The cat that appears and disappears in Disney’s 1951 film Alice in Wonderland is the Cheshire Cat.
The Cheshire Cat is one of Wonderland’s most recognizable inhabitants: a pink-and-purple-striped character with a permanent grin who can gradually vanish until only the smile remains. He acts as an enigmatic guide for Alice, offering clues while also enjoying her confusion and the disorder of Wonderland.
Sterling Holloway provided the character’s voice in the film; he later became especially famous as the original voice of Winnie the Pooh. The Cheshire Cat comes from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, first published in 1865, although Disney’s design and performance give him a particularly mischievous, theatrical personality. The other options are separate characters: the Dormouse attends the Mad Hatter’s tea party, the White Rabbit leads Alice into Wonderland, and the Mad Hatter hosts the celebrated tea gathering.