Alice in Wonderland (TV 1985)

Alice is in Looking Glass land, where she meets many Looking Glass creatures and attempts to avoid the Jabberwocky, a monster that appears due to her being afraid.

Director:

Harry Harris

Writers:

Lewis Carroll (novels), Paul Zindel (teleplay)

Stars:

Natalie Gregory, Sheila Allen, Sharee Gregory

Nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Natalie Gregory	...	Alice
Sheila Allen	...	Alice's Mother
Sharee Gregory	...	Sister
Red Buttons	...	The White Rabbit
Sherman Hemsley	...	Mouse
Donald O'Connor	...	The Lory Bird
Charles Dougherty	...	The Duck
Shelley Winters	...	The Dodo Bird
Billy Braver	...	The Eaglet
Scott Baio	...	Pat - The Pig
Ernie F. Orsatti	...	Bill (The Lizard) (as Ernie Orsatti)
Sammy Davis Jr.	...	The Caterpillar / 'Father William'
Scotch Byerly	...	Fish Footman (as Scotch Byerley)
Robert Axelrod	...	Frog Footman
Martha Raye	...	The Duchess

Storyline

Classic tale of a girl named Alice who follows a white rabbit down a hole into Wonderland, where she can change sizes by eating and drinking and animals talk. After escaping the disturbing Queen of Hearts, she finds that she has ended up on the other side of the looking glass in Looking Glass Land and that there is a mind-created Jabberwocky after her. With the advice of a wise owl and royal chess pieces on her mind, she ventures home, vowing to grow up in this two-part movie which remains most faithful to the original stories written by Lewis Carroll.

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Plot Keywords:

rabbit | monster | animal | girl | chess | 

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Taglines:

The Complete Two-Part Story

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 December 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alice Through the Looking Glass

Filming Locations:

880 La Loma Rd., Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Irwin Allen Productions, Columbia Pictures Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

187 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the musical number "Why Do People...", Natalie Gregory's singing was dubbed by Lana Beeson.

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Goofs

When Alice first leans on the Caterpillar's mushroom, it bends to show it's a mattress.

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Quotes

Unicorn: You dumb-dumb!

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Connections

Version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1981)

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Soundtracks

"I Hate Dogs and Cats"
Music and Lyrics by Steve Allen
Performed by Sherman Hemsley

User Reviews

I fell in love all over again

When this was first run, I liked it, but now barely recalled details of it. I was a senior in HS, and it was mainly put on to amuse my brother (but my family knew of my own fascination with Alice, lol, so I guess to amuse me too!), who didn't really care. I knew that I recognized the girl who played Alice (who was Jenny in Oliver & Co--THAT'S where I knew her from, thanks IMDB!) at the time, but never could place her. The actors and actresses took their roles and made them their own. I believe that besides Alice, the White Knight is my favorite supporting role, however. I too had nightmares at age 17 (!) of the Jabberwocky but that didn't stop me from watching it. In the many years since the details faded, but that Jabberwocky stayed with me--until I could no longer recall which version I had seen it in. I've been seeking it. I did like the 1999 version, which sits in VHS beside the Disney version (can't tell I'm a fan in general?) which I also liked. Each had their own parts that drew me in. This one, despite the problem with accents, did the same.

Yes, it's a Hollywood'ed version, so they tend to ignore the setting when it comes to accents, but would you really want to hear Sammy Davis Jr with an English accent? I did find Sally Struthers as the obnoxious Tiger Lily rather humorous (especially after her "correspondence school" commercials, iirc that she had out during that time too! It seemed to fit some how. :)

All in all, a very good movie, and one that I shall look for in Ebay, Yahoo and Amazon for a copy. I am very grateful to the local library who carried part 2, and allowed me to renew my acquaintance with this gem once again.

Dee