Alice in Wonderland

Release Date: July 26, 1951

Walt Disney was inspired by Lewis Carroll's stories about Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass from very early on in his career. His first big breakthrough in animation was his Alice comedies, where a young live actress found herself in the animated world. When he began making feature length animated films, Walt wanted to do Alice in Wonderland. Many attempts were made to get started, but the style wasn't quite what Walt was looking for, and soon World War II put everything on hold.

After the war, animated projects that were put on hold were taken off the shelf. This time, Mary Blair was put in charge of the art style. Her use of colors and whimsy were exactly what Walt was looking for in his film. The animators and artists in the studio brought Mary Blair's vision to life and created the Wonderland that we know today.

The voice cast for this movie was golden. Walt wanted an English actress to play Alice, but also wanted someone whose accent wouldn't be too jarring for American audiences. He found the perfect voice in Kathryn Beaumont. Sterling Holloway, a familiar voice in the Disney studio, voiced the Cheshire Cat. Comedians such as Ed Wynn and Jerry Colonna were brought on to voice characters such as the Mad Hatter and the March Hare.

There is a fun story about Ed Wynn in this movie. The actors who supplied the voices were also used as models for the animators. They would set up a simple set and record the actors saying their lines and interacting with props to guide the animators in bringing the movie to life. While Ed Wynn's parts were recorded, he had everybody laughing. When they did the official voice recording for the movie, Ed Wynn's humor didn't come across as strong. So they decided to use the recorded audio from the live action reference instead--and that is what we hear when we watch the movie! This might be why the unbirthday sequence is one of the most memorable scenes in the film!

Another interesting fact about this movie is that it holds the record for the most songs in a Disney movie. Most of the songs are very brief and perhaps forgettable, but other songs have become timeless classics in the Disney catalog. There are other songs that didn't even make it into the movie! The music and songs are an important part of this movie because they add to the quirky atmosphere in Alice's Wonderland.

Although the movie was not a huge success when it was first released, today it is beloved by Disney fans all over the world. I admit that this movie has grown on me over the years. I watched it as a child, and there were parts of the movie I really liked, but there were other parts of the movie that I found to be dull. As I have grown older, I have come to appreciate the movie a lot more, and I especially appreciate all the work that went into making it and bringing the story to life. Some of the humor that went over my head as a child is very funny to me now!

My favorite scene in the movie is probably the tea party sequence with the Mad Hatter and March Hare. This is easily the scene I quote the most, especially the Mad Hatter's lines! But I also love the scene where Alice gets stuck inside the White Rabbit's house and poor Bill the lizard is tasked with getting her out. My third favorite scene is probably when the cards are painting the roses red. I also love that at the end of the movie we see all the characters we've met throughout the film.

Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland has, in a way, come full circle. It began with Walt's Alice Comedies, where a live young actress entered the world of cartoons. Then a full-length animated feature was created. Then Walt created, not just one, but two attractions at Disneyland based on the animated film. Now guests from around the world can have their own adventures in Walt's Wonderland!