pour you a cup of tea, tell you something completely impossible, and somehow it would make perfect sense. I actually have a very good friend like this - if you are reading this - you know who you are!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Artistic, Whimsical Hatter ☕✨
And then…
This one.
The movement. The pose. The teapot. The tiny teacup.
This is the Mad Hatter mid-moment.
You can almost hear him announcing:
“Tea time!”
There’s something about a figurine that captures movement that I absolutely adore. It doesn’t feel like a statue — it feels like someone pressed pause on a scene.
One second later, he’s absolutely going to spill that tea everywhere and not be remotely bothered (I would do the same but I would almost certainly freak out about the spilt tea!)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
So Which One Wins?
And this is where I admit defeat.
Because I can’t choose.
One captures the madness.
One captures the heart.
One captures the magic.
And actually… maybe that’s exactly why the Mad Hatter has remained such a loved character for so long.
He isn’t supposed to fit neatly into one box.
He’s wonderfully weird.
Completely unpredictable.
A little bit chaotic.
And really.....
A shelf full of Mad Hatters feels like the most appropriate tribute possible.
Because Wonderland was never about making sensible decisions anyway. 🎩💙
Now excuse me while I go and stare at them again and pretend I’m going to pick a favourite…
(I won't and you can't make me.)