Alice in Wonderland/Peter Pan

Today we are really getting spooky with Walt Disney movies because today we will be looking at the horrifying “Alice in Wonderland,” released in 1951. Of all the handful of adaptations of Lewis Carroll’s novel “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and/or “Through the Looking Glass,” Walt Disney’s adaptation is probably the most famous.

Alice, voiced by Kathryn Beaumont, is not happy with her life because she thinks it’s boring. What she wants is a fantasy world where nothing would be what it is, and everything will be what it isn’t. She falls down a hole when running after the White Rabbit, voiced by Bill Thompson, where she gets the world she wanted.

The famous part of the movie where the Mad Hatter (Ed Wynn) is having a tea party with the March Hare (Jerry Colonna) and the Dormouse (Jimmy MacDonald) is the quintessential part of the film’s nonsensical comedy. Also, I can’t make this review without mentioning the Cheshire Cat, voiced by Sterling Holloway, moments.

What’s really disturbing about this movie is how the humanized characters die: the baby oysters are eaten by a walrus (J. Pat O’Malley) which you will sometimes not see on television, and the forceful Queen of Hearts (Verna Felton) screaming “off with their heads” to every small situation. Many sources have said that the original Carroll books were political commentary written as a fantasy, so this would make sure that no one lost “his” head.

There’s no occult/witchcraft subject. However, the caterpillar with the water pipe, voiced by Richard Haydn, the mushroom and other food/drink that make you grow or shrink – some of these parts were later analyzed as hallucinogenic drug parts (much like the dancing pink elephants in “Dumbo”). Brett Willis said in his review, “Witness the Great Society/Jefferson Airplane drug song “White Rabbit,” whose lyrics in turn gave birth to the title of the 1973 drug film “Go Ask Alice”.”

At the end of the movie, we find out that this was all Alice’s nightmare. The right age for children to watch this movie would be when they can grasp fantasy from reality and won’t get bad dreams themselves. I’m not going to lie; I still get scared watching this film to this day as an adult.

Next up we are taking a trip to Neverland with “Peter Pan,” released in 1953. Much like with “Alice in Wonderland,” “Peter Pan” is the most popular adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s favorite about a boy who never grew up and is constantly in war with pirates. It is easy to see why the story has been loved by generations of children and adults as it has a magical sense of adventure for young and childhood wish of being an adult. Then when you become an adult, you want to be a child again, since no one is happy with where they are. This is the sad fact of life. According a blog I read, “Disney’s interpretation certainly works best for the younger demographic, with its briskly paced episodic story of derring-do and swashbuckling adventure, but there is still nostalgic enjoyment to be had by the jaded adults too.”

What you can see with a lot of Disney films of this period, “Peter Pan” can be slightly disconnected sometimes. The episodic pieces means that it won’t bore you but it doesn’t really hold together, while some of the side stories (mainly the Native American parts) seem racist by today’s standards. Still, at the strong points, “Peter Pan” can be a magical ride that embodies the handful of energy and imagination of a child. While the Darling family (Kathryn Beaumont, Paul Collins, Tommy Luske, Hans Conried and Heather Angel) can be a little too scared middle-class, the Lost Boys (Robert Ellis, Jeffrey Silver, Jonny McGovern and Stuffy Singer) excel in that area.

Peter himself (Bobby Driscoll) is mischievous and bad-tempered while our villains Captain Hook (Hans Conried) and Mr. Smee (Bill Thompson) steal the show whenever their parts appear. In many ways, Tinkerbell (Margaret Kerry) has surpassed the film, becoming not only the star in her own franchise, but also an icon of the Disney Studio. Her magical pixie dust becomes a great metaphor for the film, which is consisted a liberal sprinkling of magic but its treatment is uneven.

The animation may not be the best of the studio’s films in the 1940s but it still has great characters and is full of detail. The blog I read noted that, “The Lost Boys and pirates (all voiced by Thompson) are particularly well realised whilst the Mary Blair inspired backgrounds are beautiful (especially with the recent high-definition transfer).” “Peter Pan” may not be a classic to some, but it is still a piece of escapable adventure. I still consider it one of Disney’s best films, as do a lot of people, so check it out.

Hope everyone enjoyed today’s entry. Stay tuned for more adventure in “Disney Month.”