Disney Version
The Disney movie portrays the King of Hearts as a dwarf wearing an extremely tall crown, who is very much subdued by the Queen in terms of popularity among their subjects. He also seems to be less bright than in the book: for instance, when he first sees Alice, he thinks she is another card. He also squeaks happily behind the subject being ordered beheaded, once the Queen gives the order, taunting the guards that are carrying away the subject to be beheaded, as if he had given the order himself.
He appears briefly when the Cheshire Cat entangles the Queen's croquet mallet (actually a live flamingo) in her dress, causing her to fall over and expose her red heart-printed panties. The King then gives the order to save her modesty, which nearly all characters present do, with the sole exception of Alice. This causes the Queen to blame Alice for the embarrassing situation. Just as she orders Alice's head off, the King of Hearts requests a trial beforehand. This irritates the Queen, prompting the King to add that it will only be "a little trial". The Queen accepts; however, when the trial begins she offers an atypical approach towards justice: sentence before verdict (the same stance taken by her original portrayal in the book with regard to the Knave of Hearts).
The King again stops her, saying they should call witnesses first. The witnesses called are the Mad Hatter, March Hare, and Dormouse. The Cheshire Cat reappears and upsets the Dormouse, who briefly puts the court into disorder. The Queen again blames Alice for it, and orders her beheaded. At this, Alice eats mushrooms she had earlier procured, which make her grow bigger. Although the King announces rule #42, which says that "all persons more than a mile high must leave the court immediately", Alice feels free to call the Queen a "fat, pompous, bad-tempered old tyrant" while growing to her new size. The Queen gives the order a third time; as Alice flees, the King uses his oversized crown as a megaphone to tell the guards to "do as her Majesty says". He was voiced by Dink Trout in the 1951 film and by Tony Pope in the Alice in Wonderland Disneyland attraction.
Read more about this topic: King Of Hearts (Alice's Adventures In Wonderland)
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