Review of Alice in Wonderland (1951) by Pietro M — 09 May 2011

Whenever I review a book adaptation, I try to do it thinking of it as standalone film, and I avoid comparing it much to the source material. After all, movies are a completely different medium than literature and there have been excellent films that don't even follow the source material that well (The Shining is a great example). With that in mind, I'm writing about how Alice in Wonderland works as an animated film, and not as an adaptation.

The film follows the well-known story of Alice, as her search for the white rabbit takes her into Wonderland, a place that as the name suggests, is full of "wonders" and fantastic elements. Her journey through this unknown land makes it for a very fun adventure, specially after being so apparently bored with her daily life. But of course this wouldn't be called an "adventure" if everything went nice and easy for Alice. Her journey actually takes her through some really dark moments, culminating into her meeting with one of the most memorable Disney villains ever, the Queen of Hearts.

The storyline arguably doesn't flow very well, since for the most part it's full of random encounters that don't even have a direct impact on the plot, but these random encounters are what make the movie fun. The characters and situations that the film presents really make you laugh with their lunacy. Make no mistake, these people are crazy, and they make sure you have a really fun time with them.

As most of disney's animated films, Alice in Wonderland is also a musical, which isn't bad, since the songs are very catchy and well composed. The animation is classic disney and I'm sure you will not be disappointed. There are tons of different locations and designs, and the whole film is just beautifully animated.

When we get together the great characters, classic animation and catchy music, the end result is a highly entertaining film. But ultimately the movie is made for kids, so how does that hold? The answer is pretty well. I have yet to know a child who doesn't love this, so I'm pretty sure that both kids and adults can find a good time in watching Alice in Wonderland.