Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Synopsis
“A very merry Unbirthday to you, and you, and you, and you!”

Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland practically begged for animated treatment, featuring an assortment of oddball characters, fantastic settings and a heroine who grows and shrinks by her choice of food. Walt Disney loved the book (as well as its sequel, Through the Looking Glass) and decided it would make a perfect follow-up to 1950’s Cinderella.

Alice is an imaginative young girl in 19th century England who spots a very late White Rabbit diving into a burrow. Alice follows, landing in a bizarre new world inhabited by caterpillars, living flowers and a not-at-all-helpful Cheshire Cat. Twins Tweedledum and Tweedledee recite “The Walrus and the Carpenter,” one of Carroll’s poems from the novel. The film also includes excerpts from other poems: “Jabberwocky” and “How Doth the Little Crocodile.” In the movie’s best-remembered scene, Alice attends a zany tea party with the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and the Dormouse, who are all celebrating Unbirthdays (“364 days a year!”)

Trouble comes when Alice is accused of stealing the Queen of Hearts’ tarts (a departure from the book, which had the Knave of Hearts accused). This is especially bad news as the Queen is prone to lop of the heads of those she dislikes. Alice flees, chased by the Queen’s army of playing cards, desperate for a way back to her own world.

Despite the lively animations of Carroll's creations, Disney's Alice in Wonderland flopped in its initial release, but audiences realized the mistake and begged for a re-release. The film eventually found redemption, continuing to be a popular draw in video reissues and on television.

Release History 1951 - Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Sub Categories animated
sci-fi/fantasy
disney

Studio Disney

Cast

Alice		Kathryn Beaumont
Mad Hatter		Ed Wynn
Caterpillar		Richard Haydn
Cheshire Cat		Sterling Holloway
March Hare		Jerry Colonna
Queen of Hearts		Verna Felton
Walrus		Pat O'Malley
Carpenter		Pat O'Malley
Dee		Pat O'Malley
Dum		Pat O'Malley
White Rabbit		Bill Thompson
Dodo		Bill Thompson
Alice's sister		Heather Angel
Doorknob		Joseph Kearns
Bill		Larry Grey
Bird in the Tree		Queenie Leonard
King of Hearts		Dink Trout
The Rose		Doris Lloyd
Dormouse		James G. MacDonald