Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Alice stumbles into the world of Wonderland. Will she get home? Not if the Queen of Hearts has her way.

Directors:

Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson

Writers:

Lewis Carroll (adaptation) (as Lewis Carrol), Winston Hibler (story)

Stars:

Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Richard Haydn

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kathryn Beaumont	...	Alice (voice)
Ed Wynn	...	Mad Hatter (voice)
Richard Haydn	...	Caterpillar (voice)
Sterling Holloway	...	Cheshire Cat (voice)
Jerry Colonna	...	March Hare (voice)
Verna Felton	...	Queen of Hearts (voice)
J. Pat O'Malley	...	Walrus / Carpenter / Dee / Dum (voice) (as Pat O'Malley)
Bill Thompson	...	White Rabbit / Dodo (voice)
Heather Angel	...	Alice's Sister (voice)
Joseph Kearns	...	Doorknob (voice)
Larry Grey	...	Bill (voice)
Queenie Leonard	...	Bird in the Tree (voice)
Dink Trout	...	King of Hearts (voice)
Doris Lloyd	...	The Rose (voice)
James MacDonald	...	Dormouse (voice)

Storyline

Alice is a daydreaming young girl. She finds learning poems and listening to literature boring. She prefers stories with pictures and to live inside her imagination. One day, while enduring just such a poetry reading, she spots a large white rabbit...dressed in a jacket and carrying a large watch. He scurries off, saying he's late, for a very important date. She follows him through the forest. He then disappears down a rabbit hole. Alice follows, leading her to all manner of discoveries, characters and adventures.

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Plot Keywords:

rabbit | cat | dream | sudden change in size | cheshire cat | 

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Taglines:

The all-cartoon Musical Wonderfilm!

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alice in Wonderland

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$5,232,000, 31 December 1951

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The concept art of the film was provided by artist Mary Blair (1911-1978) who also worked in several other Disney animated films of the 1940s and 1950s. Her art for the film used bold and unreal colors, and was much different than John Tenniel's original illustrations. Walt liked the concept and used it. Art and animation historians have credited Blair with introducing Modernist art to the Disney films.

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Goofs

Just before the flowers sing "All in the Golden Afternoon", we see an orange dandelion tuning up. Between him are two other dandelions, one purple one on the left, and one red one on the right. Two shots later, when the scat-singing begins, the two dandelions have switched places.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Alice's sister: [reading from a history book] "... leaders, and had been of late much accustomed to usurpation and conquest. Edwin and Morcar, the Earls of Mercia and Northumbria, declared for him: and even Stigand..." Alice.
[camera zooms out to show Alice sitting in a tree, playing with Dinah and making a crown of daisies]
Alice: Hmm? Oh, I'm listening.
Alice's sister: "And even Stigand, the archbishop of Canterbury, agreed to meet with William and offer him the crown. William's conduct at first was moderate."
[...]

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Alternate Versions

A 1987 airing on NBC made the following cuts:

• 1) Alice's song "In a World of My Own".
• 2) After Alice left the Caucus race, there was a commercial break. Following the break, the film picked up at the garden of live flowers scene. This means that the scene with Tweedledum and Tweedledee and the Walrus and the Carpenter and the scene in the White Rabbit's house were cut.
• 3) The Cheshire Cat's first scene is cut, meaning that his first appearance is not until after the Tulgey Woods scene.
• 4) Several of the creatures in the Tulgey Woods scene are removed, as is the song "Very Good Advice".
• 5) The entire trial sequence is cut, going from the croquet game straight to the final chase.

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Connections

Referenced in The Facts of Life: The Lady Who Came to Dinner (1986)

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Soundtracks

Very Good Advice
(1951) (uncredited)
Lyrics by Bob Hilliard
Music by Sammy Fain
Performed by Kathryn Beaumont

User Reviews

The best Disney cartoon, by far

Among all the Disney cartoons I have seen (and I think I've probably seen them all, until "Taram...", in 1983), "Alice in Wonderland" remains my favorite one. Of course, it has a lot of differences, comparing to the wonderful book from Lewis Carroll, but Walt Disney managed to give a strange object, without a real classical story (with a starting and an ending), which gives this film a funny "experimental side"... And I particularly love the beautiful colors in this film. It simply makes you want to follow Alice, who follows herself the White Rabbit, in the wonderland. Maybe "Alice in Wonderland" is more an "adult cartoon".