So, I have to admit that I was not originally a fan of the Alice in Wonderland story. My basis to Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland is the 1951 Disney Studios Film. As a kid I thought it was a little dull and it lacked any story that really sucked me in. Then I met my husband. He was always a huge fan of Alice’s adventures and during the course of our relationship I have seen many, many, many, many iterations of the tale. From my nostalgic favorite TV Special from 1985 to a really surreal British Alice Through the Looking Glass from 1998 staring Kate Beckinsale. My main issue with Alice is that the episodic nature of the tale does not lend itself to a 3 act narrative very well. To solve this most of the adaptations give Alice some contrived reason to wander away and flee something, anything, just to give her a goal. This is where the Disney movie differs, sure she’s bored with her real life, but she’s just a curious little girl who follows a rabbit in a waist coat into Wonderland. Even though it combines elements from both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, I find the Disney version to be one of the more faithful adaptations and have really grown to appreciate it.
Alice, voiced perfectly by Kathyn Baumont, is our point of view character, the blank slate that helps us experience the craziness of Wonderland. As she daydreams of a world of her own she notices the White Rabbit and naturally follows him down into the Rabbit Hole. What should be a panicky moment for anyone, Alice tries to make sense of the situation. That’s what makes this character so charming. She’s always trying to find logic in a land where nonsense rules.
When reaching the bottom of the rabbit hole, Alice changes size by trying different food and drink to enter Wonderland and meets the vast cast of crazy characters. Among the first she meets is Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Though these characters are fun in their own right it’s the story of the Walrus and the Carpenter they recite that I’ve always loved. It’s possible the catchy melody and rhyming, but it’s a really dark anecdote. And I’m not a dark guy. It’s tragic and deliciously twisted.
Alice stumbles upon the White Rabbit’s home and finds him but is immediately swept into frenzy as he mistakenly takes her for his housemaid Maryanne. I always wanted to know more about Maryanne. Does she look anything like Alice? Is she possibly a rabbit? It’s so strange, yet makes perfect sense in this world. Inquisitive Alice eats a biscuit she found in the White Rabbit’s room, as is natural for any curious personality, and grows to the size of a giant. Eating a carrot she shrinks to the size of an insect and spends a golden afternoon with the flowers. An encounter with a hookah smoking caterpillar leads her to grow back to her normal size and she meets my favorite character in the movie, the Cheshire Cat.
Cheshire Cat is one of those characters that can only successfully done in animation and the whimsical style Disney went with here gives the character an iconic look. What might be a silly man in a costume in live action, animation allows this guy to disappear and reappear in sections effortlessly. Voiced by Disney All Star Sterling Holloway the performance is what gives most the inhabitants of Disney’s Wonderland this great edge warm crazy. They are insane, never quite too threatening, but I still wouldn’t turn my back on them.
The Cat directs Alice to the film’s most memorable scenes, the Unbirthday Party. Again, another set of great characters with the Mad Hatter and March Hare. The highs and lows in mood these characters achieve at breakneck speeds are incredible. It’s another great example of not ever knowing where these characters are going to go. And it’s just a well written comedy act. Hilarious wordplay and timing, it’s totally worth a viewing as an adult just to see how well-crafted the comedy in this scene is.
Moving on to the Royal Grounds, Alice meets the Card Army and The Queen of Hearts. The Queen of Hearts is one of the great comedic villains in Disney’s rouge gallery. I love her childish temper. She goes from the extreme of femininity one second to a raging lunatic the next. Things don’t go her way and her solution is to behead someone. And her poor little King just rolls with it. Voiced by Disney veteran Verna Felton and Animated by Frank Thomas we’re given a tyrant that’s a lot of fun to watch. The Queen finally takes Alice to her breaking point after a nonsensical trial and Alice flees Wonderland realizing life needs structure and balance.
The only real low point of the movie is when Alice laments in the Tulgey Wood. There is a song called “Very Good Advice” that totally stalls the film and doesn’t really match wacky tone of the movie. But the rest of this film is just about Alice touring Wonderland, meeting up with one loon after another. It’s more about experiencing the insanity with Alice than it is about Alice reaching the end of a goal.
Stylistically Wonderland is a knockout. What could have been a typical cartoony tableau of bright colors are mostly black backgrounds with accented colors. This really makes all the colors in the foreground pop and is a technique Disney Legend Mary Blair uses often yet it never gets boring.
So I concede that I underestimated this movie. It’s not just the trippy, drug induced film everyone makes it out to be. It is in fact a really creative and fun movie. Alice in Wonderland is a great adaptation of a great literary work and has proven to be one of Disney most treasured animated classics.
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