Review of Alice in Wonderland (1951) by Noah Abraham G — 07 Sep 2012

Although Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" have been adapted many times, none have been nearly as iconic as the 1951 Disney film.

The oft-repeated plot is a simple one; young girl Alice (Kathryn Beaumont) falls down a rabbit hole ends up in Wonderland. In her pursuit of the tardy White Rabbit (Bill Thompson), Alice has a series of random encounters with colorful characters, including the Mad Hatter (Ed Wynn), a hookah-smoking caterpillar (Richard Hadyn) and the enigmatic Cheshire Cat (Sterling Holloway). Things spearhead to conflict when Alice finally meets the Queen of Hearts (Verna Felton), a fiery old tyrant.

The plot is almost superfluous, and acts as a framing device for the characters. Beaumont is serviceable as Alice, who is just mainly there as an audience surrogate. The real show is (of course) the inhabitants of Wonderland, with every character bringing life to the screen. The Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat are probably the best-remembered characters from the film, and they deserve it. They're drawn uniquely, and the actors seem to have a good time playing such strange people.

The movie is essentially a celebration of imagination, which is why the story lends itself so well to animation. Nearly every frame is filled with something unique to look at, either taken from Carroll's pages or the mind of the animators. My favorite scene is Alice's visit to Tulgey Woods, which is full of some of the strangest and most wondrous creations ever seen on film.

Tulgey Woods also showcases something very few people seem to comment on when they discuss the movie; the music. Like many Disney pictures, Alice in Wonderland is a musical, and I don't think there's a weak song in the film. They range from witty to weird to even a little emotional at times. Particular stand outs are "Very Good Advice" and "The Walrus and the Carpenter.".

Is the film the best Disney film? I'd have to say no. An inherent problem with the source material is that very little emotion can be wrung from the story without changing it significantly. The film can definitely drag at times, and not every scene works as well as the others (I'm in the minority when I say the Mad Tea Party is probably one of the weaker scenes of the film). I'm also not a very big fan of the ending, mainly because the animation simply becomes weird for its own sake, with not as much energy or wit as is seen in most of the film.

That being said, this is still a brilliant piece of animation, and really showcases what true talent can do. A definite must-see.