Alice in Wonderland
Premiere: July 26, 1951
Budget: $3,000,000
Box Office: $2,400,000 (Original Release)
Released by: RKO Radio Pictures
Nominations/Awards:
- Academy Award – Best Scoring of a Musical Picture (Nominee)
Running Time: 75 Minutes (1 hr, 15 min)
Start at the beginning…
This isn’t the first time Walt dealt with Alice. He, of course, read Lewis Carroll’s work as a child and was captivated by the imagery and the outright absurdity of it. I’ll recount just one example of many times the Disney studio went to the Alice well for inspiration.
Way back in 1923, just before founding the company that bears his name, Walt was still in Kansas City working on his unsuccessful Laugh-O-Gram cartoons. The very last cartoon he made as a Laugh-O-Gram was titled Alice’s Wonderland. Unfortunately, the Laugh-O-Gram studio would go bankrupt that very July and the short was never released to the public. Turning it into an opportunity, Walt brought the short to California to show to potential distributors and gained a contract to create the Alice Comedies for Winkler Pictures and Universal. This helped him establish the Disney Bros. Studio.
In addition, instead of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, this was originally going to be the first feature he made. But frustration with adapting the story and a dislike for Paramount’s 1933 live-action version put him off the idea. Pile on the extreme pressures of the pre-war films and the war itself, and here we are now, in 1951.
“Golden Afternoon”
It’s now the early 50s at the studio. This decade would mean the world to Walt and the studio. So many parts of what Disney (the company) is today came about during the 1950s. Writing for Alice in Wonderland was riddled with problems and rewrites. Because of the nature of the source material, i.e. small vignettes, many scenes floated in and out over the years. With those scenes, many characters were also brought in and taken out of the story.
As far as music is concerned, Walt hired composers to use Carroll’s poems and rhymes and build songs around them. A reported 40 songs were written but only 14 were used.
Also, Disney veteran Sterling Holloway appears yet again, in one of his most prominent roles to date. This time, as the Cheshire Cat. Kathryn Baumont also voices Alice. She will later voice another main character in Disney’s next film: Peter Pan.
A Very Merry Unbirthday
The film was released on July 26, 1951.
Unlike Cinderella, critics weren’t very fond of this picture. It was met with harsh criticism from literary critics and British film experts, complaining that Walt had “Americanized” Lewis Carroll’s work. Even though Walt had intended the film for family audiences, even they came up short. The film premiered with a very disappointing $2.4 million box office, considering its $3 million budget.
It was never re-released theatrically during Walt’s lifetime, but did appear on network television. In fact, it was the second episode of the Disneyland TV program on ABC.
“Very Good Advice”
Okay, I will briefly cover the plot of the film, considering just how convoluted it can get.
Alice is a young, curious girl. As she is being tutored outside, she spots a white rabbit with a pocket watch who continually shouts “I’m late!” Curiosity peaked, Alice follows him down his rabbit hole. Little did she know, it is the portal to Wonderland, a mystical place with a variety of characters.
During her journey through Wonderland, Alice is mostly an observer, watching as a collection of vignettes happen before her. Some lead to others, while the majority are self-contained. Among them are a visit to a bizarre tea party, a retelling of the story“The Walrus and the Carpenter,” she even grows and shrinks depending on some foods she eats. But the climax of the story is Alice’s encounter with the Queen of Hearts, a ruthless monarch with an arrogance matched only by her temper.
After these events, Alice returns to the real world, realizing that everything was just a dream.
…when you come to the end… stop.
Oh dear. This is quite a film. Let’s get two things out of the way. 1. I liked this movie. Not as much as others in this cannon, but I liked it. 2. This doesn’t count as a package feature, even though it sort of does consist of smaller stories.
Let’s begin with the art. This movie is a great example on how to use the multiplane camera to really highlight the weirdness of Wonderland. The depth is wonderfully defined and really gives this film a really unique look that helps the material rather than disturbs it. The backgrounds are vibrant and colorful, everything coordinates so well. The characters are also well designed. Alice in particular is an adorable girl, her appearance is simple and relatable.
The story, like the source books is kind of all over the place. The best way to describe it is to think of it as a collection of windows on a building, each lets you see inside but it’s a different part. We only get to see a few windows. There are more intelligent folks than me that can debate the literary merits of the film compared to the book (even though I have read the books, and this is a mix of the two, rather than an adaptation of the first), but the way it’s adapted makes it easier to consume and understand. Sometimes, that’s what you need.
Our characters here are many, but I will only speak about 5.
We will begin with Alice. She is cute, precarious, and extremely curious. She is also a little sassy and has great reactions. Upon joining the Unbirthday tea party: “this is the stupidest tea party I’ve ever been to in my life!” Very well animated, Alice anchors an otherwise free wheeling narrative.
The White Rabbit is not that interesting, honestly. He only serves to get the story going, but other than that, he’s just a hapless, poorly fleshed-out character.
Sterling Holloway’s character, the Cheshire Cat, on the other hand, is quite interesting. He’s mysterious and nonsensical. He’s very above-it-all. Like he says: “I’m not all there myself.” This is my favorite character that Holloway voiced, even more so than Winnie the Pooh.
The fun begins with the Mad Hatter. He’s funny, crazy, and lots of fun! Ed Wynn’s performance is perfectly matched to the character.
Finally, there’s the Queen of Hearts. She is definitely the hammiest villain in the Disney cannon, among the females, at least (I think Jafar may be hammier, but it’s close). She is so absurd, it’s hilarious.
Overall, Alice in Wonderland is a difficult film because there is so much going on that it can be overwhelming and confusing. I liked it, but this is definitely a case of knowing what your tastes are. At the very least, give it a shot. However, you’re allowed to leave partway through if it just isn’t your thing. Children may enjoy the colors and shapes, as well as the strange characters. Again, it’s a matter of knowing your child. If they like the strange and bizarre, or are at least curious, they may enjoy it even if they don’t understand much.
A Final Note
Although it was never re-released theatrically during Walt’s lifetime, the 1960s college crowd discovered the film and watched it as a “head trip” (read: under the influence of weed). Disney, while concerned, did give the film its first re-release in 1974… complete with psychedelic poster and press kit.
That’s it for Alice in Wonderland. Post your comments below!
Next up is Peter Pan! See you next time!
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