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Alice in Wonderland (1951)



Alice in Wonderland (1951)



6/10



Starring the voice of
Kathryn Beaumont
Ed Wynn
Richard Haydn

Directed by Ben Sharpsteen, Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson and Hamilton Luske

Disney’s Alice in Wonderland is colorful and wonderful, introducing many characters and lots of fun that will be remembered for decades. The movie is an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and it also borrows some additional elements and plots from Carroll's follow-up to Alice's Wonderland adventure, Through the Looking Glass.

Disney, like many kids of his age, grew up reading Lewis Carroll’s books. During his early desire to break into animation, Disney created a short film loosely based on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. This short was part of a series he made called Newman’s Laugh-O-Grams. When the Laugh-O-Gram series ended, Disney searched for distributors for his idea called Alice’s Comedies. He used the loosely based Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland short from the Laugh-O-Grams to pitch the series (Alice’s Comedies was a live-action-meets-animation series). He eventually found distributors, and the series ran from 1924 to 1927.


After the success of Snow White, Disney wanted to bring his Alice Comedies idea to life again, this time with a movie more closely aligned to the original work. However, after drafts and reels were created, Disney wasn’t satisfied, and the idea was shelved. It wasn’t until after World War II that the project was revisited. This time, Disney was determined to see it through, and he made sure it happened.

Alice in Wonderland is Disney's 13th animated feature, but it wasn’t well-received at the time of its release and didn’t perform well at the box office either. This was mostly due to the uneven pace of the movie and the portrayal of Alice herself as a rock-solid girl with the heart of a lion. The story follows a young girl named Alice (voiced by Kathryn Beaumont, who also voiced Wendy Darling in Disney's 1953 Peter Pan animation) who visits a land where things are not normal, and the abnormal is normal. She soon discovers that being in such a place is lonely and dreadful.

Funny enough, these are the very reasons the movie has become well-received today. After its disappointing box office run, Disney didn’t re-release the movie as he did with his other animations. However, sometime after his death, during a time when drug use was becoming more apparent in the world, the movie found itself in vogue with the times. This led Disney to re-release the movie in 1974, which was successful.

As mentioned, the movie has grown to be loved and respected. Many homes now have the DVD of this Disney masterpiece, and it stands as a grand adventure that both kids and adults can enjoy and embark on.


2 comments:

  1. As a fan of Alice in Wonderland, I think you'd like Oblivion Island!

    http://www.shopmanga.co.uk/title.php?Ref=10467skus

    "An animated romp for the young and the young at heart! Oblivion Island, an internationally acclaimed feature film blends Japanese folklore and storybook charm reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland into an exhilarating tale sure to amaze animation fans of all ages."

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout of your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Anyway, keep up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like this one today.

    ReplyDelete

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