Customer Reviews

Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection) [VHS]

5 star:		(239)
4 star:		(60)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

Because of critics' reaction to Alice in Wonderland in 1951, it is written, Walt Disney actually apologized for the movie and soon after his television show became a hit a few years later, he showed it in its entirety on TV, thus relegating it to his "minor film" category. The movie has never been able to shake this image, and that is a shame. We should remember that "Wizard of Oz" wasn't a giant box office hit in 1939, and only after it was made an annual event on television did it become a classic in the eyes of the public. "Alice in Wonderland" deserves far more attention than it has ever received. The characters are wonderful. The music is humable, even singable. It's a short film that takes the viewer into a dreamland, and Disney's animated version stands up against any of the other live versions that have popped up over the years. It's time to give this movie the credit it deserves as a classic in animation. Watch it from a child's point of view, with the amazing images of a cat that disappears, talking cards, and Alice constantly growing and shrinking. And then enjoy it as an adult for the dream world into which we are all swept. And furthermore, the DVD transfer is fantastic, with as many extras as one will find on a Disney non-special edition disc. Take another look at this one and be swept away.

The story of the animated film is similar to that of the first book, but contains parts of the second book. Dozy Alice is so silly she follows trouble by chasing a talking rabbit down hs hole. At the bottom, she drinks an unknown substance which helps her get through a talking door into Wonderland. Here she meets the Dodo, TweedleDum and TweedleDee (who tell her the story of the Walrus and the Carpenter), the Talking flowers (watch out for the snobby Iris!), the Caterpillar and the Cheshire Cat. She even has un-birthday tea with the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. However, Alice gets caught up in a game of croquet with the Queen of Hearts, and later a trial. The whole thing becomes such a nightmare, Alice realises she's had a dream while she dozed off.

Firstly, I don't know why loads of people think this film is cheesy. I know Alice isn't for everyone, but when you look at the other films made based on Children's classics by Disney (eg- Jungle Book, Hunchback of Notre Dame), you'll see it's more faithful than those films to the original. However if you have read the books and haven't seen this film, some characters are missing (eg- Duchess, Mock Turtle, Knave of Hearts, White Knight). This may just think that Disney has ruined this classic forever. They haven't. It's the best adaption I've ever seen.

Although I actually have the PAL version, I suppose the movie is just the same over in North America. The best bits are the Walrus and the Carpenter, the garden of singing flowers and flamingo croquet. And the Mad Tea Party is still the funniest part of a Disney classic. So buy this movie. Wether it's a video tape or DVD.

(I also live near Carroll's birth place!)

This is one of the best DVDs to come out in a whlie. Though the movie it contains is not neccessarily Disney's most readily accessible title (except for during the sixties when they found out it had gained popularity on college campuses, know-what-I-mean, nudge-nudge) it is two discs of pure Disney magic.

Setting aside the feature, which we all know is one of the best adaptations of Lewis Carroll's works (and if not the most accurate, certainly the most "watchable," as it is just dark enough to keep that edge but...well, let me put it this way: have you SEEN another version of "Through the Looking Glass?" I need a stiff drink before getting into that) the real highlight of this disc is the special features.

Two TV introductions by Walt, a 1950's making-of featurette, vintage television programs includin the historic "One Hour in Wonderland" the first Disney TV show, a whole album's worth of demos for songs that were never used, concept art galleries and more. This disc is an essential for anyone, like me, who is in love with Disney animation.

If for no other reason than the "One Hour in Wonderland" show features a clip from "Song of the South." It's worth buying the whole disc just for that, since it's the closest that movie's ever going to come to a DVD release in this lifetime.

Back in the day, Disney made some great animated films. In fact, you know it's decent if it was made when Walt Disney was still alive. Now, it's a money grubbing corporation cranking out flix and merchandise for $$ like Full Moon Productions. I mean, c'mon! Lion King 2? Little Mermaid 2? Lady and the Tramp 2? Aladdin 3? Cinderella 2? At least twenty different versions of 101 Dalmations? Lets wake up here. Disney used to put out some fantastic films, and Alice In Wonderland is right there at the top. It's the most experimental and disturbing of the Disney features. It's also hilarious! Naturally it doesn't follow the book(s) 100%, but I don't think I've ever seen an adaptaion of Alice that has(if Terry Gilliam got ahold of the rights, THEN you'd see something spectacular!). Some reviewers whine about how this is "boring", "confusing" and "inappropriate for children." Grow up, will ya? It's Alice In Wonderland, not Eraserhead! What kind of adult is "confused" by a Disney film that my daughter can follow? Believe me, this movie will NOT corrupt or traumatize your child. You have the Stanley Runk guarantee on that. Unless your child is a genius and more educated in the ways of the world than you are, they will not pick up on any kind of drug references. And it won't inspire your daughter to smoke a cigar if she sees a talking walrus doing it. My daughter and I watch this all the time. We laugh, we sing, we quote it, we have more fun with this film than any other Disney film. To my knowledge she hasn't started smoking cigars yet. So put that in your hookah and smoke it, Mister! If you haven't seen this(unlikely), pick it up for sure. It's so enjoyable and made in a time when Disney took chances and didn't adhere to the moronic P.C. formulas they do today.

Yup, I got it yesterday, and watched everything on it. Here's my feelings on this dvd.

The Prevews
I really liked the previews on this dvd. Mulan 2 is a great one, and so is Mary Poppins. Home on the Range is ok. There is also a preview for the Brother Bear dvd, but it is almost the same as the original theatrical preview. It also has the "hot tub" trailer from Lion King 1.5.

The Movie
This was a real refresher to me because I've only seen "Alice in Wonderland" once or twice when I was really young (like 3 or 4). My favorite part is when Alice sings "A world of My Own". I also like the singing flowers in "The Golden Afternoon" and "The Unbirthday Song" (I remembered both of those songs from the Sing-along tapes I would watch over and over when I was younger). Overall I liked the movie. I liked the smoking caterpillar! The only parts I didn't really like were the part with the Walrus and the Carpenter, and the croquet game followed by the Trial.

The Virtual Tea Party
I did not like this at all! I felt like I was watching an episode of Barney! The only neat thing I discovered was if you click on the index of activities, you'll see "cookie recipies". Click on that, and there are three recipies fro Chocolate chip, Peanut butter, and Oatmeal cookies. I like to cook, so that appealed to me.

The Sing-alongs
I really liked these since I have always loved Disney's Sing-along Songs. It's also neat beacause these sing-alongs (of "The Golden Afternoon" and "The Unbirthday Song") show the film before it was restored. Speaking of the restoration, It's WONDERFUL! They did such a great job!

The "Alice Set Top Game"
One word, boring. This was even lamer than the tea party! It shows you, like 5 objects. Then, it asks you a question like "What does the Mad Hatter wear on his head?" You would then click on his hat....see, lame.

"I'm Odd"
I liked the song, but I wish they created new animation and integrated it into the film. What they did was just use their animation of the Cheshire Cat that was in the movie, and try to make it fit the new song. The song itself though, is enjoyable and very pleasing to the ear.

"Thru the Mirror"
This Mickey mouse cartoon was cute and interesting to watch.

One Hour in Wonderland
I LOVED this! It was very enjoyable to watch. The story was, Walt had the Magic Mirror from Snow White, and he entertained the girl that voiced Alice and some other people with it by having the mirror show them parts of Disney movies and cartoons. These included, "The Silly Song" from Snow White, A Mickey Mouse cartoon where Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were all cleaning a big clock, Zip-a-dee-doo-dah plus a little more of Song of the South, and a Pluto cartoon where Pluto took a bone from a bulldog. After that, they showed Disney animators playing "Jingle Bells" with trumpets, tubas, and other wind instruments. That was very comical . At the end, it showed "The Unbirthday Song" from Alice in Wonderland. Throughout the show, it also showed old advertisements for Coca-cola, and they were amusing to see as well.

The Alice Comedy
I didn't think it was very good. It just showed a real girl, going through a dull cartoon world. I thought it got boring after the first 3 or 4 min, (it's 8 minutes total).

The Original Theatrical Trailers
They were nice.

Walt's TV introductions
They were nice too.

"Operation Wonderland"
I really liked this "Behind the scenes" of Alice. I always look foward to this kind of stuff on Disney dvd's.

The Fred Waring Show
I liked the first part of this, where Walt talked briefly abot Snow White, Cinderella, and Alice. After that though, I didn't like it at all. It was very weird seeing the people on the show act out some of the scenes in the movie. The Cheshire cat scene was particulary weird acted out with real people.

Deleted Materials
These were very good. "From Wonderland to Neverland-Evolution of a song was neat since "Second Star to the Right" was originally written for Alice with different words. "Alice daydreams in the park" was ok, and the "Song demos" were very fun to listen to.

Art Galleries
They are very nice pictures, but it would have been nice to see more.

Well, that's my review! I hope you enjoyed it!

Just a quick note here - if you are thinking of purchasing a copy of Alice in Wonderland now, just wait a little longer.

As of January 27, 2004, Disney is doing a "Special Edition", two disc DVD release that will be similar to thier recent reissue of Sleeping Beauty.

With all of the features that will be on that DVD, people who buy this DVD now will be disappointed if they don't wait.

Disney will be including all of the "Making of", pre-production art, and other features that make their new "Special Editions" great, to this new edition.

There are three other "Special Editions" due in 2004 - Mary Poppins, Lilo and Stitch, and Pocahontas. Alice will be the first released in 2004. Also, there's the "Platinum" edition of Aladdin in October 2004. Worth waiting for in my opinion. You have been warned. :-)

"Alice in Wonderland", the 1951 Walt Disney animated classic is probably more well-known to this current generation for the live action film that came out in 2010 but for previous generations, the Walt Disney animated classic, the 13th film of the Walt Disney Animated Classics Series captured the hearts of Americans as it technically was an impressive and colorful film.

But "Alice in Wonderland" was one of the most difficult films for Walt Disney. Originally planned for creation in the '30s, the film would not come out until the early '50s. With various written adaptations, the difficulty was trying to take the original 1865 novel and bring it to life via animated.

Part of the problem lies in the fact that the original novel featured a unique style for its fantasy world from its artwork to its original story. Many wanted to capture Lewis Carroll's story but Walt Disney felt it was too literal and it was not what he wanted.

It's important for people to know that prior to "Alice in Wonderland", Walt Disney and its studios were heavily affected because of World War II, also where the first animated film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" were a financial success, the second film "Pinocchio" was not and other films that would recoup money through worldwide release, wouldn't happen because of the war. They needed a film that would be a financial hit at the box office and something that would doom the company.

While "Dumbo" was cheaper and did make its money back, "Bambi" would lose money because of World War II and this delayed "Alice in Wonderland" (and also "Peter Pan"). In fact, Walt Disney was heavily in debt from the '30s and '40s that in 1950, everything was put on the line with the film "Cinderella" and fortunately, the film was financially successful and eventually gave Disney the freedom it needed to create more animated films.

"Alice in Wonderland" (which can be seen as one of the books in the opening of "Pinocchio") would finally be created after nearly 18 years of discussion of the project and almost 30 years after Walt Disney made the original "Alice Comedy".

And this film would follow visuals full of color courtesy of Mary Blair and company. Music would be the focus of the film (the film has more songs than any Walt Disney animated film) and would be loosely based on Lewis Carrol's books (this of course would anger British film and literary critics).

But unfortunately, the film would not do well initially at the box office and unlike other Disney films which would be re-released theatrically, "Alice in Wonderland" was not re-released during Walt Disney's lifetime but only on television. In "The Disney Films", animator Ward Kimball is quoted as saying the film failed because there were too many directors. Each director trying to one-up the other director. In his words, "had a self-canceling effect of the final product".

But "Alice in Wonderland" did find new life and that was during the late '60s as drugged out college students loved films that were trippy and cool and eventually along with "Fantasia" and "The Three Caballeros", "Alice in Wonderland" became popular. But of course, Disney didn't want this film associated with the drug culture and withdrew prints from universities. But Disney eventually would issue a re-release of the film in 1974.

But for today's current generation who have watched only the live action film of "Alice in Wonderland", now is the time to watch "Alice in Wonderland" as the film is receiving its 60th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray and DVD.

But before watching this film, for those only familiar with the live action film, think about "Alice in Wonderland" (live action) as a sequel to this animated film. Where the live action focuses on Alice as a young woman, the animated film focusing on Alice as young teenage girl.

VIDEO:

"Alice in Wonderland: 60th Anniversary Edition" is presented in 1080p High-Definition, Full Screen (1:33:1). And as anyone who have watched any of the Walt Disney animated classics on Blu-ray, knows that Disney's treatment has been nothing short of perfect. And because this classic is known for its colors, its animation and presentation, the picture quality of "Alice in Wonderland" is magnificent.

I have tested this film on two different types of televisions and suffice to say, this film doesn't look 60-years-old at all. Wonderland looks absolutely beautiful! Colors are vibrant and really come out with clarity and as always with Disney, their frame-by-frame restoration shows as there is not one blemish at all. Alice's blue dress, the Queen's red and black dress, the artistic backgrounds used throughout the colorful world, everything is full of detail.

There are no color blemishes, artifacting, banding, DNR that takes away this visual presentation of this animated classic. Once again, Disney continues to aim for perfection and again, Disney has achieved it!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"Alice in Wonderland: 60th Anniversary Edition is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD MA and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. The lossless track sounds exquisite and because this film does feature a lot of music, this is the best I have heard of "Alice in Wonderland". Dialogue and music is crystal clear, I didn't notice any hissing, crackle or pop despite this animated film being 60-years-old. This release is the best I have heard of any video release of "Alice in Wonderland" thus far. Magnificent!

Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Alice in Wonderland: 60th Anniversary Edition" features the following special features:

* Disney View - While watching "Alice in Wonderland", instead of black borders on the sides, Disney View adds artwork that on those black borders by Michael Humphries. The artwork changes and compliments the scenes of the film.
* Painting the Roses Red Game - A remote control driven game in which you must paint the roses red (try to get color combination of 9 roses and make them all red).
* Through the Keyhole: A Companion's Guide to Wonderland - (1:16:15) Kathryn Beaumont introduces a comparison of "Alice in Wonderland" and its comparison to the the original Lewis Carroll classic. While watching the film on one side, another side features commentary of those discussing the Lewis Carroll classic.
* Walt Disney Color TV Introduction (1959) - A never-before-seen color TV intro by Walt.
* Reference Footage: Alice and the Doorknob - (1:32) Kathryn Beaumont, the voice of Alice, provides an introduction to this newly discovered live action reference footage of her playing Alice talking to the doorknob.
* Pencil Test: Alice Shrinks - (:54) Kathryn Beaumont introduces a newly discovered pencil test of Alice shrinking.
* "I'm Odd" Newly Discovered Cheshire Cat Song + Intro - (3:56) Featuring the "I'm Odd" Cheshire Cat song (and intro scene) that was cut from the final cut of the film.
* Thru the Mirror Mickey Mouse Animated Short (Now in Hi-Def) - (8:48) A 1936 animated feature starring Mickey Mouse in a "Alice through the Wonder Glass" style of storyline.
* Art Gallery (with new design and new images) - Featuring an interactive art gallery. Using your remote, you can add and select favorites.
* Reflections on Alice - (13:27) A featurette about how Walt Disney wanted to do "Alice in Wonderland" and how difficult it was to adapt.
* Operation Wonderland (Now in Hi-Def) - (10:56) Featuring a 1950's featurette of a man visiting Walt Disney to learn about the making of "Alice in Wonderland".
* One Hour in Wonderland - (59:29) A special Christmas presentation featuring Edgar Bergen with Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd visiting Walt Disney studios for a tea party and meeting with Walt Disney, Kathryn Beaumont and more.
* An Alice Comedy: Alice's Wonderland - (8:06) The original "Alice Comedy" silent one-reel of "Alice's Wonderland".
* Original Theatrical Trailers (1951 & 1974) - The original theatrical trailers for the 1951 release and the 1974 theatrical re-release.
* Walt Disney TV Introduction (1954 & 1964) - The original TV introductions by Walt Disney for "Alice in Wonderland".
* The Fred Waring Show (Excerpt) - (30:56) The Fred Waring show featuring Kathryn Beaumont and Walt Disney promoting "Alice in Wonderland".
* Deleted Materials:
- Deleted Scene: Pig and Pepper - (3:12) Ron Clements and John Musker (writers of Disney's "Princess and the Frog") sharing sketches of the "Pig and Pepper" that was cut from "Alice in Wonderland".
- From Wonderland to Neverland: The Evolution of a Song - (6:49) An entertaining look at how a song originally written for Alice in Wonderland, finally found its home in another Disney favorite, Peter Pan. Hosted by Kathryn Beaumont.
- Deleted Storyboard Concept: Alice Daydreams in the Park - (2:01) Deleted storyboard sequence set to music.
- Original Song Demos - Featuring song demos for "Beware The Jabberwock"; "Everything Has A Useness"; "So They Say"; "Beautiful Soup"; "Dream Caravan"; "If You'll Believe In Me"

EXTRAS:

"Alice in Wonderland: 60th Anniversary Edition" comes with a slip over case and a DVD version of the film. The DVD is presented in full screen (1:33:1), Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Original Theatrical Soundtrack, French and Spanish language tracks and subtitles.

JUDGMENT CALL:

I find it quite interesting because as a child, I admit that I didn't care for "Alice in Wonderland" as I felt it was devoid the action/adventure of "Snow White", "Pinocchio" and "Dumbo" and even when it was released on video during my teenage and young adult years back in the early through late '90s, I passed on the VHS, LD and the later DVD version.

But with these animated classics being released on Blu-ray, as a reviewer, as a parent, "Alice in Wonderland" has been a film that I have stayed away from until today. This is the first time I have watched "Alice in Wonderland" since it was re-released in theaters back in 1981.

And 30-years later, watching it today, I have a better appreciation for the film. For one, how close the animators were in capturing Kathryn Beaumont's mannerism and movements via the live tapings that were done of her back then. But also watching how Disney has evolved animation-wise with the overall look and feel of "Alice in Wonderland".

Having watched the documentary "Walt & El Grupo: The Untold Adventures" and seeing how the 1942 South American trip helped illustrators grasp a new style with colors, and of course knowing the phenomenal Mary Blair's contribution to "Alice in Wonderland" because of her influence from that South American trip, although this film has been discussed since the '30s and it went through so many screenplays and character designs, the long wait by Walt Disney seemed to pay off as the film is a visual feast. The animation is fantastic, the artistic backgrounds painted for this film is spectacular and if anything, it's a different kind of animated film that Disney has done before.

I have to also say that part of my accepting of this animated film is the fact that I have not read the entire Lewis Carrol stories. I know that this is a very loosely-based adaptation of the book but Walt Disney wasn't going for accuracy, at the time, he knew what Walt Disney was facing as a company and he needed to create films that were big box office hits and having to tailor it to an audience who have been used to prior Disney-style of animation and storyline and family friendly has always been Disney's focal point.

With that being said, if one was to ask me how I rank "Alice in Wonderland", I would give high marks for animation but as for storyline, while a good and fun family film at times, because Walt Disney was going for a visual film with music than a film with a tight narrative, it's not a film that I can easily compare to a "Snow White", "Pinocchio" or "Dumbo". It's like comparing apples and oranges, "Alice in Wonderland" is entertaining but I similar to "Fantasia", I feel that I enjoy parts of the film. I can say that I enjoy when Alice meets up with the White Rabbit and Dodo Bird moreso than when she met Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. When it comes to music, I felt I enjoyed songs that were sung by Alice vs. songs sung by the walrus and Cheshire Cat.

I also have to admit that while I enjoy the beginning when Alice arrives to Wonderland, I felt that my interest in the film was more towards scenes in which there was some sort of action. May it be Alice trying to get use to her changing sizes or her encounter with the Red Queen.

But overall, "Alice in Wonderland: 60th Anniversary" is an amazing Blu-ray release. The amount of entertaining and vintage special features included in this release is impressive and the fact that even some of the original special features from the previous DVD release have been given HD treatment is awesome!

If you are a big fan of this animated Disney classic, you can feel confident that you are going to get the best looking, best sounding, most complete (in terms of special features) version of the film as of this time on Blu-ray. It's another magnificent Disney classic released on Blu-ray and is highly recommended!

This isn't the best adaptation of Lewis Carroll's "Alice" stories, but it's a charming, fun film with great animated set-pieces. I'm staggered to see how beautifully the film has been restored: a comparison of the old video with the new reveals all sorts of detail in dark areas, especially backgrounds. Certain scenes now take place in day when they originally seemed to be at night! Without a doubt, this is the best restoration of a classic animated film I've ever seen.

The supplements, though, are wanting. The kiddie features are simply atrocious. The "Virtual Tea Party" is probably the most noxious DVD extra I have ever, ever encountered. Watch as character impressionists and a bunch of kids cavort around a tea party set, torturing the viewer with awful songs and games. "We're Painting Our Noses Red" is actually one of the better ones.

Other 2-disc Disney titles have similar bilge, but boast commentaries, documentaries, and restoration featurettes - none of which are on <I>Alice</i>. As a result, there is next to no modern perspective offered on the film itself, or the twenty-year quest to get it made. Aside from the segments on deleted songs, casual fans are left to guess at the significance of most of the `grown-up' supplements, including TV specials and a 1923 silent short. What's here is nice, but only for those in the know.

This is a great release for fans of the film, because of the beautiful restoration. Try and find it cheap, though, because the second disc isn't worth all that much.

I'm a bit of a Blu Ray classic Disney connoisseur. I have Snow White, Fantasia, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, Beauty and the Beast, etc. and every time the phenomenal restorations blow my mind. My eyes are usually bugged out in amazement release after release. Thus, by now you'd think that my expectations would be well prepared for what I was about to see with Alice in Wonderland--but no, just seconds into this 60-year-old masterpiece I started to cry. No, not a gushing pool-of-tears sort of crying, but a crying nonetheless.

The 1080p transfer is Amazing. It's better than Amazing--it's somewhere between Mesmerizing, Astonishing, Perfect, and Life-Changing. I'm comparing it to the VHS copy I watched till it broke as a kid, as well as the more recent 2004 "Masterpiece Edition" DVD that I not-so-secretly watched a bazillion times as an adult. I can't even begin to describe how beautiful the picture looks, but the reds are pure fire, the tea party is a kaleidoscope of every vibrant color you could dream of, the Rabbit's eyes are are a hypnotic magenta that I've never seen before because the standard definitions couldn't bold them enough. The sound quality is rich and lively, it might as well have been recorded in the world's top recording studio yesterday.

Overall, without question this is one of the most important Vault Disney titles to get. Don't let your mind be rotted by Tim Burton's commercialist adaptation with dancing Depp when you can experience a masterpiece of visual art, music, and storytelling from Walt Disney himself. Alice in Wonderland has always been one of my top five favorite Disney films. It's the only adaptation, as far as I'm concerned, that correctly portrays the childish innocence from the Lewis Carroll books, along side the adult brilliance in the characters, "morals", and possibly herb-induced inspirations. I haven't got around to watching the extras yet, but they really don't matter to me. I got the most stunning Blu Ray transfer of one of my favorite movies for an affordable price. I'm very satisfied. :)

**PS: It includes a glorious trailer for the new Winnnie the Pooh movie. It looks really good and breath-taking in HD!

I love this film and it will forever be my favorite Disney film. I have always been a total off the wall funny guy who prefers nonsense to the everyday stressed and boring real world. Its amazing the stupid things people get so serious or stressed about in todays world; their job, driving, their relationships, etc, etc...

i can relate to Alice and her desire to escape to a wonderland of nonsense, but this movie delivers an important message about how you need a little bit of serious and nonsense. All serious or all nonsense is never tolerable.

This DVD is great for children or fans of the story. I am 23 and I still love this movie. The DVD has some great extras including some behind the scenes films of how the movie was made. Its amazing the amount of work that Disney put into his movies and it really shows in his old classics. His animators where far ahead of their time and the fluidity of the cartoons still outrank many of todays cartoons.