Movies - Alice in Wonderland

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	Movies - Alice in Wonderland

Alice In Wonderland is the thirteenth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions and originally released to theaters on July 28, 1951 by RKO Radio Pictures. Lewis Carroll's surreal books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass have been frequently adapted for film; this adaptation solved the problems of the setting by using animation. The film features the voices of Kathryn Beaumont as Alice and Ed Wynn as the Mad Hatter. Made under the supervision of Walt Disney himself, this film and its animation are often regarded as some of the finest work in Disney studio history, despite the lackluster, even hostile, reviews it originally received, especially in the UK.

History

Production

Walt Disney had been interested in the Alice novels and had tried adapting the first book during the late 1930s and early 1940s; unfortunately, World War II caused the project to be shelved. After the war, Disney decided to take characters from both of the Alice novels and use them in the planned movie. Disney also thought of making Alice In Wonderland as a mix of live action and animation (as in Disney's early Alice shorts, which featured a live-action Alice in an animated setting, as well as the feature Song of the South
), with Luana Patten as Alice, until this idea eventually grew into a fully animated musical. In fact, in the course of the production, some 30 to 40 songs (many of which with lyrics copied directly from Carroll's text) were thought up for the movie and then 2/3 of them were placed on the cutting room floor (including one that did eventually show up as part of Peter Pan
). Oliver Wallace and Frank Churchill were called on to help with the compositions of some of the songs, but Walt still needed help with the creations of "novelty songs". Consequently, he called on the same Tin Pan Alley songwriters he asked to compose the songs for Cinderella
.

Release: Reactions and criticisms

Upon its release, the film was panned by critics and failed miserably at the box office. Disney later said he despised the film, claiming that, unlike Cinderella, Alice had a lack of "heart" and that compared to the sympathetic Cinderella (whom most people felt for), most people didn't care about Alice. (It seems that Disney proposed the movie to be an hour and 15 minutes, mainly because he didn't want the movie to be too long for people to watch.) As a result, it was not reissued theatrically unlike other Disney films. It was, however, the first Disney animated feature to be shown on television, as an episode of Disneyland, where it was edited severely to run within a running time of an hour.

Years after the film, many people wondered if the animators were "on something" when making the film. These questions were justified because there are many things in the film (and in the books, for that matter) that suggest drug use: Alice ingests potions, wafers, and mushrooms that alter her size or consciousness, her perspective changes constantly, and she loses track of time, space, and even her own identity. A hookah-smoking caterpillar even appears in one of the scenes. In fact, the story might be considered a hallucination. Naturally, it became the Disney studio's most requested 16mm film rental title for colleges, college towns, and private individuals across the country.

Re-Release schedule, home video, and beyond

The surreal elements in the film sparked a revival of the film in the psychedelic generation, which led to theatrical reissues in 1974 and 1981. The psychedelic association was furthered by synchronization enthusiasts who found simliarities in run time and themes between the film and the Pink Floyd album The Wall
. The film was released on video in 1981 and 1986 (though it was mastered for tape in 1985), staying in general release ever since, with a 40th Anniversary video release in 1991 (this and the 1986 video release were in Disney's Classics Collection), and again in 1995 and 1999 (these two were in Disney's Masterpiece Collection.) It was released on DVD in Region 2 in 1999 and in Region 1 in 2000 (under the Gold Classic Collection DVD series), and on a fully restored two disc edition in 2004. A video game version of the film was released on Game Boy Color by Nintendo of America on October 4, 2000 in North America. Additionally, Disney's take on Wonderland also appeared as one of the first worlds in Disney and Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts.

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Movies - Alice in Wonderland

History

Production

Release: Reactions and criticisms

Re-Release schedule, home video, and beyond

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