Bärchis Abenteuer im Wunderland

I saw this as a kid in the 80s and loved it and for that reason it will always remain a part of me. I was not a Care Bears fan or anything, but this movie was a lot of fun. The characters were very developed. The story was a lot of fun. The animation was decent. And the songs really stand out. Usually, the music in animated children's movies is pretty pitiful, but these songs are good! "Everything is wonderful in wonderland", "Mad about Hats", "Dont forget to use your heart", and a whole bunch of others. It's funny, it has good messages for kids, Alice is cute, and the animations is really psychedelic because this is set in *Wonderland* of course. The wizard is scary and his two assistants are hilarious. So is the Chesher Cat. See it!

Maybe the reason why I love this film so much is because I remember it from when I was really little but I'll stand by saying I think that this film is quality. For sheer drama, Care Bears Movie II is probably better but this film is lighter, more comical and more colourful!

I LOVE the songs! I mean, Natalie Cole sings the opener for heaven's sake! And the Cheshire Cat, rapping, is just genius (as is Grumpy Bear rapping at the end). Alice, to be honest, annoyed me after a while but I still find Dim and Dum funny to this day (though I think few share my opinion but the scene where they think they've caught Alice in a big sack still cracks me up).

But anyway, give it a go, you might just be converted (or maybe not...!)

I was actually upset with this movie at first because I thought it was overkill. While I still think it is somewhat the movie isn't that bad. The over all story is mediocre but it wasn't done badly. Then there's the songs! I've seen all 3 care bear movies and liked all the songs in them. While I think the soundtrack to the second movie is the best - what could beat Growing Up and Forever Young?, the songs were good in this one as well. My favorites were Rise and Shine and Has Anybody Seen This Girl. The rap at the end was kind of lame but funny in a weird way. I know I'm probably being really generous, maybe because I'm biased towards care bears but I'll give this one 10 stars.

Time to clarify something. This is the movie most people accuse the FIRST Care Bears adventure of being: a saccharine squirm fest. Now I happen to like the Care Bears (I pretty much ran to their defence in my review of their first movie, which I STILL recommend), but this was just a really bad concept to begin with.

It's as if the producers wanted to do an "Alice in Wonderland" movie, then got bored about halfway through and decided to throw the Bears in. Oddly, this isn't based on the Lewis Carrol books but on Disney's version of Wonderland (so it's a movie inspired by another movie inspired by a book). Even so, it has it's moments. The way they envision the Cheshire Cat is very inventive and possibly the best reason to give this movie a look (if you've seen it already you know what I'm talking about, otherwise rent it and fast forward through any scenes that don't involve the Cat). There's a nice message about believing in yourself, but it's nearly negated by the stupid cop-out ending.

There is, however, one more thing that totally saves the movie. Three words: Grumpy Bear RAPPING!!!

I am not the biggest fan of The Care Bears, but I loved the show from the 80s and the first two movies. The rest of their stuff(movies/specials/shows-wise) have been hit and miss. Luckily The Care Bears in Wonderland is one of their better outings. The dialogue is corny and over-simplistic at times and the whole explanation about the jabberwocky being mean was a little cliché and lame. However, the animation is quite nice, with the colours vibrant especially. Some of the visuals are on the psychedelic side, but considering the oddball nature of the original story and Wonderland itself it works. The music I was surprised by, the score is whimsical enough but the songs are memorable and fun, Rise and Shine, Has Anyone Seen This Girl and Mad About Hats were the standouts. I don't care for rap usually, but Grumpy's rap song was surprising and funny. The story is full of charming moments with a great, identifiable message and maintains the bewitching feel of the timeless original story. The characters also delight, the care bears are likable enough and better than their rep, with the best being Grumpy(they're saccharine sure but I think evil is far too harsh considering there are far more annoying franchise characters anyway). Alice is cute, the wizard is another memorable and scary villain to match Spirit and DarkHeart and the henchmen are hilarious. Plus I don't think I've ever seen the Cheshire Cat as cool as he is here in other incarnations. In conclusion, I like it, I've seen better movies but this is nowhere near the worst either. 8/10 Bethany Cox