Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Next up on the list is the Disney classic Alice in Wonderland.

The Movie:

Alice in Wonderland is the 13th movie in the Disney Animated Canon and the 2nd Silver Age Film.  It received lukewarm reception upon its initial release and lost money at the box-office.  Walt Disney himself was disappointed by the film, as he felt it lacked heart, and he didn't re-release the film in theaters, instead opting to show it on television.  It finally got a theatrical re-release in 1974, as the movie had gained a cult following, especially on college campuses.  Today the film is held up as a classic of the Silver Age alongside the other movies of that era.

Alice in Wonderland is an adaptation of the Lewis Carroll novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with some elements taken from that book's sequel, Through the Looking Glass.  The title Alice is a young girl who, while sitting on the countryside and being bored by her lessons, sees a White Rabbit wearing clothes and carrying a pocket watch.  Alice follows the rabbit and falls down a hole into a place called Wonderland, where nothing makes sense.  Along her journey, she meets many colorful and somewhat insane characters, including Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, the Cheshire Cat, the Caterpillar, and the Queen of Hearts.

I really enjoy this movie, and it is one of my favorite Disney movies.  That might sound weird since I criticized The Jungle Book for being very episodic, and Alice in Wonderland is even more so, but that's kind of the point of this story, there is no point.  All this movie is supposed to be is a crazy adventure, and that's what you get.  This story and animation are practically made for one another.  Much of the film's look is due to artist Mary Blair, whose colorful designs were revolutionary for the time.  That nature is lost on a modern audience, but the movie still looks good.

The movie does a nice job utilizing much of Carroll's poetry.  The voice acting is superb, especially Ed Wynn's manic ramblings as the Mad Hatter.  Kathryn Beaumont, who was around 12 during the production, brings a natural charm as Alice.  (As Beaumont was also used as the model for Alice, this version is generally accepted as being 12, whereas the original book character was 7.)

Alice in Wonderland has more songs than any other Disney movie, and several others were cut.  Many of these songs are only present as small clips.  The reason for all this music is that Disney sent out requests to many different songwriters to set the poetry of Carroll to music.  Thus Sammy Fain, Bob Hilliard, Mack David, Al Hoffman, Jerry Livingston, Oliver Wallace, Ted Sears, Gene de Paul, and Don Raye all have music credits for this movie.  It would be too much to list all the songs, but some of the standout tracks are "The Unbirthday Song," "I'm Late," "All in the Golden Afternoon," and Sammy Fain's title song "Alice in Wonderland," which would later become a jazz standard.

On a side note, I once was the assistant director for a middle school production of Disney's stage version, Alice in Wonderland Jr.  I found it interesting that while this version uses mostly songs from the movie, Disney took the opportunity to insert Song of the South's "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" as well, even making it a signature song of the show.  I guess this is a case of trying to find ways to use one of their most popular songs while ignoring the source material.

Presence in the Parks:

Alice in Wonderland gives us one of the most iconic rides in all of the Disney Parks, and judging at least by my family's photos, the one you use pictures of to show that you in fact were at a Disney Park.  That of course is the Mad Tea Party, or as people simply call it, the Teacups.

The original version was an opening day attraction at Disneyland in 1955, and it was moved to its current location in 1983 during the renovation of Fantasyland.  Notably, this is the only version without a roof.

Mad Tea Party, Disneyland, July 1988

The Magic Kingdom's version opened in 1971 and also originally didn't have a roof, but one was added in 1974 due to Florida's more uncertain weather conditions.

Mad Tea Party, Magic Kingdom, July 1991

Mad Tea Party, Magic Kingdom, June 1995

Mad Tea Party, Magic Kingdom, May 2015

Alice topiary outside Mad Tea Party, Magic Kingdom, May 2015

The ride can also be found in Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.

Disneyland also has a dark ride simply called Alice in Wonderland that opened in 1958.

Alice and other characters are often seen in the parks.  In the Magic Kingdom, they can often be met near the Mad Tea Party, while Alice has a regular meet at the United Kingdom Pavilion in Epcot.

Queen of Hearts, UK Pavilion, Epcot, June 1995

White Rabbit and Alice, UK Pavilion, Epcot, June 1995

Alice characters often pop up in parades, and notably were featured in the Main Street Electric Parade.

Main Street Electric Parade, Magic Kingdom, May 2015

Alice in Wonderland is included in the Bubble Sequence in Fantasmic! with a short clip of "I'm Late."

The Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts get cards in the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.