Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Alice in Wonderland is a 1951 animated feature from Walt Disney based on both Lewis Carroll’s 1865 novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel, Through the Looking-Glass. I have not read either of these stories before. It had been years since I last saw this movie, so I recently watched it to jog my memory and get a feel for the movie and its plot. Honestly, for the first time on this blog, I am not sure what to say about this movie except that it is a crazy ride from beginning to end. Words like bizarre, weird, strange, and odd came to mind as I watched this movie. If you are into completely random, nonsensical, oddball cartoon humor at its finest, then I have the movie for you.

Non-spoiler brief review:

If you’re from the United States, you’ve probably encountered the phrase “chase the white rabbit”. Well, this is the story from which we get this saying. As I watched this film, I recognized several names and phrases from popular culture. Basically, Alice is a young girl in Oxford, England, who tends to daydream and is distracted as her sister tries to teach a history lesson. We see one of these daydreams take her down a rabbit hole into a sequence of events I’d describe as wild, if not insane. If you venture to watch, I’ll save the ending for your enjoyment.

For Parents:

Alice in Wonderland did not have any content cautions that jumped out at me, unless a smoking caterpillar-type creature is a concern for you. There are a few intense scenes, among which a Queen threatens Alice with execution for a small “crime”. But my primary “caution” is that your kids might have a hard time understanding what’s even going on…and you might too!

My overall review (with spoilers):

Alice in Wonderland, to me, is a true anomaly for both its time and to this day, since it is a very oddball story to illustrate. In this case, as usual, Disney does a phenomenal job with the animation aspect of this film. The lines, color, character action, and sequences are as flawless as any other film in Disney’s repertoire. On those grounds alone, especially if you are an animation aficionado, it is a must-see film. Now, as far as the characters in the film, outside of Alice and her sister at the beginning, there is little, if any, logic to the characters of this film, which I assume is by design. “Trippy” or “wild” would be good descriptors for this film!

The characters in this story are as memorable and crazy as their names. Names like “Queen of Hearts”, the “Mad Hatter”, “Cheshire Cat”, twins “Tweedledee” and “Tweedledum”, and of course I can’t leave out the character who introduces us to this roller coaster of a ride, the “White Rabbit”, among a host of other bizarre, strange, and flat out insane characters. Speaking of the White Rabbit, he leads Alice into the “wonderland” at the start of the movie as she’s struggling to pay attention to a history lesson that her sister is reading to her. Alice follows this crazy rabbit who seems to be in an intense hurry to who knows where. As Alice follows the rabbit, she falls into a very deep hole that seems to go on and on.

From this point, Alice goes from one strange situation to another, encountering the aforementioned characters along the way, almost as if she’s making stops to various little worlds in which there’s no logic or reason, just more questions than answers. Sometimes the sequences are funny, sometimes just strange or disturbing, and other times intense, leaving you wondering “well, what’s next?!” All the while, the White Rabbit is always just out of Alice’s reach, until she finally does catch up…only for him to mistake her for his maid. She then gets confused, grows enormous, and can’t get out of the house because she’s too big…oh just watch it LOL.

The Mad Hatter, along with his buddy the “March Hare,” is a funny duo, though by the end of the scene, you might feel like the patients are running the asylum. Cheshire Cat is a cat who magically appears and disappears randomly, but usually in Alice’s greatest need, while also usually not offering much in the way of help, if not setting her up for failure often. If you’re not following or are confused at this point, welcome to one of the craziest movies you’ll ever watch. In the end, Alice stumbles, as she has done the entire film, in the Queen of Hearts’ realm. Her domain is a kingdom where playing cards are the inhabitants, and Alice is the outsider. Long story short, Alice messes up, and the Queen sentences her to death, but her husband, the King, decides to give Alice a trial. I won’t spoil the trial for you, but will say that Alice finds her way out of Wonderland, sees herself sleeping, and discovers that she’s actually dreaming!

Bottom Line:

For this film, I have to admit, it’s probably one of my least favorite films in the Disney library. I would probably give this movie a 6.5 out of 10. The craziness of the plot and characters is just not what I enjoy. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the movie at all. There’s great animation, a great musical score, memorable characters (Mad Hatter comes to mind), and some funny scenes. So, if you’re into a crazy plot such as this, you’ll enjoy it. For the rest of you, you might like to check it out at least once and judge for yourself.