Alice in Wonderland
Director: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson
Cast: Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Sterling Holloway, Verna Felton
Inspired by the classic book created by Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland is a film where logic intermingles with whimsical nonsense. When an inquisitive child named Alice (Kathryn Beaumont) follows a white rabbit, she embarks on a journey that will bring to life a world found only in her imagination: Wonderland.
The conundrum of Alice in Wonderland is that while Alice dreams of a world created from nonsense, when she finally arrives in Wonderland – the ultimate expression of her idyllic fantasy - her logic plays havoc with her imagination which consequently results in her dream being transformed into a dark nightmare. Ironically, instead of enjoying the world she has envisioned, Alice quickly becomes frustrated with the shenanigans of Wonderland’s peculiar inhabitants and finds herself yearning for her home – the very epitome of practical logic that she was trying to escape from. While there are moments where Alice is comfortable in her strange fantasy, as she falls deeper into the tangled web of nonsense surrounding her and Wonderland grows more and more ominous, Alice wonders if she will ever truly find her way home.
The characters of Wonderland are a reflection of Alice’s emotional journey. In the beginning, Alice is an inquisitive child who falls into a whimsical daydream while listening to her sister read. The white rabbit is catalyst which sparks Alice’s journey into Wonderland. As she falls deeper into her dream, Alice encounters other characters (like the caterpillar and the singing flowers) and as each character begins to challenge Alice’s logic, she struggles to understand the nonsensical world that she has wandered into. Alice’s encounter with the Mad Hatter (Ed Wynn) and the March Hare marks a turning point in Alice’s dream. What begins as a tea party with three characters who are the quintessential essence of nonsense quickly dissolves into chaos when Alice challenges their nonsensical chatter with logic and causes them to conclude that Alice, herself, is mad. When she meets the Cheshire Cat for the second time, Alice is lost in the dark labyrinth of her dream. She yearns for the comfortable embrace of home, but her path is lost and she can’t find her way out. When Alice meets the Queen of Hearts (Verna Felton), her confrontation with Wonderland’s fiery monarch is unique in the sense that the Queen (like Alice) is a character ruled by logic rather than the illogical. The Queen’s character reflects Alice’s in the sense that as long as the Queen maintains control over everything, she is willing to play nice. If her power is challenged in any way, the Queen loses her temper until her power is restored. It is only after Alice challenges the Queen and is able to overcome her power that she is able to free herself from Wonderland.
Disney’s interpretation of Alice in Wonderland is a story tinged in whimsical imagination. While it differs from Lewis Carroll’s original work, the unique charm of the story is still very much intact. The songs create a marriage of sentimental warmth and humor and the animation is some of Disney’s most creative. I would highly recommend this film to anyone who loves Disney animation.
© 2013 – 2016 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.
Director: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson
Cast: Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Sterling Holloway, Verna Felton
Inspired by the classic book created by Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland is a film where logic intermingles with whimsical nonsense. When an inquisitive child named Alice (Kathryn Beaumont) follows a white rabbit, she embarks on a journey that will bring to life a world found only in her imagination: Wonderland.
The conundrum of Alice in Wonderland is that while Alice dreams of a world created from nonsense, when she finally arrives in Wonderland – the ultimate expression of her idyllic fantasy - her logic plays havoc with her imagination which consequently results in her dream being transformed into a dark nightmare. Ironically, instead of enjoying the world she has envisioned, Alice quickly becomes frustrated with the shenanigans of Wonderland’s peculiar inhabitants and finds herself yearning for her home – the very epitome of practical logic that she was trying to escape from. While there are moments where Alice is comfortable in her strange fantasy, as she falls deeper into the tangled web of nonsense surrounding her and Wonderland grows more and more ominous, Alice wonders if she will ever truly find her way home.
The characters of Wonderland are a reflection of Alice’s emotional journey. In the beginning, Alice is an inquisitive child who falls into a whimsical daydream while listening to her sister read. The white rabbit is catalyst which sparks Alice’s journey into Wonderland. As she falls deeper into her dream, Alice encounters other characters (like the caterpillar and the singing flowers) and as each character begins to challenge Alice’s logic, she struggles to understand the nonsensical world that she has wandered into. Alice’s encounter with the Mad Hatter (Ed Wynn) and the March Hare marks a turning point in Alice’s dream. What begins as a tea party with three characters who are the quintessential essence of nonsense quickly dissolves into chaos when Alice challenges their nonsensical chatter with logic and causes them to conclude that Alice, herself, is mad. When she meets the Cheshire Cat for the second time, Alice is lost in the dark labyrinth of her dream. She yearns for the comfortable embrace of home, but her path is lost and she can’t find her way out. When Alice meets the Queen of Hearts (Verna Felton), her confrontation with Wonderland’s fiery monarch is unique in the sense that the Queen (like Alice) is a character ruled by logic rather than the illogical. The Queen’s character reflects Alice’s in the sense that as long as the Queen maintains control over everything, she is willing to play nice. If her power is challenged in any way, the Queen loses her temper until her power is restored. It is only after Alice challenges the Queen and is able to overcome her power that she is able to free herself from Wonderland.
Disney’s interpretation of Alice in Wonderland is a story tinged in whimsical imagination. While it differs from Lewis Carroll’s original work, the unique charm of the story is still very much intact. The songs create a marriage of sentimental warmth and humor and the animation is some of Disney’s most creative. I would highly recommend this film to anyone who loves Disney animation.
© 2013 – 2016 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.