[.ca] Alice In Wonderland

From Amazon.com:
This gorgeously designed theater production of Lewis Carroll's world-famous fantasy, based on a famous production from the 1930s, features an astonishing array of notable actors. Richard Burton is quietly touching as the doddering White Knight; Eve Arden spits out commands as the bloodthirsty Queen of Hearts; Donald O'Connor plays the woeful Mock Turtle as a jaunty standup comedian; and such varied talents as Colleen Dewhurst, Nathan Lane, Maureen Stapleton, James Coco, Andre Gregory, and Geoffrey Holder fill out Carroll's phantasmagoria as Kate Burton (Richard's daughter) plays the title character in the classic blue-and-white dress and blond tresses. All the sets and costumes are meticulously based on the illustrations from the original books (the story line is a mix of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass), capturing artist John Tenniel's elaborate creations with zest. Though the story lacks dramatic action, the wordplay and visuals are delightful. --Bret Fetzer

It's a bad sign when the sets are better than the actors.:
This particular "Alice" has a long history. It started as a hit play in the early '40s, was resurrected in the late '70s with Kate Burton in the title role, and then ported to Great Performances on PBS - the latter of which is what we have here on DVD. Presumably it worked a little better on stage, and probably a little better in the '40s, too. Sadly, it runs through both "Alice" stories in a breakneck 90 minutes' time, and much of the acting is truly lamentable - some of the actors are so bad, I actually thought that might be an intentional joke, as with Austin Pendleton's monotonistic White Rabbit! Probably the best of them are Donald O'Connor - the only one of the lot who can actually sing! - as the Mock Turtle, Geoffrey Holder as the Cheshire Cat, and Richard Burton as the White Knight. The tea party crew is fairly good as well. The rest...well, the sooner forgotten about, the better. Despite the acting, the sets and costumes are gorgeous - they're mostly made (with the exception of the Cat) to look like Tenniel woodcuts. That makes it quite a visual treat, if nothing else. This isn't the worst "Alice" I've seen, but it's not very high on my list. Still, it has enough good points it's probably worth a rental on a rainy week...just don't expect anything too incredible.

Great Find:
I remember watching this on PBS when I was a kid and I was so excited to see this on DVD. It's a great production with a great cast. I like that the play features both Alice in Wonderland AND Through the Looking Glass. As a Lewis Carroll fan I was happy to see how closely the play follows the books.

Everyone walked through this abbreviated quasi-musical.:
The play is based on two books by Lewis Carroll "Alice's Adventures Underground" and "Through the Looking-glass." There have been several presentations, each with it own strength or weakness. This is a 1993 TV presentation of which you can see that lots of time and energy went in to it, We go through the story at light speed only to slow down for a few badly placed songs. This presentation should be an embarrassment to everyone involved. However if you did not know any better a log of Lewis Carroll's humor and way with words comes through. There is a little television trickery that actually helps the presentation. You would think with such a great cast that it could not fail: Kate Burton as Alice (at 26 years old) Austin Pendleton as White Rabbit Richard Burton as White Knight James Coco as King of Hearts Tony Cummings as Knave of Hearts Alan Weeks as Tweedledee André De Shields as Tweedledum Eve Arden as Queen of Hearts Maureen Stapleton as White Queen Colleen Dewhurst as Red Queen Andre Gregory as Mad Hatter Geoffrey Holder as Cheshire Cat Zeljko Ivanek as March Hare Nathan Lane as Mouse Donald O'Connor as Mock Turtle Swen Swenson as Gryphon Fritz Weaver as Caterpillar Richard Woods as Humpty-Dumpty Bottom line this presentation takes an effort to get trough.

An ALICE more mannered than magical:
Lewis Carroll's classic fantasy of wonder and weirdness, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, has long been a favorite subject of both playwrights and screenwriters to adapt. From the all star Paramount classic of the 30's with Cary Grant as the Mock Turtle to the wild colors of the Disney cartoon, this story has been very difficult for writers to get a solid handle on. Part of the reason is the mere episodic nature of the story, as Alice flits from one wacky character to the next. This version, based on a 1984 theatre revival, is only partly successful. The costumes and sets wonderfully recall the original illustrations of John Tenniel, and Kate Burton makes for a winsome and witty Alice. Unfortunately, some of the performances seem almost too laid-back for a show that should demand high energy. For example, Eve Arden's Queen of Hearts, instead of being overtly furious and bloodthirsty in her "Off with her head" tirades, comes across as merely slightly miffed!!! It also doesn't help that James Cocoa's King of Hearts has no personality whatsoever. Andre Gregory's Mad Hatter is likewise handicapped. However, there are some performances that do convey a better spirit of the story and inject life into this production. Geoffrey Holder makes for a regal and slightly sinister Cheshire Cat. A young Nathan Lane is a wonderfully skittish Mouse, while Fritz Weaver makes for a sage Caterpillar. Donald O'Conner soft-shoes his merry way as a light-footed Mock Turtle. Bookended with a back-story concerning an actress (Ms. Burton) getting ready for her first big production, this production is both literate and a treat for the eye. However, this production misses that vital spark of energy that keeps a merely good production from being a great one. However, if you love theatre, this one is worth your time.

A highly theatrical "Alice":
I have studied Carroll, I have researched the 'Alice' stories, and I have even directed a successful production of the very same Eva LeGallienne script, and I was very excited to see this production available on DVD. I was hoping to see if a big budget could make sense of a theatrical script that doesn't really work. Please don't get me wrong...Ms. LeGallienne's script is by far the most true to the original stories. Ms. LeGallienne's script pulls out of the original stories only the most important characters and qualities, but the script itself still lacks the thread that creates one complete story, and unfortunately this production chops away even further by ommitting key transitional moments leaving only the major scenes. Did I enjoy it? Absolutely! The design was gorgeous. The characters and the scenery seemed to have been lifted from the pages of Teniel's illustrations and brought to life. There were so many brilliant moments. Most notably the aloof and condescending Catepillar, the doughy-faced Dutchess, Stapleton's flighty White Queen, the academic snobbery of Humpty, and Lane's neurotic Mouse. I also have to add, I completely disagree with another reviewer's opinion of Arden's Queen of Hearts. I felt that her understated, and underplayed Queen was a brilliant choice. Remember, screaming does not an actor make. Her insincerity and aloofness is the perfect mirror image of Victorian royalty. And the insuated affair between the Knave and Queen of Hearts kept me laughing for hours! Bravo! I am also sorry to say that I was disappointed with Burton's Alice. She completely lacked the sensitivity and sensibilities of a 7 year old. She played Alice as an adult instead of Alice attempting to act as an adult. Overall, I highly recommend this for anyone who loves 'Alice'. Despite the problems with the script, it is by far the most true adaptation of the stories, and one worth owning.