Part 1 - Alice in Wonderland

'Alice in Wonderland' (1985)

Opening thoughts: 'Alice in Wonderland' is a classic. Regardless of whether it is structurally episodic and that the supporting characters are more interesting than Alice herself, the colourful characters and the many iconic scenes that still entertain and charm more than make up for them. It was one of my favourites as a child and still is, actually love it even more now due to understanding the nonsense language and Lewis Carroll's poetry.

When first seeing this 1985 adaptation 10 years ago, it did impress me. Very like the slightly superior 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' that was also adapted, it was mostly faithful in structure and spirit with none of the book's entertainment value and charm. Rewatching it, my mostly positive thoughts on both adaptations are pretty much exactly the same though the performances, songs and scenes that missed on first watch have not improved and fare slightly worse. Still, unevenness and all this is enormously enjoyable and one of the better adaptations of the book.

Bad things: A few performances miss, those being an incredibly bland Scott Biao, Telly Savalas too sympathetic and not mysterious or amusing enough Cheshire cat and the wasted Shelley Winters, Donald O'connor and John Stamos.

Songs, which on the whole are not deserving of the maligned status they get, and scenes miss too. "I Hate Dogs and Cats" escapes the head almost immediately. "There's Something to Say" suffers from really painful singing. Mad Hatter should have had a much more energetic and more ironic number than "Laugh". Would have liked more irony and less contradiction in "Nonsense" (really wish the Mock Turtle's poem was left intact). Individual scenes that could have been better are the Mouse, Dodo Bird and Lory scene which is forgettable and didn't get the point of leaving out everything with the mushrooms which made the Caterpillar encounter slightly pointless. Some of the costumes are cheap.

Good things: Natalie Gregory is a very endearing Alice and the complete opposite of bland, plenty of charm and sound. Of the who's who cast, Jane Meadow's intimidating Queen of Hearts, Anthony Newly's very funny Mad Hatter and Sammy Davis' zesty Caterpillar are the standouts. Also really enjoyed the suitably twitchy performances of Red Buttons and Roddy Macdowell. Standouts of the songs are "Old Father William", a clever mix of rap and Old Hollywood-like tap choreography that is reminiscent of Shirley Temple, the unsettling "Off with Their Heads" and the lovely "There's No Way Like Home" sung in a very Burl Ives way.

Plenty of memorable individual scenes, particularly the tea party, "Old Father Williams", everything with the Queen of Hearts and the genuinely scary introduction of the Jabberwocky. The sets are lovingly designed and colourful, particularly the eerie Rabbit Hole descent and the garden. The music has a nice mix of mystery and whimsy. The script flows very well and is faithful, a lot of scenes being word from word. The story is coherent and has whimsical charm, entertainment value and suspense. Like the script, it is mostly faithful without being too much so. Pacing is generally fine once it gets going.

Concluding thoughts: Overall, well done if not a wonder.

7/10.

I wish there was a way to watch this version of Alice in Wonderland on our technology driven entertainment. This was the best rendition! I miss being able to watch it. If you ever get the chance to watch it, do so!!!