Disney | 1951 | 75 mins. | G
Over the years, there have countless adaptations of Lewis Carroll’s beloved Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or Through the Looking-Glass. However, it’s Walt Disney’s 1951 animated classic that stands out from the crowd for most viewers. Sweet, endearing and beautifully rendered, Disney’s adaption isn’t faithful to Caroll’s story, instead Walt and his team infused a bit a Disney magic, making Alice the kind of story that generations of kids could fantasize about; a world they could enter with each successive viewing. While few would count Alice in Wonderland among Disney’s finest animated classics, it does remain a family favorite, suitable for all ages.
One day, young Alice (Kathryn Beaumont) grows tired of listening to her sister read from a history book. She walks away, caught up in her own world of fantasy. She comes across an odd White Rabbit (Bill Thompson), and follows him into his hole, tumbling into a world of strange creatures and evil tyrants. As it turns out, this is a place called Wonderland. Wonderland is ruled by the Queen of Hearts (Verna Felton), she wields an iron fist and enjoys removing the heads of disloyal subjects. However, unlike Tim Burton’s 2010 version, Alice isn’t expected to aid in overthrowing the Queen or saving Wonderland. Instead, she’s dragged from beast to brute, tea party to castle, without a clearly defined purpose. Fortunately, the characters she meets in the course of her journey are unforgettable and fun. Among them are a brass Doorknob (Joseph Kearns), bumbling twins Tweedledee and Tweedledum (J. Pat O’Malley), the devious Cheshire Cat (Sterling Holloway), an irascible Caterpillar (Richard Haydn), wacky March Hare (Jerry Colonna), the quiet Dormouse (James MacDonald), resident Wonderland loon, the Mad Hatter (Ed Wynn) and numerous plants and animals, who help and dissuade Alice as she nears the Queen’s gardens.
As anyone who has read Caroll’s story knows, this is far from a strict adaption. After all, it was 1951 and Walt Disney set out to make a family friendly film. He did that here, and did it well. However, I do think that Alice lacks the heart of the true Disney classics such as Snow White, Bambi and Cinderella. Unlike the former films, Alice lacks meaning; it is what it is. There’s nothing wrong with that but it’s a flaw that keeps Alice in Wonderland from being a top tier classic.
The video quality is superb. The colors absolutely pop; so much so it’s hard to believe this film is sixty-years-old. Presented in 1.33:1 aspect ratio, as it appeared in theaters, the AVC/MPEG-4 transfer isn’t marred by compression artifacts or too much digital tampering, as there’s still a very slight layer of filmic grain to add texture.
The audio remix (DTS-HD MA 5.1 in English) redistributes the sound so that more of it comes through the rear speakers, especially during musical numbers. The subwoofer even kicks in occasionally. Additional options are French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix, along with the Original theatrical soundtrack.
In addition to standard definition content carried over from the DVDs, Alice contains a half-dozen features in HD along with an HD art gallery and a game for kids. Three TV intros are in HD (4 min.), and included is some live-action reference material on the doorknob in HD (2 min.) and a pencil test of Alice shrinking (1 min.). The longest extra in HD is “Operation Wonderland,” a behind-the-scenes look inside the animator’s studio (11 min.), and the the remastered 1936 Mickey Mouse cartoon “Through the Mirror” (9 min.). But the real HD gem is a feature-length HD picture-in-picture track that pops up all sorts of rare stills, archival footage, drawings, and factoids about the film, Disney, and Carroll.
The following content is in standard definition: there’s a featurette on “Reflections on Alice” (13 min.) that has Disney animators looking back; deleted scenes and songs (21 min.); a Wonderland excerpt from “The Fred Waring Show” (31 min.); the Cheshire Cat song that was added to the previous release; a 1923 silent film (8 min.) about Alice’s visit to a cartoon studio; original trailers; a “Virtual Wonderland Party” game; “One Hour in Wonderland” (59 min.), the 1950 show that introduced the movie to audiences.
The DVD version of the film.
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