Alice in Wonderland (1985)

the audience applauded

Absolutely Fantastic

Absolutely brilliant

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

after so many others adaptations, it is not easy to say why you prefer it. for cast, off course. for Natalie Gregory in special . for atmosphere. and for the naivety. for the status of story without high ambitions, out of the circle of special effects, childish in delicate manner, unrealistic and , maybe, not real close to the book but brave and admirable and comfortable. and this is a real virtue. to be the same for new generations and ages. for preserve a special flavor who is not prey of a specific definition. songs and actors and the flavor of vanilla pudding. this is all. a show about a girl in front with bizarre characters, against a terrible monster, discovering the importance of small things. and it is enough for a lovely story.

What should I start with? The good or bad side? Okay, let's get the things that don't work well for the movie out of the way.For starters, the SONGS!!!! Ugh! I'm sorry I find them way too cheesy and unnecessary! What's a rapping/tap dancing caterpillar doing here? The duchess and her cook botch the short song written in the book, forget Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat; it's not as interesting as the added song! Why does the Queen need a song to explain why she needs a reason to behead people; she needs no intro! But I'm going to have to say the song that bugs me the most is Ringo's song as the Mock-turtle. He sings about how "this" world doesn't have enough nonsense (not sure if he's referring to the 4th wall's world or Wonderland). If he's referring to our world, fine, but at the same time what concern does he have about our world? He's carefree in Wonderland! If he's referring to Wonderland then I could strangle the lyric writers! Wonderland is abundant in nonsense! Everyone there is MAD! Not one person there is not mad (except maybe for Alice). The songs aren't the only things that annoy me. Alice goes to Wonderland and there are very not so subtle hints about teaching her how to grow up and face her fears. Wonderland was an escape from reality; not a return to it. I won't scream at the costumes or special effects because there's no point in 1985, however I'll bring up this childhood killer; the Griffin mentions the Queen beheading is not real. I know we would like that, but that was part of what made Wonderland exciting and a tad bit scary; heck she sings a whole song about it and a trial's going on to determine whether or not they should sentence the Knave of Hearts for stealing the tarts!Okay, so let's get down to what is good. They've got a proper aged Alice (6-8 years) and she's not too bad, though I'm not sure if the Alice in Wonderland dialogue fits her well. Some of the actors are good, though I like the Queen of Hearts (her song ruins her), and as much as I hate to say it, the White Knight is likable and his song is nice and soothing. I know his long song from the original story gets botched too, but this song is heartwarming and relaxing after trauma Alice went through. It's cheesy, but it's mildly okay.

I saw this film when it first debuted on television. I have remembered it fondly over the years and was quite ecstatic to find it on DVD recently. I enjoy it even more now as an adult because I can pick up on the subtle messages of the film. Also, I can appreciate the all-star cast more, now that I am more familiar with them. Seeing such great actors like Sid Caesar, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Red Buttons is such a treat. The young actress who plays Alice is such a joy to watch. She often reminds me of Shirley Temple. I highly recommend this film for families and the young at heart. It is a classic film in every sense of the word.

I have seen it myself when I was really little. I am probably among a very select few who have seen it at least 60 times!! After having experienced college, and heard about all of the drug references in here, and especially after seeing the cast to see who acted in this presentation (Sammy Davis Jr, Sherman Hemsley, Steve and Edie, etc...) I SO would like to see this again! I will probably spend 4 hours laughing my ass off, which will likely continue for the next 8...I can't even believe I was fortunately to find something about this after doing a google search. then again, this was after some 30 pages of google matches that came up almost as dry as a martini. I hope it will be on CBS again soon. I think the last time I saw it on TV was back in 1995, the first half...