Alice in Wonderland

This week we travel to a strange land in Alice in Wonderland.

 

 

Alice in Wonderland premiered in 1951 and runs the typical Disney-length of about 75 minutes.  Alice in Wonderland is not a movie that I grew up with.  I’m not sure entirely sure why.  I’m thinking that it might have fallen in my mom’s classification of “weird movies.”  And I have to say, I definitely see how it would fall there.  The film tells the story of a presumably British young girl who would rather daydream than focus on her history lesson.  She is soon distracted from her daydream by a White Rabbit dressed in a waistcoat and running along with his very large pocket watch exclaiming that he is late!  What is Alice to do but follow him?  She soon finds herself in Wonderland where she learns that living in a world of nonsense may not be as fun as dreaming about a world of nonsense…

 

Alice in Wonderland is definitely rather thin on plot.  The plotline is essentially Alice’s pursuit of the White Rabbit and then her desire to make her way home.  I did not find myself terribly drawn into this film as it did not have an overly-likable cast of characters and there was no story or outcome that I found myself rooting for.  It was essentially a rather strange trip and I just felt like I hopped in for the ride.  (Though the Disneyland Alice in Wonderland ride itself is pretty fun. J)

 

 

 

The film hosts a very colorful cast of characters who if not precisely fun to meet are certainly interesting.  From the Cheshire Cat to the Walrus and the Carpenter, from the March Hare to Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, from the Queen of Hearts to the Mad Hatter, Alice certainly meets many an interesting character on her journey through Wonderland.  The Cheshire Cat perhaps put it best with "We're all mad here."  My favorite interesting fact that I learned in my research of the film is that the Mad Hatter is voiced by actor Ed Wynn aka Uncle Albert from Mary Poppins!  (Tea party on the ceiling anyone?  That scene suddenly makes a lot more sense...)

 

 

 

While most of the characters are a bit mad, they still say some clever (and silly) things.  Here are a few of my favorites:

• Alice: "Well, after this I should think nothing of falling down the stairs."
• March Hare: "Ah, that's just it.  If you don't think, then you shouldn't talk."
• White Rabbit: "I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!"
• Queen of Hearts: "Off with their heads!"
• Dodo: "Ahoy, and other nautical expressions!" 
• Mad Hatter: "A very merry unbirthday to you!"

 

 

The best part of Alice in Wonderland for me is the way it impacts my life today.  You see, one of my favorite Disney pastimes is spending time with the Mad T Party Band at Disney's California Adventure.  It's a cover band with the Mad Hatter on lead vocals along with Alice, Dormouse on the electric guitar, the March Hare on base, Caterpillar on the keyboard, and the Cheshire Cat on drums.  In a word: FUN!!!  It rocks!  I highly recommend checking it out if given the opportunity.  (The typical Sunday night cast is my favorite!)

 

 

So while the movie is nonsensical, it is still funny, and it teaches two valuable life lessons.  First, the gift of imagination opens one to worlds (and lands!) of possibilities.  Dare to dream!  Secondly, it also teaches that the real world is to be appreciated.  And well lands of imagination can be great, sometimes the best place to come home to is reality.  With that I will leave you with words from the man with the gift of making imagination a reality, Walter Elias Disney:

 

We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious, and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.

 

 

Coming Up Next: Peter Pan