“if i had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn’t. and contrary wise; what it is it wouldn’t be, and what it wouldn’t be, it would. you see?”
i’ve had majorly mixed feelings of disney’s 1951 adaptation of ‘alice in wonderland’ ever since i basically had eyes and ears. younger me just couldn’t comprehend the complete surrealist, offbeat nature of the story, as i was used to the usual clichéd structure of a princess being opposed by a villain, and then saved by a prince in ‘true love’. i would honestly say it was one of my least favourite disney movies, if not my least favourite. saying that, i adored the tim burton adaptation (which i actually watched directly before this, and i can’t wait to complete slate its existence) as i got older, i kinda just assumed by opinion hadn’t changed. but looking back, i was totally wrong. i think the main reason i wanted to give it a revisit, is due to me heavily enjoying the nightmarish czech interpretation to the novel (and while the 1951 movie isn’t as good, it’s definitely a lot closer than the 2010 cgi slop version). now, i would say this was my second favourite disney classic (behind mulan, and potentially lower just because there’s so many classics i haven’t watched in years). i think this movies greatest advantage is by far its visual talent. the colours used are completely drug fuelled, vibrant electric pinks, deep blues. the really abstract use of colour gives its an immersive, surrealist atmosphere. the characters are all incredibly memorable, and i think the main reason why is how they were designed. the smoking caterpillar, the mysterious chester cat who has the ability to vanish, and the queen of hearts who beheads anyone and everyone. these eccentric characters heighten the dream-like narrative that alice is surrounded in. besides the surrealism, the thing i really enjoyed is that it had a different, or experimental structure for a disney film. there’s no soulless romance where a princess and prince see eachother for one second, and immediately get married. that’s something i personally hate, and may be why this is one of my favourite disney movies. instead of a carbon copy love story, it’s a dream of kooky events and nightmarish scenarios, it uses absurdity and a comedic tone to lighten the mood and is complete nonsense, and i mean that in the most complimentary way possible. the vocal performances are also just generally iconic, queen of the hearts is portrayed in a highly over-the-top way, and each character i can tell the person behind them fully immersed them into the world, as their voices are filled with surrealist energy and fully match the personalities. it’s a innovative coming of age story, which i can tell heavily influenced an entire genre of nonsensical themed media, just amazing.
“if i had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn’t. and contrary wise; what it is it wouldn’t be, and what it wouldn’t be, it would. you see?”
i’ve had majorly mixed feelings of disney’s 1951 adaptation of ‘alice in wonderland’ ever since i basically had eyes and ears. younger me just couldn’t comprehend the complete surrealist, offbeat nature of the story, as i was used to the usual clichéd structure of a princess being opposed by a villain, and then saved by a prince in ‘true love’. i would honestly say it was one of my least favourite disney movies, if not my least favourite. saying that, i adored the tim burton adaptation (which i actually watched directly before this, and i can’t wait to complete slate its existence) as i got older, i kinda just assumed by opinion hadn’t changed. but looking back, i was totally wrong. i think the main reason i wanted to give it a revisit, is due to me heavily enjoying the nightmarish czech interpretation to the novel (and while the 1951 movie isn’t as good, it’s definitely a lot closer than the 2010 cgi slop version). now, i would say this was my second favourite disney classic (behind mulan, and potentially lower just because there’s so many classics i haven’t watched in years). i think this movies greatest advantage is by far its visual talent. the colours used are completely drug fuelled, vibrant electric pinks, deep blues. the really abstract use of colour gives its an immersive, surrealist atmosphere. the characters are all incredibly memorable, and i think the main reason why is how they were designed. the smoking caterpillar, the mysterious chester cat who has the ability to vanish, and the queen of hearts who beheads anyone and everyone. these eccentric characters heighten the dream-like narrative that alice is surrounded in. besides the surrealism, the thing i really enjoyed is that it had a different, or experimental structure for a disney film. there’s no soulless romance where a princess and prince see eachother for one second, and immediately get married. that’s something i personally hate, and may be why this is one of my favourite disney movies. instead of a carbon copy love story, it’s a dream of kooky events and nightmarish scenarios, it uses absurdity and a comedic tone to lighten the mood and is complete nonsense, and i mean that in the most complimentary way possible. the vocal performances are also just generally iconic, queen of the hearts is portrayed in a highly over-the-top way, and each character i can tell the person behind them fully immersed them into the world, as their voices are filled with surrealist energy and fully match the personalities. it’s a innovative coming of age story, which i can tell heavily influenced an entire genre of nonsensical themed media, just amazing.
