Alice in Wonderland (1951)
My March Blind Spot Series Pick was Alice in Wonderland. It’s of course the famous tale of the girl who falls down a rabbit hole and into Wonderland. Much as I love the story (and wonder who goes around sticking their heads down holes?) I’ve never seen this version.
And to be honest there’s not much to say about it. It’s pretty straight forward Wonderland.
I really enjoyed the beginning- including her trip to Wonderland the door and all that and the game at the end when the Queen of Hearts finally graces us with her presence. I also couldn’t really get into the music but that’s me. I did love Alice and think they captured her very well.
I also think it holds up well in terms of animation. I found it very colorful and pretty too look at. In fact in sheer color terms I think I might have found it more colorful than The Little Mermaid. So while I’m split on it Alice is a fast film at only an hour and fifteen minutes so it might be worth it if you want to check out the older animation.
One reason I was inspired to watch the film was a couple weeks back I read the John Logan play Peter & Alice and that has stuck with me.
They play imagines a meeting meeting Peter Davis and Alice Hargreaves in the early 1930’s. (They were played on stage by Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw if you want to get an idea of their ages during the play. It’s a short play about a lot of things including art, childhood, being a muse, growing up and growing old and even what happens when other people realize that even Alice and Peter grew up. And their lives were not fairy tales.
It’s a clash between reality and adulthood and fantasy and two of the most famous children’s book characters. I found it fascinating with a lot of think about and would recommend giving it a read.
Though it is in script format for a play and I know some people don’t like reading plays. If it’s not something that bothers you I’d recommend picking up the play & then watch the film (or a film version) it can remind you no matter how old you get the possibility of Wonderland is timeless.
I enjoyed reading your take on this and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass are my absolute favorite books. I try to see as many versions as possible and I really enjoy the Disney movie. I have not heard of the play, Peter and Alice, so I will absolutely check that out now. Great post! 🙂
The play was fascinating especially if you’re familiar with the story. It just made me wish I could have seen Dench and Whishaw perform it!
I haven’t watched the film… yet, but Alice is probably one of my more favourite characters from Disney, she’s so refreshing – or maybe it’s the plot that makes her refreshing! I wonder how Rapunzel would have reacted had she gone down the hole.!Not the biggest fan of Disney music, and I do wish the films would be a bit longer, but at least this one is action-packed!
Interesting to hear about the play. The imagery from this film has become so iconic. It’s a beautiful animation.