Saturday, May 15, 2021

Family Fun Saturday - Alice's Adventures In Wonderland (1972)

Joseph Shaftel Productions, 1972
Starring Fiona Fullerton, Michael Crawford, Flora Robson, and Robert Helpmann
Directed by William Sterling
Music by John Barry; Lyrics by Don Black

The story of little Victorian girl Alice and her wild adventures in the uninhibited underground world known as Wonderland has been adapted for just about every media possible, from video games to animation. This version from its native England came out in 1972 and was a major hit, thanks to its game cast of popular British character actors and comedians. How does it look today on the US side of the pond? Let's begin on a golden afternoon in the Victorian countryside as two professors have a picnic with a trio of curious pre-teen girls and find out...

The Story: Alice (Fullerton) is getting very tired of laying around and listening to Dodgson (Michael Jayston) tell stories. She follows the White Rabbit (Crawford), a nervous fellow wearing a waistcoat and carrying a watch, into a huge rabbit hole. She falls down the hole and into Wonderland, encountering many strange creatures and beings along the way. Some are silly and only confuse her, like the Mad Hatter (Helpmann), March Hare (Peter Sellars), and their nutty tea party. Others, like the Queen of Hearts (Robson), are far more menacing. And then there's the Cheshire Cat (Roy Kinnear), who pops in and out as he pleases and gives Alice some very strange advice indeed about how to wind her way through the strangeness that is Wonderland.

The Song and Dance: I've seen very few adaptations of Alice that were truer than this one. It's pretty much the book as written, other than sneaking in Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum from the sequel Through the Looking Glass. The entire cast enjoys the tongue-twisting antics, from sweet Fullerton and her gentle little voice to Crawford as the stuffy White Rabbit, Robson as the demanding Queen of Hearts, and Kinnear as the ever-grinning Cheshire Cat. The costumes and minimal sets also do a fine job of bringing the wacky world of Lewis Carroll's creations to life.

Favorite Number: Alice sings the lilting "Curiouser and Curiouser" throughout the film, notably in the beginning when she first arrives in Wonderland. Davy Kaye as the Mouse Alice meets in the Pool of Tears admonishes her that "You Have to Know When to Stop," before you cry so much, you wash half of Wonderland away. The White Rabbit insists that "The Last Word Is Mine" when demanding that Alice brings him his fan and gloves, though she keeps insisting that she's not who he thinks she is. The Hatter, Hare, and Doormouse serenade Alice with "I See What I Eat," "Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat" and "The Pun Song" at the Mad Tea Party.

What I Don't Like: First of all, someone in England badly needs to take a crack at restoring this. The copy I watched at the Roku Channel is soft, rough around the edges, and very washed out, especially in the opening and closing sequences at the Victorian picnic. Barry's music and score are all right, but not especially memorable. Some of the special effects and makeup don't look so great nowadays, either, often coming off as creepy or too weird, even for Wonderland. There's also the fact that the make-up covers most of those famous faces. I had no idea half these people were in this unless I checked the credits. 

The Big Finale: Faithful and charming version is well worth the time for families and fans of the cast or the original book. 

Home Media: Easy to find on DVD and streaming.

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