“Alice in Wonderland” (1988)

Alice in Wonderland

Brief Description:

A young girl named Alice falls down a rabbit-hole and finds herself in Wonderland, a fantasy land of strange characters and ideas.

(from IMDb)

Date: 1988

Genre: family fantasy comedy adventure animated film

Running time: 51 minutes 

Cast: 

Olivia Martin (Alice)

Philip Hinton (Mad Hatter / King Phillip of Hearts / Bill the Lizard / Card Painter)

Paul Johnstone (Cheshire Cat / Chef / The Dormouse / Mock Turtle / Mr. Mouse / Duck / Card Painter)

Moya O'Sullivan (Duchess / Queen of Hearts)

Keith Scott (March Hare / White Rabbit / Dodo / Card Painter)

Director: Richard Trueblood

Production company: Burbank Films Australia

Based on: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll 

Wikipedia page

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Setting/Aesthetic/Feel: 2/5

I LOVE Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It’s one of my favourite books. This film, however, was a very disappointing adaptation. I didn’t expect it to be perfect—I just expected it to be better. Especially from Burbank Films.

To start off, the portrayal of Wonderland is weird and not at all pretty (contrary to the book). It’s also way too colourful and bright and pixilated—hard on the eyes. 

Characters: 3/5

I find it hard to be impartial about the characters. I suppose the greater portion were pretty much as they were in the book, but there were additions that bugged me. Alice was much less charming; the Dodo was just kooky; the Mock Turtle was ludicrous; the King wasn’t funny; the Duchess was really ugly; the Cook was Italian (??!!); and the Cat was straight-up creepy.  

Plot: 3/5

The plot followed the book pretty closely, I’ll admit. However, since the book hinges mostly on spoken wit, and the film removed 95% of it, the film was boring and irritating. It was also barely funny, although some of the physical comedy was, I suppose. I found the sound effects and exaggerated slapstick more annoying than anything but my 7-year-old brother was amused. 

I will say though that I liked the theme song. Although I don’t appreciate the syncopation and drum, the tune and lyrics are surprisingly poignant. 

Overall: 3/5

To be fair, I was very ill the first time I watched this and it felt like a fever dream. I still haven’t gotten rid of the impression. But rewatching it now, I wasn’t more impressed. So I’ll give it a 3 stars to be fair, but I probably felt more like a 2 stars. 

Anyways, don’t let your opinion of the book be created by this film or any other. The book is fantastic—just hilarious, and so clever. Read it ;)