Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Disney's Alice in Wonderland: First impressions

Here's a book that I remember in broad strokes, despite having read it a few times in a few versions. Which... I mean when you think about it that's probably exactly why I remember it in broad strokes instead of big detail. So a big thing for me during this movie is going to be not remarking on "yeah, that was in the book!" even though well you all know me, that's sort of just a thing I do.

Apparently more crap weather is headed our way. The weather people say February averages 45 cm a year of snow and in the first 10 days we managed 60. This is a bad thing. They're literally bringing dump trucks along to deal with the white stuff. Bright side is, lots more reasons for people to be indoors staying warm and watching movies. Like me!


I'm actually pretty stoked for this one, the original is really off-the-wall and it sort of screams "animate me!" so I'm glad they did the obvious thing and went for it. Like Pinocchio, of course, this one is a children's book that isn't fairy tale based. Unlike Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland could never pass for a fairy tale, what with its morality being based around decapitations, pig babies, enlarge person and reduce person and tea with insane people. I'm expecting some great things, folks.

RKO.

Walt Disney Presets I see a protagonsit

And we have another one of these terrible songs they keep putting on titles.

The images look positively absird though. Reminds me of old old old school DD&D droawnings

This looks like it could be splendid. Bit worried about oho that's a Queen of Hearts if ever I shh we're startting

again, backgrounds keep being their strong suit

older sister looks a bit like Cinderella

hello Alice

fuck your wreath, no time for thaty shit

maybe that's her mom

Dinah, hello. Figaro's successor

what it wouldn't be it would, eh? You're unhelpful

shes got fantastic hair

annnnd we're singing

someone tell that choir to sod off

"how-dy do birds" nice rhyme

this would be fun if it were jazzed up

she said wonderland check it out

WHITE RABBIT

OH MY FLIPPITY FLAPJACKS

does that even count as a song

she's obviously from a family of adventurers. Cave? Go right in, no issue with annnd we're falling

parachute dress, eh? looks like she's got the undergarmenture for it

eerie

lamp

this is one melty looking not-hallway

it's wallpapered chair wouldn't do that if I were you just fell out of a chair

the sound is eerie
huh the whole place is just melty geometries

go fuck yourself, there's a door whether you like it or not

EXCUSE YOU? That's the man's nose

man don't laugh at your own jokes

hehehehe "no, impassable"

oh sure NOW there's a table

Direct, isn't he

it's not marked "poison" though. So your advice sucks

that is one strange-flavored potion

you're an asshole is what you are, door

I like how this is a universe that just straight up mocks her

the tears are sort of abrupt, eh?

UNLOCK THE DOOOooooooooh you're stupid

well that worked.

that's a... NOPE. HE'S USING A TOUCAN AS A BOAT

"NOTHER NAUTICAL EXPRESSION"

way too many birds out here well those make more sense and that' sRow Row Row your Boat

I hear a new song

I've got noting.

THEY'RE GETTING DRY??? very badly, obviously

hahaha the umbrella

STOP KICKING THAT MACKEREL

so I may as well say right now that the white rabbit has NO TIME FOR YOUR SHIT
THE FUCK ARE THEY

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum

they honk

we're songing again

nope, just dance

there's the song

"THat's MANNERS!"

Tweedle Dumb is right

did she seriously just get played... with oysters

song again wow this movie is loaded with them

Everyhting about this is just all kinds of absurd and I'm on board with all of it

cabbages and kings!!!! he's just babbling nonsesOYSTERBABIES

YOINK

what is with the gloves with holes in them. Dishonest JHohn had them too

THERE GO THE EYEBROWS

shaddap fool

hehehe he nose is a pearl

the pied piper is now a walrus everything in my life makes no sense

WHY DO THEY HAVE FEET AND WHY ARE THEY NOT ATTACHED TO ANYTHING

why would they go into a place labled fish dinners, oysters don't eat fish

this is morbid

FEEEED?

how do you eat like a cabbage

man don't piss off a guy with a hammer

"yeah... if you're an oyster"

ANOTHER song

not so much

tiny house. this is feeling a bit anecdotey WHITE RABBIT that's no Mary Anne

NO TIME FOR YOUR SHIT, MARY ANNE
oh COME ON stop taking advice from cookies

BOOM. SUPERKICK

MONSTER

HELP, ASSISTANCE

Dodo's back!

BY JOVE

out the chimney?

well lucky for you

White Rabbit reminds me of Doc

GIANT EYE? BEHOLDER. EVERY LIZARD FOR HIMSELF

so long, Bill

Dodo you're supremely unhelpful

"Sure sure, just burn the house dowNOPE"

I give up. This is just a world where verse and song ae mandatory

FUCK YOU, THOSE ARE MINE

sure, random resizing carrot because why not

oh so she's super tiny now

NO COOPERATION AT ALL

can't have those monsters about, no

the backgrounds are all so lush

ahahahaha bread and butter flies

flowers with faces!

ahaha puns all around

ROSE!

oh goddammit they're the elephant bitches

oh the shy little violets are the most adorable things

the character BOOM BO BO BOOM ahahahaha yesssss so on baord with all of this

new song, but this one feels songy for a change

hhehe etiger lilly and dandy lion

of course there are dog AND cat erpillars

this is fantastic

AND NOW THEY ARE INSTRUMENTS

all the character work is amazing

singing out of your range there, dearie

"quiet, Bud"

bitch flower, you're a weasel

annnnd soaked

funny how she looks more we t now than she did when she was getting hit with an ocean

I hear music. In this movie, you know what that means]

caterpillar found

O U E I OA...

vaguely arabian tune

love the smoke letters. So unhealthy

C

knot :D

U?

nie going kid, already doing smoke letters at your age

knot just kills me :D

what does a square have to do with "recite"

right, cause that was correctical of you

AHAHAH the back legs

NO TIME FOR MY SHIT

caterpillar's a massive dick

oh sure now he wants to be helpful

man just sat on his own head

well done Alice, now you've got him DEAD. right then

WOW Tehre okay let's not be in faces

Alice come on don't be with the magic mushrooms. That's a bad move no matter how you look at yup now you're gigantic

okay seriously how do you figure SERPENT

SERPEEEEEEEEENT well you should have realized

the most helpful roadsign collection ever

new song coming

that's the Jabberwocky poem! :D

okay nope disembodied smile EYES let'\s there we go that what the hell is with those colors

he just took off his friggin ears I don't even

okay the cat is officially bending all of reality

Who did?

Coan you stand on your head? wow Labyrinth flashbacks

You should have thought of that before you became an adventurer, girlie. annnnd then he unraveled

I spot a Mad Hatter. And another song

just everything is alive in Wonderland?

why am I even questioning it

I'm obviously mad too

NO ROOM NO ROOM

manners lesson from two madmen and a sleepy drunk

I refguse to comment on what just happened.

UNbirthday, eh?

NEITHER DO I

there's a weird lack of musicality to most of the songs in this movie

SHOCK. IT IS??

Mine too, by the way

THST IS NOT HOW CAKES WORK

nope, I refuse to comment on that either

MOVE DOWN what are they saying about why?

you have been logicked by madmen. Well done Alice

"and when you come to the end, STOP!" excellent adice

CAAAAAAAT? and resultant freakout

...jam on his nose?

THOSE are the things that upset you, not a rabbit cutting tea with his ears

half a cup why am I even I have nothing


THUNK. annnnd now he's a talking hat. Dishonest John again

SHE'S STARK RAVING MAD

wait now she';s ahead of him why am I trying

HOW CAN A CLOCK BE DAYS SLOW WHY AM I PARTICIPATING

would it be all the salt?

TWO SPOONS.

fuck your mustard.

MAD WATCH

THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO Sand now the color's gone

"two days slow"

Alice you need better hobbies, seriously

I strongly doubt both of those statements.

EYES

...welp

literally eyes

awww that's adorable

EXCUSE YOU?

annnd we have percussion frogs

will you call it Lewis Carroll Eat A Dick?

okay they're surprisingly creepy

that is a bird cage

I'm with you on that one, Alice

well, that would explain all the excessive signage

annnnd we have hairy pants with eyes that are an arrow

fuck yo path, apparently

reminds me of Snow White in the woods

song? song

how would that be a CHANGE?

wait, are the nonsense beings melting away?

that's kind of a different sort of eerie you have going there annnnnnnd now it's you and the doom cat alone in a dark void

SIMPLY MAD ABOUT YOU

well, tjat would do it

wait where did she enter this movie just MADE Labyrinth, didn't it

and we have a new song about roses

Painting the roses red

sung by playing cards. Of course.

oh come on what about anythjing you just heard suggests "the Queen" sia good thing

MARCH OF THE CARDS

who come in some unusal colors

hehe jaunty march whistling

and now they're cutting the deck

explains his trumpet

THE QUEEN OF HEARTS

"and the king."

SOMEONE WILL LOSE IS HEAD

NOT ME YOUR GRACE, THE ACE

her army just folded

you are surprisingly enchanNOPE

YYYYYYEEEEEEES, YOUR MAJESTY

YOOUR MAY? ALL WAYS HERE ARE MY WAY

she's so over the top, I love it

poor king, such delusions of grandeur. and the clubs, of course, are flamingos because that's the rules. What were the balls?

Hedgehog

"If you know what's good for you..."

I don't remember the rules to croquet. It's that game we'd bring out and then try to play and then food would be ready and we'd all go to the picknic table

uh oh, you done fucked up, Ace

ahaha poor chairflamingo

poor Alice. "uh huh!" :D

AHAHAHAHAHA YESS

oh but it's loads of WELP

THAT CAN'T BE GOOD

WELP SHE LOOKS LIKE A MONSTR

TRIAL???

and the n they all leap into the air and suddenly courtroom

"and the king

SENTENCE FIRST, verdict afterwards

this is guaranteed to be helpful

THAAAAAAT'S VERY IMPORTANT

evertyhing is completely insane now

OFFF WITH YOUR HAT

Alice is just so done with all this shit

oh no yup it's a cat

AND NOW EVERYTHING IS GOING AMOK. Time to escape

LEEEEEEEEET ME HAVE IT

wait but those shoud cancel out

I love how there's a rule for mile-high persons

oh don't do it you'll annnnd there you go

here we go with the jumping itno the air again

this definitely inspired Labyrinth

...

I have nothing

everything came back for the mad finale

that is some fantastic lighting they did there

definitely mom. and the goddamn choir is back

that ending sucks, just for the record.

Right, so... that was exceedingly daffy

4 comments:

  1. If you can find it, Martin Gardner's "Annotated Alice" is a terrific resource. Explains a lot of the references and puns.

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  2. I may have mentioned on RPG.net, here is where you may start to hear a lot of voice actor reuse. Already we've got J. Pat O'Malley as the Walrus, the Carpenter, and both Tweedles; and Bill Thompson is both the White Rabbit and the Dodo, and you should hear Bill Thompson's voice work in some more Disney films, though you may have already heard him if you've seen any of Tex Avery's Droopy cartoons for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. James MacDonald, the voice of the Dormouse, was also Cinderella's main mice and dog, and he took over some parts of Mickey Mouse's gang, including Chip of "Chip 'n' Dale", Humphrey the Bear, and Mickey himself.

    And already you've heard the voice of the Cheshire Cat, Sterling Holloway, as Mr. Stork from Dumbo and adult Flower from Bambi, and you'll definitely hear him again. He and Jerry Colonna, the voice of the March Hare, also did some narration for some of the movies you skipped. Likewise, you already heard the voice of the Queen of Hearts, Verna Felton, as Mrs. Jumbo and the elephant matriarch from Dumbo and the fairy godmother from Cinderella, and would you believe she goes on to play another elephant and another fairy godmother for Disney?

    (Looking at the credits for Dumbo, I saw some other prolific actors in bit parts, such as Jim Crow voiced by Cliff Edwards of Jiminy Cricket fame, and a clown voiced by Billy Bletcher, who I see had voice roles in a ton of shorts, including MGM's Barney Bear and Disney's own Pegleg Pete, the Big Bad Wolf, and Horace Horsecollar. And Marion Darlington just did bird noises for these early features... and Alice's crying?)

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  3. Yeah, there are a lot of songs in this movie. The opening title song is actually quite lovely as an instrumental, I once heard it played on harp very impressively. The big hits are "Golden Afternoon" and "The Unbirthday Song". By the way, if you think this was a lot of songs, you have no idea, they wrote something like 40 or 50 of them that ended up being scrapped during production. Alice was something of a favorite of Walt Disney, so he really wanted this movie to be a hit. It did... okay, and like Fantasia only really hit its stride once the hippies got a load of it.

    Alice's voice actress, Kathryn Beaumont, continued to voice her as needed for decades; I think she only retired from it sometime in the last 5-6 years. As an adult she was also an English teacher, and from what I'm told she was a very engaging, popular one.

    Other than that I don't have a lot to say about this movie. It's entertaining, but not one of my favorites-- like its source material it doesn't have much of a story to follow, just Alice wandering around encountering weirdness until she wakes up from her dream.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, I think the book had plenty of funny verse that could be turned into songs; the trick was identifying the catchiest sayings, or the "memes" if you call them.

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