I don't remember ever reading any of the books about Alice by Lewis Carroll.  I have seen a few versions of the story over the years.  I just watched Alice in Wonderland (1951), the animated Disney version, again.

While listening to a lesson near a river, Alice gets bored and thinks about being in a world full of nonsense.  Alice then sees a White Rabbit wearing clothes, carrying a watch, and talking about being late.  Curious, Alice decides to follow him.  She falls down a rabbit hole and finds herself in a very strange place where all kinds of objects can talk and food makes her shrink or grow taller.  She continues trying to follow the White Rabbit while also encountering other odd creatures like the Cheshire Cat, March Hare, Mad Hatter, and Tweedledum and Tweedledee.  While trying to find her way back home, Alice ends up meeting the Queen of Hearts.

From what I have read about the movie, Alice in Wonderland is mostly based on the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with a few things pulled from the second book, Through the Looking Glass.  Since I don't remember reading either book, I have no idea how much was taken from them for the movie.  

The first few minutes of Alice in Wonderland show Alice not paying attention to a lesson and then spotting the White Rabbit.  Most of what happens during the movie takes place after she falls down the rabbit hole and ends up in Wonderland.  Once there, she wanders around, meeting some unique characters and creatures while trying to keep up with the White Rabbit.  That is all that happens, so there isn't much of a plot.  It is more a series of random encounters barely connected by Alice and the White Rabbit that keeps popping up everywhere.  The lack of a stronger, more cohesive plot does make the movie weaker, though I do still think it is entertaining and worth watching.  It is just different from most of the other animated Disney movies.

Considering that Alice in Wonderland was made in 1951, the animation is well done.  It does look a bit dated now, but I think it looks good for when it was made.  Bright and vibrant colors are used, especially for things in Wonderland.  The backgrounds do look more static than what can be done with animation now, but that is to be expected since this is an older movie.  This is a good example of classic Disney animation and I think it has held up well.  Several songs are included that help to move the story, such as it is, forward.  I had forgotten there were so many songs in the movie.  

Alice is a young girl who is very curious and not that interested in paying attention to her lessons.  She rushes into things without thinking.  Kathryn Beaumont does fine with the voice of the character.  White Rabbit is always rushing and talking about being late when he turns up.  He is what causes Alice to end up in Wonderland since she decides to follow him.  Bill Thompson does the voice for White Rabbit and Dodo, another odd animal in Wonderland.  Cheshire Cat is a striped cat who appears and disappears while causing mischief at times.  Sterling Holloway does a good job with the voice of the character.

Tweedledee and Tweedledum are silly twins who tell Alice a story after she meets them.  Pat O'Malley does the voice for both of them as well as the characters in the story they tell.  Caterpillar is another character that Alice runs into.  The March Hare and the Mad Hatter are two goofy characters who are having an odd tea party when Alice discovers them.  The Queen of Hearts is a somewhat violent woman who is quick to order punishment.  

Voice Talent

Kathryn Beaumont - Alice
Jerry Colonna - March Hare
Verna Felton - Queen of Hearts
Richard Hayden - Caterpillar
Sterling Holloway - Cheshire Cat
Pat O'Malley - Tweedledee/Tweedledum
Bill Thompson - White Rabbit/Dodo
Ed Wynn - Mad Hatter
                
DVD Information

I got Alice in Wonderland on DVD several years ago.  The copy I have says it is The Masterpiece Edition and it has two discs.  I think there have been other DVD versions and I've read that a new one will be released in the end of March 2010.  The extras include several games that I haven't tried to play.  There is a sing a long with a few of the songs from the movie, a newly discovered song sung by Cheshire Cat.  A Mickey Mouse animated short called Thru the Mirror has Mickey in an adventure sort of like Alice.  My version of the DVD also comes with a Wonderland Card Game.  The cards are made out of thicker paper and feature different characters from the game.  It is a Memory type of game. 

Alice in Wonderland is a bit different Disney's other animated movies, but it is still entertaining.  People that enjoy animated movies may like this one as well.

This review is part of CaptainD's Good Movies EpiGuide 3 Write Off.

Animated Movie Reviews
101 Dalmatians ~ Aladdin ~ The Ant Bully ~ Antz ~ The Aristocats ~ Barnyard ~ Batman: Mask of the Phantasm ~ Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero ~ Beauty and the Beast ~ Bee Movie ~ Bolt ~ Brother Bear ~ A Bug's Life ~ Cars ~ Chicken Little ~ Chicken Run ~ Cloudy WIth a Chance of Meatballs ~ Coraline ~ Disney's A Chistmas Carol ~ Doctor Strange The Emperor's New Groove ~ Finding Nemo ~ A Flintstone's Christmas Carol ~ Flushed Away ~ Garfield: Holiday Celebrations ~ Happily N'Ever After ~ Happy Feet ~ Hellboy Animated: Blood & Iron ~ Hellboy Animated - Sword of Storms ~ Home on the Range ~ Hoodwinked ~ Horton Hears a Who ~ Ice Age ~ Ice Age: The Meltdown ~ Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs ~ Igor ~ The Incredibles ~ Invincible Iron Man ~ Jetsons: The Movie ~ Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius ~ Kung Fu Panda ~ Lilo & Stitch ~ The Little Mermaid ~ Looney Tunes: Back in Action ~ Madagascar ~ Meet the Robinsons ~ Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas ~ Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas ~ Monster House ~ Monsters, Inc. ~ Monsters vs. Aliens ~ Mulan ~ The Nightmare Before Christmas ~ Open Season ~ Over the Hedge ~ The Polar Express ~ Ratatouille ~ Robots ~ Shark Tale ~ Shaun the Sheep: Little Sheep of Horrors ~ Shrek ~ Shrek 2 ~ Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas ~ Sleeping Beauty ~ The Three Musketeers ~ Tim Burton's Corpse Bride ~ TMNT ~ Toy Story ~ Toy Story 2 ~ Treasure Planet ~ Ultimate Avengers ~ Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther ~ Up ~ Valiant ~ Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit ~ Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death ~ Wallace & Gromit - Three Amazing Adventures ~ WALL-E ~ The Wild ~

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD