Alice in Wonderlandis a 1951 Americananimatedmusicalfantasy-adventure filmproduced byWalt Disney Productionsand based on theAlicebooks byLewis Carroll.The 13th release of Disney's animated features, the film premiered in London on July 26, 1951, and in New York City on July 28, 1951. The film features the voices ofKathryn BeaumontasAlice,Sterling Hollowayas theCheshire Cat,Verna Feltonas theQueen of Hearts, andEd Wynnas theMad Hatter.Walt Disneyfirst attempted unsuccessfully to adaptAliceinto an animated feature film during the 1930s, and he revived the idea in the 1940s. The film was originally intended to be a live-action/animated film; however, Disney decided to make it an all-animated feature in 1946. The film was considered a disappointment on its initial release, leading to Walt Disney showing it on television as one of the first episodes of his TV seriesDisneyland. It proved to be very successful on television, especially during thepsychedelic era. It was eventually re-released in theaters which proved to be massively successful. The film became even more successful through merchandising and subsequent home video releases. While the film was critically panned on its initial release, it has since been regarded as one of Disney's greatest animated classics, notably one of the biggestcult classicsin the animation medium, as well as the best film adaptation ofAlice. A live-action adaptation of Carroll's works and the animated film,Alice in Wonderland, directed byTim Burton, was released in 2010. A sequel to the film,Alice Through the Looking Glass, directed byJames Bobin, was released in 2016.
Plot:[]
Alicebecomes bored with her sister's history lesson on theNorman conquest of Englandand expresses her want of adventure, leading her to a riverbank. There, Alice spots a passingWhite Rabbitin a waistcoat, exclaiming that he is "late for a significant date." She gives chase, following him into a large hole. She sees him leave through a tiny door, whose talking knob advises her toshrink to an appropriate heightby drinking from a bottle marked "Drink Me." She does so and floats out through the keyhole into a sea of her own tears, which she had cried after eating a biscuit marked "Eat Me," which caused her to grow very large. As she continues to follow the Rabbit, she encounters numerous characters, includingTweedledum and Tweedledee, who recount the tale of "The Walrus and the Carpenter."
Alice tracks the Rabbit to his house; he mistakes her for his housemaid "Mary Ann" and sends her to retrieve his gloves. While searching for the gloves in the Rabbit's house, Alice finds and eats another cookie marked "Eat Me" and grows large again, getting stuck in the house. Thinking her a monster, the Rabbit asks theDodoto help expel her. When the Dodo decides to burn the house down, Alice escapes by eating a carrot from the Rabbit's garden, which causes her to shrink to three inches tall. Continuing to follow the Rabbit, Alice meets a garden of talking flowers who initially welcome her witha song, but then make disparaging comments about her appearance and order her to leave. Alice then encounters aCaterpillar, who becomes enraged at Alice after she laments her small size (which is the same as the Caterpillar's) after which the Caterpillar turns into a butterfly and flies away. Before leaving, the Caterpillar advises Alice to eat a piece of a mushroom to alter her size. She does so and returns to her original height, continuing her chase of the Rabbit.
In the woods, Alice meets theCheshire Cat, who advises her to visit theMad Hatteror theMarch Hareto learn the Rabbit's location. She encounters both, along with theDormouse, at the Hare's house having a mad tea party and celebrating their "unbirthdays." The Hatter and the Hare ask Alice to explain her predicament, to which Alice tries but becomes frustrated by their interruptions and absurd logic. As she prepares to leave, the Rabbit appears, continuing to exclaim that he is late; the Hatter examines the Rabbit's pocket watch and says it is "two days slow," and attempts to "fix" it by filling it with food and tea and ends up destroying it after declaring it "mad." The Rabbit laments that his watch was an "unbirthday present," and the Hatter and Hare sing "The Unbirthday Song" to him before throwing him back into the woods. Fed up with the nonsense, Alice decides to return home, but her surroundings completely change, and she gets lost. Fearing she is lost forever, she sits on a rock sobbing.
The Cheshire Cat reappears and advises Alice to ask theQueen of Heartsfor directions home, showing her a "shortcut" to theKingand tyrannical Queen's castle. The Queen orders the beheading of a trio of playing card gardeners who mistakenly planted white roses instead of red ones (butpaintthem to make themlookred), and forces Alice to play against her in a croquet match, in which live flamingos, card guards, and hedgehogs are used as equipment. The equipment rig the game in favor of the Queen. The Cat appears again and plays a trick on the Queen, causing her to fall over. The Cat disappears in time to make it look like Alice was the prankster, but before the Queen can order her execution, the King suggests a trial.
At Alice's trial, the Mad Hatter, March Hare, and Dormouse are called to the stand as witnesses, briefly celebrating the Queen's unbirthday and giving her a headpiece as a present, which turns into the Cat. Chaos ensues when the Dormouse, frightened when Alice points out the Cat, runs around the courtroom. As the Queen orders Alice's execution, Alice eats a piece of the Caterpillar's mushroom she saved and grows large again. The King and Queen order her to leave the courthouse, but she refuses and insults the Queen. As she does so, she returns to her normal size, and the Queen orders her execution. Alice flees, and the Queen, King, card guards, and other characters give chase. When Alice reaches the small door she encountered, the doorknob shows her that she is actually already outside, asleep. Alice yells at herself to wake up; she does thanks to her sister, and they return home for tea.
Cast:[]
- Kathryn BeaumontasAlice
- Ed WynnasMad Hatter
- Jerry ColonnaasMarch Hare
- Richard HaydnasCaterpillar
- Sterling HollowayasCheshire Cat
- Verna FeltonasQueen of Hearts
- J. Pat O'MalleyasTweedledum and Tweedledee/Walrus and Carpenter/Mother Oyster
- Bill ThompsonasWhite Rabbit/The Dodo
- Heather AngelasAlice's sister
- Joseph KearnsasDoorknob
- Larry GreyasBill the Lizard/Card Painter
- Queenie LeonardasA Bird in a Tree/Snooty Flower
- Dink TroutasKing of Hearts
- Doris LloydasThe Rose
- Jimmy MacDonaldasDormouse/Flamingos
- The Mellomen(Thurl Ravenscroft,Bill Lee,Max Smith, andBob Hamlin) asCard Painters
- Don BarclayasOther Cards
- Lucille Blissas Sunflower and Tulip[4]
- Pinto Colvigas The Flamingos
- Tommy Luske as Young Pansy
- Marni Nixonas The Singing Flowers
- Norma Zimmeras The White Rose
