Alice in Wonderland

This is a great film-I watched the film as a child, and I actually played it for my kids tonight, they loved the songs, and I fell in love with the movie all over again! As I watched I thought about being a child and remembered all the actors that performed during the movie with a VERY small number of them STILL ALIVE.

It is very hard for me to watch much TV, with reality shows, and not much family shows that I grew up on. I loved the cast, my husband even forgot about all the stars that filmed the movie, and was excited to see it.

It would be great if today there could be an all-star cast for a TV movie just like this, but I doubt egos could coexist long enough for fans to have that chance. Great movie, great memories!

I LOVE the books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and it's sequel Through the Looking Glass. I've read each one inside and out and have even studied The Annotated Alice which has notes in the margins so one could get a sense of the mayhem which isn't really mayhem once you understand where Lewis Carrol is coming from. For the die hard fan, one should check out the almost forgotten movie, Dreamchild. I say almost because, hey, I didn't forget it.

1985 saw the production of a big musical production of Alice in Wonderland, based off of both books, complete with acclaimed director Irwin Allen who was known for disaster movies. Poseidon Adventure being one of his most famous.

Along with a big name director came a big name cast that included Carol Channing, Imogene Coca, Ringo Starr, Sammy Davis Jr., Shelley Winters, John Stamos, Harvey Korman, and man this list could go on and on.

The TV Musical spanned two nights on CBS and was a HIT. Well, it was to me, heheh. I don't know the real stats.

Newcome Natalie Gregory played Alice and went on later to play Jenny in Disney's Oliver and Company. Like in that movie, she doesn't do her own singing here either.

Once in Wonderland, Alice meets the familiar faces and the casting goes from genius to insane.

A stand out would have to be Carol Channing as The White Queen who really makes this character her own. And she turns into a creepy lamb.

Shelley Winters in the small part of The Dodo Bird seems very wasted as they do nothing with her and she's a huge name. Come on, she's Shelley Winters, not someone with a small name. Even John Stamos had more screen time than her.

Martha Raye as The Duchess, Steve Lawrence as Tweedle Dumb and Eydie Gormé as Tweedle Dee look like they've been doing these parts of years now. It came so natural to them.

Pat Morita plays a horse.

Natalie Gregory really holds her own next to all these veterans.

The music is very energetic and some of the songs contain lyrics from Lewis Carrol's text.

That's one thing I LOVE about this production. A lot of Carrol's dialogue is contained which is what prompted me me to read the original books when I first saw this as a kid in the 80s. It was the first book I read. It's still my favorite.

If you want an old fashioned, fun, family musical, go check this out, and watch it like how Mark and I watch Bette Midler in Gypsy. Turn off all of the lights, sit in your living room as if you're in a theater and watch it and behave like how you would in a theater. Give yourself a 15 minute intermission even between acts. It's an experience let me to tell ya.

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When this was first run, I liked it, but now barely recalled details of it. I was a senior in HS, and it was mainly put on to amuse my brother (but my family knew of my own fascination with Alice, lol, so I guess to amuse me too!), who didn't really care. I knew that I recognized the girl who played Alice (who was Jenny in Oliver & Co--THAT'S where I knew her from, thanks IMDB!) at the time, but never could place her. The actors and actresses took their roles and made them their own. I believe that besides Alice, the White Knight is my favorite supporting role, however. I too had nightmares at age 17 (!) of the Jabberwocky but that didn't stop me from watching it. In the many years since the details faded, but that Jabberwocky stayed with me--until I could no longer recall which version I had seen it in. I've been seeking it. I did like the 1999 version, which sits in VHS beside the Disney version (can't tell I'm a fan in general?) which I also liked. Each had their own parts that drew me in. This one, despite the problem with accents, did the same.

Yes, it's a Hollywood'ed version, so they tend to ignore the setting when it comes to accents, but would you really want to hear Sammy Davis Jr with an English accent? I did find Sally Struthers as the obnoxious Tiger Lily rather humorous (especially after her "correspondence school" commercials, iirc that she had out during that time too! It seemed to fit some how. :)

All in all, a very good movie, and one that I shall look for in Ebay, Yahoo and Amazon for a copy. I am very grateful to the local library who carried part 2, and allowed me to renew my acquaintance with this gem once again.

Dee

I was going through old Beta tapes from my childhood one day and was disappointed that I could not find this movie. I read other comments and some people said the same exact thing I did. My copy was either taped over or thrown out, a blessing in disguise. I was glad to see Warner has the rights and actually sells it on Amazon! I will admit that if you did not watch this movie when it first aired on CBS back in christmas of '85 that you might not like it nearly as much as I did and still do. I honestly still know the songs even though I have not seen it since probably the late eighties. I was 7 years old when this first aired and my mom taped it for me and my sister. I even remember there was an electrical storm that night in Los Angeles so my copy had interference from the lightning! Anyways, I would watch this tape all the time as a youngster. I think I watched it at least 25 times as a kid. I have not seen the 1999 version that aired on NBC, but I don't think that one would be quite as memorable as this one was. The cast were all well known celebrities, most of whom have either passed on or are no longer considered to be popular any longer. I give the story a 9. The visual design of the make up, costumes and sets gets a 10. The music gets an 8. And the acting and directing a 7. I give this movie an 8 overall. I am going to wait and see if Warner will release this on DVD. They did release another childhood favorite of mine last year, the Hobbit.

I first saw this ALICE IN WONDERLAND version when I was very young, in 1985. This is, to me, the definitive version. I was impressed with everything about it. As with all the ALICE IN WONDERLAND versions, this used a special guest cast (and an impressive one, at that). However, unlike other versions, the script was tailored to suit the guest stars, although they were perfect in their parts. Even the 1933 version had each character actor in Hollywood doing his act for the camera under the guise of the main story. The 1999 version was the same deal-all the stars doing their acts for the camera, with no regards to the story! But in this version, the actors played their roles as they were supposed to be played. Anyhow, the point is-this version really has stuck with me over the years. In 1994, I caught a re-run on television. I was thrilled to see it again. And none of the magic was gone-even 10 years after its initial broadcast! If you're looking for a version of the story to see, or just want to re-visit a special childhood memory, see this wonderful film.