DVD Review: Alice in Wonderland

03/01/04

?Alice in Wonderland? has an interesting reputation for a Disney film. Sure, it?s animated, and sure, it?s got a strong musical component; those things are to be expected. But the movie?s imagery and songs are, shall we say, regarded as a bit less than sane. To call this movie ?unique? would be, to many people, a bit too kind. Having not watched the film since my childhood, I was intrigued when the two-disk DVD collector?s edition hit stores, because I?d forgotten why ?Alice in Wonderland?s? reputation for being weird preceded it. Now that I?ve fully explored the two-disk set, I understand completely why the film has met some skeptics. At the same time, I also understand why parents will want to buy this DVD collection for the kids in their household. ?Alice in Wonderland? tells the story of a girl who falls asleep during her outdoor history lesson and ?wanders? into Wonderland, a fantasy land where things are as they shouldn?t be and aren?t as they should be. Cats talk, flowers sing, caterpillars speak in riddles, and walruses coax oysters from the ocean and into a seafood restaurant. The scenarios are divided into multiple short sections that, tangentially, fit into a single, semi-cohesive story. Do they mesh? Not always. But then again, they?re not meant to. The imagery and songs have long been regarded as random, but watching this new DVD collection as an adult has made me realize the film is random by design, mimicking the creative and quick-as-lightning thought processes of the children for whom the film was created. Children are incredibly creative and prone to switching tasks and thoughts more quickly than most adults; as a result, kids will likely find the splintered stories in ?Alice in Wonderland? to be incredibly entertaining and engrossing, even if their parents find it far too odd for their liking. The extra features on the second disk in the collection simply reinforce this message, with games and sing-alongs compiled with kids in mind. For example, the ?Alice in Wonderland? disks include a virtual tea party rife with songs, dancing, a Simon Says-like game (?Mad Hatter Says?) and other silly bonuses that would make any episode of Barney turn green with envy. Watching these bonuses shows that Buena Vista clearly designed this collector?s edition for a youthful audience, not for reminiscing adults. With that said, the movie will certainly bring back some fond memories for adults given its cel-based animation rather than computer-generated imagery. Don?t get me wrong, ?Finding Nemo? and ?Shrek? are two of my favorite animated films; there?s just something special, something ?rich,? about a movie animated with pen and ink rather than stylus and mousepad. Amid the nostalgia, though, the ?Alice in Wonderland? DVD set is not without its 21st-Century amenities, most notably surround sound. The collection also makes surprisingly new use of the DVD remote. Far too often, DVDs include bonus content accessible only via DVD-ROM, alienating that portion of the DVD-owning audience that uses a living-room setup, not a computer, as their primary player. ?Alice in Wonderland,? on the other hand, allows children to solve simple riddles and play memory-like games using the back and forward buttons on the remote, ensuring hours of entertainment regardless of a child?s computer?s capabilities. The second disk in the set is more than just games, however. While the majority of the bonus content is, like the movie, geared toward children, the disk includes a newly discovered song performed by the Cheshire Cat called ?I?m Odd.? While the song itself is amusing, the true entertainment comes in a backstory narrated by the original Alice in which she explains why the song was cut from the film. She also discusses why the song was selected and how it was rewritten for the Cheshire Cat rather than the Jabberwocky, who was eventually removed from the film. Disney ?history? buffs will get a treat from this behind-the-scenes information, and the new song is sure to please Alice collectors far and wide. The classic animated short ?Thru the Looking Glass? is also included on the second disk, just one more reason fans of Disney collectibles will want to take note of this new DVD. A distinction must be drawn, however, between those who should buy Alice and Wonderland on DVD and those who should stick to renting it. If you have fond memories of ?Alice in Wonderland? if you?re looking for hours of entertainment for the children in your house, or if you?re a serious Disney collector, you?re late for a very important date with your local DVD retailer. If you?re considering the DVD solely out of nostalgia?s sake, though, you?re better off renting the DVD and buying a movie that has more long-lasting appeal to adults.
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