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:

'Tis Brillig...'Tis Brilliant...'Tis Out of This World!

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the Disney film, the White Rabbit seems to be the least eccentric of the Wonderland characters. He has been described as the straight man, a serious character in an otherwise comedy ensemble.

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Goofs

At the beginning of "All in the Golden Afternoon" when Rose says, "Sound your A, Lily", Lily sings B-flat, not A.

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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

On the JeemTV showing, in the Middle East, many shots were censored from the film including the use of tobacco, such as the Dodo's pipe, the Walrus' cigar, and the Caterpillar's hookah. These shots were edited to remove the tobacco product in question by cropping, slowing down the video, or by removing the scene completely. Other shots removed included the male dandelion mating with the female flower, the shot of the horsefly being swatted away by the Rose, and the dog worm barking at the cat worm during the "All in the Golden Afternoon" sequence.

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Connections

Referenced in Aerosmith: Sunshine (2001)

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Soundtracks

'Twas Brillig
(1951) (uncredited)
Written by Don Raye and Gene de Paul
Performed by Sterling Holloway

User Reviews

Some brilliant animation in semi-successful adaptation of classic novel...

Let's face it, there are moments in ALICE IN WONDERLAND that are absolutely dazzling, imaginative and as artistic as anything the Disney artists were capable of doing. And yet, for all its achievement in the art of animation, this Disney film has always drawn mixed notices. Perhaps part of the problem is there is seldom a letup in the zany goings-on--seldom a chance to draw a breath and rest between each overly imaginative episode. Then too, it's the episodic quality of the whole story structure that upsets some as well as the frantic cartoon movements of its weird characters.

Faults and all, it's still a colorful event--probably one of the richest uses of color Disney ever attempted and with some wonderful styling in its background art. For me, a highlight of the film is the singing/talking flower sequence ("Golden Afternoon") with its haughty flowers discussing Alice as if she was some kind of other worldly creature with funny looking stems. (It reminded me of the snooty elephants laughing and speaking with contempt of the new baby elephant in Dumbo).

Other bits are equally brilliant--the shuffling army of cards in the Queen of Hearts episode; the baby oysters clothed in blue bonnets and pink dresses for the Walrus and the Carpenter; the droll humor in the Tweedledum/Tweedledee sequence; the smoking Caterpillar becoming irate when his three inches of height becomes the subject of conversation; and of course, the Mad Tea Party, full of hilarious slapstick and immensely aided by the voice talents of Bill Thompson (White Rabbit), Jerry Colonna (March Hare) and Ed Wynn (Mad Hatter). No less impressive is Verna Felton as the raucous voice of the Queen of Hearts in some of the film's funniest moments. With her army of cards, she plays a wicked game of croquet with flamingoes as mallets, hedgehog as a ball and cards as hoops, all the while displaying a lethal temper.

Despite some brilliant animation, pleasant songs and gorgeous art work, it's just another example of how difficult it is ("impassable" to quote Carroll) to translate this particular tale to the screen and still remain faithful to the original. Others (many other versions, in fact) have failed--but Disney at least provides a sprightly, if frantic, version that has appeal for adults and children.

Perhaps because its surrealism matched the hippy culture of psychedelia, ALICE enjoyed a welcome theatrical return engagement in the '60s and has become more respected in recent years (an American-made British fantasy popular even in the U.K.) as one of the studio's finest efforts.

Ironically, one of its most delightful characters--the doorknob--never appeared in the book but was applauded everywhere as an inspired bit of business.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alicia en el país de las maravillas

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1