D52–Alice in Wonderland

Following right on the heels of Cinderella is another literary adaptation from Disney, 1951’s Alice in Wonderland. Though it had a notoriously hectic production, that process actually turned out quite a good film, perhaps even better for all the chaos surrounding it.

The animation on display is deliberately more “cartoony” than other feature length films from Disney, and combined with the surreal visuals, it fits the tone of the original book perfectly. The characters are fantastic, and each of the scenes easily works all on its own. It is only when all of the scenes are strung together to make the whole that a little of the real world turmoil begins to seep through. Since each segment was produced more or less independently of the others, it feels as though is scene is simply trying to outdo the previous one, rather than following an ebb and flow of wackiness designed by the director. While this would spell disaster for most films, it almost works for this material, making it only a minor problem.

This film is a personal favourite of mine, despite its flaws. The controlled chaos is endlessly entertaining, as is all of the wordplay in the dialogue. This film definitely stands up, even after 60 years, and should be seen.

The original 1951 trailer

Next: Peter Pan (1953)