Disney Month III- Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Starring: Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Sterling Holloway
Directed by: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske


Plot Summary: On a bright summer day, young Alice follows a talking White Rabbit down a rabbit hole to a mysterious and peculiar world called Wonderland. She encounters strange creatures and places where nothing makes sense to her. She eats food that either makes her grow or shrink, is told the fascinating tale of "The Walrus and the Carpenter," and attends a tea party celebrating many Merry Unbirthdays. After spending time in Wonderland, Alice wishes to return home but has lost her way. She is led to the kingdom of the Queen of Hearts and must find a way to get home before the Queen can have Alice beheaded.


So there I was, lying on my couch sick with a stuffy nose and sore throat. I figured while I have DayQuil in my system that I should go on a movie trip by watching Alice in Wonderland. By the time the movie was over, I felt a lot better. Coincidence? Probably. But I won't deny that the film definitely made me forget about how cruddy my body was feeling. It's a classic Disney movie that is absolutely fun to watch and has some of the best visuals and characters that they've ever done. I'm sure the modern audience is more familiar with the Tim Burton remake (shudders) and the impending sequel we having coming (double shudders), so let's take the time to look at the first time that Disney adapted the classic Lewis Carroll for the big screen.

Alice is voiced by Kathryn Beaumont, and the only purpose she serves is being a window for the viewer in Wonderland. Everything around her is much more interesting and vibrant, so I doubt many would say Alice is the most interesting part of the movie. She's not a bad character, but she's not what we're here for. We're here for all the kooky and off the wall characters that she comes across.

The most memorable encounter Alice has is a tea party hosted by the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, voiced by Ed Wynn and Jerry Colonna. Their antics are the highlight and you have a blast with these guys. They introduce the concept of the Unbirthday, the most optimistic viewpoint of the 364 days in the year that are NOT your birthday, they obsess over tea, and they constantly annoy Alice. A lot of what they do that makes me laugh are the visual gags, usually with how they pour the tea, and the Mad Hatter gets a lot of the best lines between the two, and has a very memorable voice thanks to Ed Wynn. When I popped the film in, THIS was the scene I was looking forward to watching the most and it's thanks to these two.

The Queen of Hearts, voiced by Verna Felton, is a great character design and everyone knows her well enough to associate her with the phrase "off with their heads." That being said, I wish she would've popped up a little sooner in the film. The film, while very episodic and segmented, should at least give a scene or throwaway line early into the film to introduce the viewer to the villain. Minor gripe though, as when we do meet her, she is a lot of fun as a power-hungry, yet incompetent ruler.

We've also got so many great side characters in the film, which I'll go through my favorites very quickly. The White Rabbit, voiced by Bill Thompson, is a fun character thanks to his look and his constant proclamations of being late for a very important date. I will say that he comes off as a bit absent-minded, but he's harmless and enjoyable. The Cheshire Cat, voiced by Sterling Holloway, is great just because of how much he loves to mess with Alice. And I really enjoy the scene with the Caterpillar, voiced by Richard Haydn, thanks to the visual gags and how he talks. His inflections and the use of smoke to create shapes and letters is just so memorable, that I always get a kick out of it and talk like the Caterpillar for a while afterwards.

All of these characters make up the strange and amazing world of Wonderland, and that's where the film makes its greatest mark on film history. Alice in Wonderland has so many great and memorable characters that are held together in this bizarre world, and it makes sense in a way that it is absolutely not supposed to make sense at all. Where else could you see this collection of abnormal characters and have it work? It's bright and colorful, but never tries to be overly happy and cheerful. It just tries to be weird, and I'm good with this kind of weird.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

For what it is, I really enjoy Alice in Wonderland. The characters and the environment that she encounters is absolutely mesmerizing and it gives us one of the greatest worlds in Disney history. I definitely recommend all moviegoers following the rabbit hole on this film at least once, and all major Disney fans should add this to your collection for your next Merry Unbirthday present.

Alice in Wonderland and movie images are copyrighted by Walt Disney Pictures