Wonderlicious...

Alice in Wonderland was one of the first films I ever saw. It quickly got me into a Disney obsessed childhood by seeing almost every Disney cartoon possible. When I was around thirteen, I began to shun nearly every Disney film, viewing it as vulgar Americana for kids. Now, at the age of sixteen, I've rediscovered all the Disney classics and I'm falling in love with them all over again, seeing them not as cheesy B-movies but as some of the cleverest films, working on both adult and child levels.

There were a few films made by Disney before my recent rediscovery that I liked, however; Beauty and the Beast, Pinocchio, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland.

Why was Alice in Wonderland in my list? It's not exactly charming in the sense that Mary Poppins is. And it's not thrilling like Pinocchio. So why do I like it? It's because it's just wonderfully surreal. It's the closest Disney ever got to making something on the lines of The Wizard of Oz (unless you count Return to Oz). It's a surreal tour de force where anything happens. It's what The Wizard of Oz would have looked like if a cartoon.

Speaking of which, the animation is great. Alice actually looks like she's her age, which is what some old Disney heroines aren't good at (ever wondered how Sleeping Beauty looks like a supermodel as opposed to a 16 year old girl?). The odd inhabitants of Wonderland are very interestingly animated. Their potty cubist designs work well, creating a difference between the real Alice and the dreamy world of Wonderland. Oh, and the backgrounds appeal to me as they seem flashier and frostier than the overly detailed storybook ones in Snow White.

The songs, whilst not entirely catchy in the sense that the songs in Cinderella or Mary Poppins, are good. However, some are a bit short and are hard to develop into the big production numbers we've seen in many Disney films before.

The episodic plot is also good. Whilst I like clear plot stories, I like the many adventures Alice encounters. Having a film that contains Alice's encounters with the Caucus Race, TweedleDum and TweedleDee, the White Rabbit's house, the Singing flowers, the Caterpillar, the Bossy Bird, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and March Hare, the Object Animals and the Queen of Hearts into a 72 minute film may seem daunting, yet the whole thing is in good pace and smooth due to great directing.

This surreal film is certainly one of Disney's best. Watch this classic and you'll understand why.