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Amazon.co.uk Review
This is an impressive-looking version of Lewis Carroll's story originally produced for American television. Dreading a singing recital at her parents' lavish home, Alice falls into a strange world in pursuit of a large White Rabbit. The talented child actor Tina Majorino (Corrina, Corrina) plays Alice with all the good graces but mostly wanders through the story unquestioningly. Carroll's tale of whimsical, illogical adventures is a field day for designers Roger Hall and Alan Tomkins, costumer Charles Knode, Jim Henson's Creature Shop and director Nick Willing (Photographing Fairies). Influenced by Time Bandits and Labyrinth (the latter also designed by the Henson company), the film has a splendid array of effects, many dealing with multiple perspectives as Alice constantly changes sizes. The highlight is Whoopi Goldberg as the Cheshire Cat, a seamless mix of cat and comic. Martin Short as the Hatter and Mirandra Richardson as the Queen of Hearts seem to be having the times of their lives. This is not the definitive version of Carroll's tale, and, like the popular Disney animated version, combines some elements of Carroll's sequel, Through the Looking Glass. It is perhaps better viewing for the fan that has seen another version of the tale or read the book. --Doug Thomas, Amazon.com
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
Having always been a great fan of this Lewis Carroll classic (it was my chosen text for English Literature A Level!!) I was intrigued to see how such a mixed bunch of British and American actors would portray the bizarre world that is Wonderland.
Whoopi Goldberg is superb as the Cheshire Cat - 10 out of 10 to casting for choosing the biggest grin on the big screen. Ben Kingsley makes a marvellous portrayal of the pompous Caterpillar as does Gene Wilder as the Mock Turtle. Other stars worthy of a mention are most certainly Martin Short whose Mad Hatter is just the right amount of cheeky yet lovable and last but not lease Miranda Richardson whose squawking Queen of Hearts is second only to the extremely ugly portrayal of the same character in Walt Disney's version.
Amongst this phenomonal list of stars was cast little known Tina Majorino in the lead part of confused Alice. This creates a perfect balance in that Tina still shines through as the star of the picture and interacts superbly with the huge star cast she has been dropped in the middle of.
This film is a must for children and the young-at-heart alike. Where children will enjoy the funny characters and the places which only ever appear in your dreams, I would advise adults to look deeper into the mind of the child and what is going on in there!!!
I would not be without this in my video collection and cannot wait for the film version of Alice Through the Looking Glass to appear in my xmas stocking.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Thanks to some excellent performances and wonderful Henson creatures this version of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" truly sparkles in places. The star-heavy cast is rarely a burden, as sometimes happens when signing a big name seems more important than choosing appropriate actors, and there are delightful scenes aplenty, even when the script departs from the original, which it unfortunately does all too often.
Thanks to a peculiar combination of cutting elements of Carroll's story and dialogue and inserting new material too much of this film has a disjointed and chaotic air about it that manages to be merely confusing rather than conveying the madness and dream-like nature of Wonderland. Some of the changes work well enough (the Gryphon becomes considerably more cultured than in the book thanks to a splendid bit of voice work by Donald Sinden, for example) and many of them make little real difference to the story, such as a jury consisting entirely of guinea pigs rather than an assortment of birds and animals. Others are less successful, particularly the beginning and end of the film where a wholly superfluous tale of Alice being afraid to sing in public and Wonderland giving her the confidence to do so has been tacked on, presumably to impart some sort of moral message.
Least satisfying of all is that this isn't actually a film of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" alone but also includes elements of "Through the Looking Glass", spliced rather gracelessly into the story. Two films, one for each book, would have been better, but under the circumstances the scenes with Tweedledum and Tweedledee (nicely played by the heavyweight pairing of George Wendt and Robbie Coltrane) are a much better fit than the encounter with Christopher Lloyd's White Knight.
Children will find some parts of the film baffling but the whole spectacle will pull them along. Adults might be left somewhat bemused by the choices made in this production, but enough of it is excellently done to make one generous towards its faults. The definitive "Alice" has yet to be made, but this is still a very enjoyable film with plenty to delight the viewer.
Thanks to a peculiar combination of cutting elements of Carroll's story and dialogue and inserting new material too much of this film has a disjointed and chaotic air about it that manages to be merely confusing rather than conveying the madness and dream-like nature of Wonderland. Some of the changes work well enough (the Gryphon becomes considerably more cultured than in the book thanks to a splendid bit of voice work by Donald Sinden, for example) and many of them make little real difference to the story, such as a jury consisting entirely of guinea pigs rather than an assortment of birds and animals. Others are less successful, particularly the beginning and end of the film where a wholly superfluous tale of Alice being afraid to sing in public and Wonderland giving her the confidence to do so has been tacked on, presumably to impart some sort of moral message.
Least satisfying of all is that this isn't actually a film of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" alone but also includes elements of "Through the Looking Glass", spliced rather gracelessly into the story. Two films, one for each book, would have been better, but under the circumstances the scenes with Tweedledum and Tweedledee (nicely played by the heavyweight pairing of George Wendt and Robbie Coltrane) are a much better fit than the encounter with Christopher Lloyd's White Knight.
Children will find some parts of the film baffling but the whole spectacle will pull them along. Adults might be left somewhat bemused by the choices made in this production, but enough of it is excellently done to make one generous towards its faults. The definitive "Alice" has yet to be made, but this is still a very enjoyable film with plenty to delight the viewer.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
The acting and visual effects in this adaptation are second to none in my opinion. Just check out the actors involved. Impressive! The perfomance by the young Tina Majorino is nothing short of excellent, and I can't imagine anyone improving on Martin Short's Mad Hatter. It is wonderful treat to find films that can be shared with enjoyment by both children and adults. This is a film that achieves this - the difficult art of mixing "adult" an "naïve" qualities. It is only too rare to find these days. In short an excellent film!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
My Review
Very good. Was all I expected it to be and better. I would recommend it to my friends.
Keep up the good works. Thanks.
Keep up the good works. Thanks.
Published 2 months ago by Em
loved it
Watched this on tv at christmas, and my 2 year old loved it. So bought the dvd and it is now the most watched dvd in the house. We watch it at least twice a day... Every day. Read more
Published 4 months ago by higgzi
fun film, different and perhaps better than the disney version.
My son took a shine to this when it was on the telly so when i noticed it cheap on here i ordered it.i haven't been let down.he loves it despite it being weird. Read more
Published 4 months ago by cleverclogs
I love this film!
I used to own this on video when I was younger and LOVED it; it's such a good take on Carroll's work and I bought it on DVD to see if I'd still enjoy it now and I do. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Ms. B. J. JENKINS
Great dvd
What a great dvd, my grandchildren aged 3yrs to eight 8yrs want it played all the time, keeps them quiet for hours.
Published 7 months ago by Mr. T. Evans
Brilliant
Such a brilliant film. The grand daughters adore every bit of it and the characters and the music just make you happy all the way through the film.
Published 9 months ago by soomc
Refilmagem Excelente
Um clássico do cinema em uma das melhores refilmagens. Coisa rara de se ver
Uma versão ano 2000, melhorada com os mais fantásticos efeitos especiais, reunindo um... Read more
Uma versão ano 2000, melhorada com os mais fantásticos efeitos especiais, reunindo um... Read more
Published 12 months ago by filmesdificeis brasil
DVD
Purchased for my children who are putting on the play in school and they wanted to look at the characters. Did what it wanted to do at a cheap price.
Published 13 months ago by Wayne
Would definitely recommend this
This is a lovely film for young children. We had a free CD of this film and watched it so often that it wore out, so bought another one to keep my children happy.
Published 18 months ago by samben
Best version yet!
My six year old grand-daughter absolutely adores this version of Alice In Wonderland, and I never tire of watching it with her. The actors are well-known and amazingly prolific.
Published 18 months ago by Mia
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