Alice's Adventures In Wonderland [DVD]

This 1972 adaptation is something of an exception. This version vastly sticks closely to the original book though the silly, syrupy songs don't quite blend into Carroll's origanal ethos of the famous story. There were intentionally dark undertones in the book as though you were drawn into a childs nightmare but there has barley been any live-action screen version that has thoroughly captured the true spirit of Wonderland apart from a spooky, modern-day re-telling of the familiar story by Jan Svamkmajer in Alice (1988).

In this version Fiona Fullerton makes a pleasantly bland Alice in a somewhat confectionary telling of the story. The cardboard-like sets seem far more suited for a theatrical production and it loses the feel of its intended effect on a few occasions. On saying that what the film does often encapsulate is a dreamy, hazy-like feel and at times effectivley capturing the origanal vision of Carroll. The film is engaging at the beginning which follows the enchanting scenes of Alice waking up in a giant, story-book garden. Its there where she sees the white rabit (played by Michael Crawford) and follows him into a dark tunnel. Its here where the adventure begins as she falls down a large rabbit hole into the whimisical, topsy-turvy world of Wonderland. These effective sequences work well and the music is masterful and hauntingly atmospheric. However once Alice reaches Wonderland the film is something of a hit and miss affair and at times its pace is a little tedious. Still there are some points of interest and lovers of the story will most likely deem this to be one of the most satisfactory film version made. There are plenty of other famous British actors/esses on show here such as Dudley Moore, Ralph Richardson, Dame Flora Robson (putting in an effective performance as the Queen Of Hearts), Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Dennis Waterman, Robert Helpmann , Michael Hordem , Michael Jayston as Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carrolls real name - Jayston is in the opening sequence telling Alice a story on the riverbank which is where she falls asleep and the adventure begins) and Patsy Rolands taking the role of the Duchess's demented, plate-throwing cook to new heights.

The film was widely criticised and regarded by some as an unadventurous adaptation. Contrary to that the film could be praised for being such a loyal and faithful adaptation though like most other versions it tends to draw segments from Carrolls sequel, Alice Through The Looking Glas. Fiona Fullerton at this point was being promoted as the new Julie Andrews (though wasn't) but this did little to ignite the films fortunes and overall Alice's Adventures In Wonderland proved to be a relative failure. That year also saw the Roald Dahl book, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (retitled Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory) adapted to the silver screen which won favourable reviews and was a big box office draw in comparison to this. To make matters seemingly even worse, Peter Sellers caused a minor stir by criticising the film himself before it had even opened at cinemas.

Still on the whole the film has some enchanting moments, some great playing from a capable cast and an often masterful score that helps build the intentionally edgy and atmospheric feel to Alice's adventures and on pushing some of its blatant shortcomings aside and focusing on more of its merits, its defintley worth a look and fans of the story will undoubtedly be enthralled.