Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Alice In Wonderland is a 1999 BBC TV movie interpretation of Lewis Carroll’s famous book of the same name. I remember watching it years ago when it was on television, and got it as a newspaper freebie. Though it isn’t earth-shatteringly good, it’s nicely done and entertaining enough for family entertainment on a lazy evening.

As with most made-for-TV versions of well-known books, this is loaded with personalities well known to the native TV audience. There are plenty of internationally famous thespians as well - the cast list boasts Ben Kingsley as Major Caterpillar, Whoopi Goldberg as the Cheshire Cat, Peter Ustinov as the Walrus, Gene Wilder as the Mock Turtle, and Christopher Lloyd as the White Knight. Robbie Coltrane, George Wendt, Ken Dodd, Jason Flemyng, Miranda Richardson, Sheila Hancock and Martin Short all appear in the movie too.

The eponymous Alice is played by Tina Majoria (Corrina, Corrina), who is a good choice for the part although thanks to Disney, I can’t accept an Alice without bright blonde hair. She plays the role well but the character isn’t exactly engaging. Just in case you don’t know the story, Alice is preparing for a recital at a party and she’d really rather not do it. Escaping into the garden she starts to feel drowsy and soon enough finds herself following a white rabbit who complains about being late all the time. Then she falls and falls, finding herself in a room with a tiny door that she couldn’t possibly get through, some food labelled “Eat Me” and some liquid labelled “Drink Me”. Of course, it all gets weirder from there, and she finds herself meeting may weird and wonderful creatures and characters.

These include the Cheshire Cat, who can turn invisible - the smile is the last thing to go - a queen who enjoys shouting “off with their head” and playing croquet with flamingos, the very eccentric Mad Hatter and March Hare, and battling twins Tweedledum and Tweedledee. The main problem with this interpretation was that while all of the important elements from the book were incorporated, it felt very like a series of vignettes rather than a coherent whole. One scene follows another without any real flow, resulting in a somewhat disjointed feel to it all. The stars generally put in good performances, though only the ultra-reliable Martin Short (The Mad Hatter) and Miranda Richardson (The Queen of Hearts) were really memorable. Few parts managed to actually be funny, with only Short, Richardson and Robbie Coltrane really managing to raise a laugh or even much of a smile.

The special effects were typical TV-movie fare, not all that bad but not terribly impressive. Then again they helped to add to the slightly unreal feel of the whole thing, which I think is what the Director (Nick Willing) and the production team were aiming at. It’s a competent TV version of the book, but unless you’re a particular fan of Alice In Wonderland (or, if you prefer, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”), I wouldn’t particularly recommend it. Since it was a freebie though I don’t mind - but if you’re going to have to pay money for it, make sure it isn’t much!

Quotes

(A lot of these lines are funnier to read than they are in the movie!)

Alice: I think carefully before acting rashly.
Queen of Hearts: Sound advice.

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Tweedledee: I was an advisor to the British army.
Tweedledum: I advised them not to take him, but they wouldn't listen.

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Alice: You don't seem to have much riding practice.
White Knight: What makes you say that?
Alice: You keep falling off your horse!


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Queen of Hearts: I gave you fair warning. Either you or your head must be *off*!

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White Knight: I see you're admiring my box. It's my own invention, to keep sandwiches in. You see, I carry it upside-down so they don't get wet when it rains.
Alice: ...But they can drop out. The lid is open.
White Knight: So, THAT's what happened to my sandwiches.

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Alice: Why am I here?
Duchess: To save Jack from a death worse than fate!

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Alice: You have to tread with care when dealing with cats, they have influence and are seen in all the smart places.

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A modern-day retelling of this sort of story can be found in Spirited Away


This is an entry to Diana pinion’s Short Write Off as it features Martin Short. Better late than never!


Martin Short was also in Merlin
Miranda Richardson was also in Phantom of the Opera. She was also in the Merlin above.
Chirstopher Lloyd was also in Back to the Future, Clue
Jason Flemyng was also in Stardust, The Jungle Book
Ben Kinglsey was also in Thunderbirds


Recommended: No

Viewing Format: DVD