Kraft Television Theatre: Alice in Wonderland (1954)

As television slowly grew in popularity, becoming more mainstream, live versions of Alice in Wonderland plays would be broadcast.  Nearly all of the early filmed plays are lost to time, but this one had a special edge.  Presented as a part of the Kraft Television Theatre anthology series, where classic and new stories would be presented in hour-long installments, the Alice in Wonderland episode holds the distinction for being the first live-action filmed "reimagining" of the story that involved a pre-existing character entering Wonderland.

Multiple cartoons had been released prior, but those were very loosely based on the source and only had minor references throughout.  Here, we get to see Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy follow Alice down the rabbit hole, providing commentary throughout the way.  The Alice story remains intact and faithful to the source, while the comedian's interjections make this quite an interesting take on the tale.  By this point, everyone would have been familiar enough with the story that to see a modern twist would have been welcome.

Original Source Breakdown

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Chapter I: Down the Rabbit Hole - MOSTLY INTACT
Edgar Bergen begins telling Charlie the story of Alice in Wonderland as the actual White Rabbit shows up and Alice follows him down the hole.  There, she shrinks via the "Drink Me" bottle so that she may go through the door.  Edgar and Charlie follow her down and also shrink.

Chapter V: Advice from a Caterpillar - MOSTLY INTACT
Alice has her standard conversation with the Caterpillar.  After she leaves, Edgar and Charlie try to talk to the Caterpillar as well, with their own new version of "Father William."

Through the Looking-Glass

Chapter IV: Tweedledum and Tweedledee - MINOR REFERENCES
The duo appears to help direct the comedians towards Alice.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Chapter VI: Pig and Pepper - INTACT
This whole chapter is surprisingly intact, albeit with the addition of Edgar and Charlie.  There is a twist to what the baby changes into, which should be obvious given the comedian.

Chapter VII: A Mad Tea Party - INTACT
Edgar and Charlie crash the tea party midway though, but it doesn't affect the flow of the scene much.

Through the Looking-Glass
Chapter II: The Garden of Live Flowers - MINOR REFERENCES
After a storm scares everyone away from the tea party, the gang finds a bed of talking flowers who sing them to sleep.

Chapter VIII: "It's My Own Invention" - MOSTLY INTACT
Alice encounters the Red and White Knight and the basics of the chapter unfold.  Edgar and Charlie strike up a conversation with the Red Knight after he tries to capture them as well.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Chapter IX,X: The Mock Turtle's Story, The Lobster-Quadrille - MOSTLY REMOVED
The gang encounters the Mock Turtle (and only the Mock Turtle) who sings "Beautiful Soup."

Through the Looking-Glass
Chapter I: Looking-Glass House - MINOR REFERENCES
The Red Knight catches up to the gang at the Mock Turtle's beach and recites "Jabberwocky."

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Chapter XI: Who Stole the Tarts? - MOSTLY INTACT
Chapter XII: Alice's Evidence - MOSTLY INTACT
After Alice is called to the stand, the King takes notice of Edgar and Charlie and starts harassing them with threats and questions pertaining to the trial.  Charlie nearly loses his head before Alice stops the trial and Edgar and Charlie wake up from their dream.

Review:

For what this was, I found myself pleasantly entertained throughout this truncated version of the story.  Edgar Bergen's Charlie McCarthy character was wonderful for wry, snarky humor and every joke they have at the expense of the Wonderland story is quite funny.  They manage to have conversations with the Wonderland characters that stays true to all parties involved, with fun wordplay and logical humor.

Part of me wishes that Edgar and Charlie could have had more to do in the story, as the show is otherwise very plain, but I feel as if the show writers didn't want to alter the original too much.  It seems as if the shows goal was to please everybody.  Fans of the original get their play while newcomers and non-fans get to enjoy Bergen's comedy.

The special effects for this live performance are quite clever, with the shrinking and growing effects and the changing scenery.  I kept having to remind myself that this was live, so there was probably a lot of running from set to set as the cameras changed.  There are quite a few flubs because of that.  Missed cues, wrong lines, and crew members walking in front of the camera occur often, but it doesn't detract.  It lends to the charm that these people are putting on a show for us at home and we should just enjoy their entertainment.

My favorite part by far was courtesy of the Kraft Television Theatre model, wherein every commercial was presented live as well, highlighting a different Kraft product.  First up was Cheez Wiz.  Yes, this product was only a year old during this airing and, despite being in black-and-white, I could still sense the bright orange color as it was slopped into their showcased recipes.  The Kraft Swiss Cheese and All-Purpose Cooking Oil were less bizarre but seeing that ancient Cheez Wiz was enrapturing.  I know this has nothing to do with Wonderland, but whatever.

Despite a lot of these older adaptations being rife with bland acting and poor design, this simple TV version was a real treat.  It's not going to become my favorite and I don't need to ever see it again, but it was funny and endearing enough to watch at least once.  It's cute.

3.5 out of 5 Dummy Quips

Alice Through the Looking Glass (1966)

Television director Alan Handley made a name for himself producing lavish Broadway-style shows and variety shows.  Music and comedy were his bread and butter and in the middle of his career, he was tasked with producing the first full-length adaptation of Through the Looking-Glass for television.  Rather than do a straightforward version of the plot with music added, Handley made the spectacle more like one of his variety shows, with celebrities, comedians, and singers filling in for the Carrollian characters.

Because it is presented as a variety show, there is a theatrical quality to the proceedings.  Three-walled sets and a laugh-track make up this production.  New characters and new songs appear throughout.  The plot is heavily changed, making it more of a loose interpretation than an actual attempt to recreate the story.  As so, I'll count this as a reimagining with references.

Original Source Breakdown

Through the Looking-Glass
Chapter I: Looking-Glass House - MAJOR REFERENCES
Alice travels through the mirror during a family party that she's too young to join.  She meets with the Kings and Queens of the chess who explain a lot of this world to her.  They are being tormented by the Jabberwocky who becomes the main villain of this play.  Alice has some interesting decisions about combating the monster and they suggest she become queen by traveling to the Castle at the end of the road.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Chapter I: Down the Rabbit Hole - MINOR REFERENCES
After leaving the house, Alice encounters a table with the "Drink Me" bottle on it and she knowingly tells the audience that she's not going down that road again.  She does find a small door that she crawls through to take her into the garden.

Through the Looking-Glass
Chapter II: The Garden of Live Flowers - MAJOR REFERENCES
Alice meets with the Talking Flowers and also meets Lester the Jester who takes her around the Queen's garden and zoo and explains more about the world.

Chapter VII,VIII: The Lion and the Unicorn/"It's My Own Invention" - MINOR REFERENCES
Alice meets with the White King who is sitting on a hill fishing.  He is very fatherly towards her and gives her advice.  He's almost more like the White Knight than the White King from the book.  (The Knights appear later, but as a minor dance ensemble.)

Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel - MAJOR REFERENCES
Alice encounters the witches from these stories for some odd reason.  All at once.  She defeats them by recognizing who they are.  It's weird.

Chapter IV: Tweedledum and Tweedledee - MAJOR REFERENCES
Dum and Dee appear in the Pink Forest where only girls are allowed.  They treat Alice to the Backwards Alphabet.

Chapter VI: Humpty Dumpty - MAJOR REFERENCES
In a moment that's actually very similar to the book, Humpty Dumpty explains his relationships with words and the meanings of the "Jabberwocky" words via song to Alice.

Chapter IX: Queen Alice - MAJOR REFERENCES
Alice, upon reaching the end of the board must travel all the way back to the beginning for her coronation.  The Queens hold a tea party with playing cards (just to get some references out of the way) and then have their examination for Alice.  She gets crowned in a large ceremony that the Jabberwock shows up and threatens.  He chases her back through the Looking-Glass as the Jester fights him off.

Chapter XII: Which Dreamed It? - MINOR REFERENCES
Alice wakes up in the drawing room as the Jabberwock tries to get through the mirror.  She realizes that Lester was her Jester doll all along.  She tells her father about her dream and they all live happily ever after.

Review:
The whole time I was watching this, I was baffled as to how such a film could come into existence.  As much as it touts itself as a work of "entertainment," I found so little to be entertained by.  None of the jokes are actually funny.  Like the humor is so bland and obvious that I'm surprised the laugh-track loved it as much as it did.  Maybe if this were intended for small children or very, very milquetoast adults, someone would find this humorous.  But I'm sorry.  There is very little wit and cleverness to be found here.

I would have forgiven the lack of humor had they adhered to the original story more, but they turn the whole enterprise into a non-creative fairy tale.  Alice must fight a monster to become queen, traavelling along an Oz-like yellow brick road.  The fact that there is a pointless scene in which she encounters three wicked witches shows that the creators had no real care for the story.  How stupid does it get?  During Alice's Queen coronation, the Jabberwock is brought out in handcuffs JUST SO HE CAN BREAK FREE.  Why?!  Why bring out your prisoner now?!

Also, this special is definitely a product of its time as it is filled with rampant nonchalant sexism.  Alice doesn't join the White King for fishing because it's "just for boys," no further argument.  The Red Queen has created a girls-only forest and you can tell because it's pink!  That's it!  Just pink!  As with the 1987 cartoon, Alice apparently isn't strong enough to be the hero in her own story and must be joined by a jester who fights her battles for her.  And he's also made into a love interest (that makes no sense because she has no real connection to this man other than that he looks like her doll).  Had they actually been developed as characters, maybe I would have been fine with this love story, but as it stood, it just felt cheap and pandering.

Positives...positives...as strange as it was, the White King/Alice scene is actually nice and heartfelt.  Not really earned, but as a stand alone scene, it's serviceable.  Ricardo Montalban is a very sweet take on the King.  Jimmy Durante as Humpty Dumpty is as perfect as advertised, making one of my other favorite scenes even better.  And Judi Rollin was a great teenage version of Alice.  She really carried the whole special.  As pointless and dull as the special was, Alice herself was a bright spot throughout.  She sang her songs well and lead the stage.  It was a shame she had to fall into the screaming damsel role during the final scene.

Jack Palance was a mugging, overbearing, Power-Rangers-monster of a Jabberwock.  The Smothers Brothers brought nothing interesting to the Dee/Dum duo (even though they can be really funny when given the chance), and the Queens were both over-the-top and irritating.  And the less said about the bland Lester the Jester, the bester.

Needless to say, I think I've discovered my least favorite version of the story.  The visuals look all look great, but they just mask the utterly awful show that is hidden just below the surface.  It tries too hard, changes too much, and goes too far in the wrong direction.  Maybe it would make a fun "bad movie," if given the right treatment...

1 out of 5 Terrible "Jokes"

Curious Alice (1971)

In 1971, the National Institute of Health made a film directed at elementary school students to educate them on the dangers of various drugs.  Because this was during the height of psychedelic entertainment, Alice in Wonderland came to be associated with mind-altering substances, so much so that the common belief was that it was intentionally a drug story.  This actually led to the 1951 Disney film becoming popular after its original lackluster performance at the box office, leading to releases of the "psychedelic trip" of a film.

NIH used these associations to depict all of the possible drugs that someone can encounter via Alice's trip through Wonderland.  The result is something of a quirky, psychedelic short film on its own and one wonders whether it actually had a positive effect or if it just encouraged its audience to take their own trips down the rabbit hole.

Original Source Breakdown

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Chapter I: Down the Rabbit Hole - MAJOR REFERENCES
Alice begins in the real world reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  When she falls down the rabbit hole, the Hall of Doors has been replaced with a Hall of Medicine Cabinets.  Here, Alice finds regular drugs that one would find at the pharmacy as well as alcohol and cigarettes.  She makes the connection that all of these are legal, all of them affect your body in some way, and all should be used in moderation.  After drinking from the Drink Me bottle, things start getting weird.

Chapter VI, VIII: Pig and Pepper/The Queen's Croquet Ground  - MINOR REFERENCES
As Alice floats and flies through Wonderland, the Cheshire Cat helps guide her, sticking to a lot of the same dialogue from these chapters book.  Alice responds with how strange and funny this world is.

Chapter V: Advice from a Caterpillar - MAJOR REFERENCES
Alice meets a stoned Caterpillar who is smoking marijuana, which is why he keeps asking repetitive questions.  He's much more mellow than he is in the books.  Puns are made about Alice wanting to get "higher" (i.e. taller).  Surprisingly, he doesn't suggest the mushrooms, but mushroom imagery is found throughout Alice's trip.

Chapter XI: Who Stole the Tarts? - MAJOR REFERENCES
The King and Queen of Hearts act as drug dealers who have all of their card subjects addicted to heroin.  They are trying to trap the Knave of Hearts into developing a habit as well, in a scene that's reminiscent of the trial episode.

Chapter VII: A Mad Tea Party - MAJOR REFERENCES
Each member of the tea party is associated with a different drug.  The March Hare tries to get Alice to take "Uppers, such as pep pills and amphetamines, the Dormouse pushes "Downers" like sleeping pills and barbiturates, and the Hatter is just tripping on LSD the whole time.

Chapter X: The Lobster-Quadrille - MINOR REFERENCES
All the characters descend on Alice each trying to get her to take their own drugs.  They do this to the tune of "The Lobster-Quadrille," as evident by the "Will you, won't you?" chorus.  She wakes up back in the real world, glad that it was all a dream.

Review:

I think it's perfect that a film like this exists.  As a Carroll fan, I'm usually upset by people who just assume that "oh, it's all about drugs and he was just on drugs when he wrote it," because it negates all the cleverness and craft that went into his stories.  But I see how certain connections can be made, and this film does a good job of not vilifying the original story, but embracing it and using it as its structure.

It's clear that the makers of this film enjoy the book, as none of the elements of the story nor the characters are treated with disdain. It feels more as if the creators had fun matching which character could represent which drug, and each of the choices are pretty solid.

The animation style is cool and helps lend to the whole mind-altering aesthetic.  It's mostly cut-out images moving around an abstract void.  Alice herself is made up of black-and-white photos portraying different faces and positions, with some animation used to stylize her hair and clothes.  Most of the other characters are drawings, with the Mad Hatter looking especially creepy and intense.  The court of cards are actually real playing cards, and this may be the only time that that effect could be pulled off.

Again, I'm not sure how good this film was at preventing drug use.  If anything, I feel it would make children more curious.  Yes, it's supposed to be scary and overwhelming towards the end, but it's all too cool to make one fearful.  The fact that it misses its mark only makes the film better, however, as it seems almost like a parody of itself.  It's exactly what you expect when you hear "1970s anti-drug PSA based on Alice in Wonderland."

4.5 out of 5 Forbidden Substances

Alisa v Zazerkale (1982)

A forty-minute multi-part Russian animated version of Through the Looking-Glass came out in 1982.  Again, it was hard to locate much background on this version, but it seemed to have aired as part of a larger special when dubbed into English.  The short runtime means much is cut out of the story, but what is kept in stays true to the original text.  Plus, there is a narrator as well, meaning a lot of the descriptions form the book are also included.

The Russian style of animation shifts between herky-jerky cutout art and smooth, flowing grace from sequence to sequence, possibly due to budget, but it presents a very surreal quality to the proceedings.

(The reason I'm doing this one out of chronological order is because I just learned of its existence.)

Original Source Breakdown

Through the Looking-Glass
Chapter I: Looking-Glass House - MOSTLY INTACT
Alice only interacts with the black kitten Kitty before she travels through the glass.  The Red Chess Pieces are all replaced with Black Chess Pieces.  Kitty actually travels through the mirror with Alice and we see her transform into the Black/Red Queen as Alice predicted in the book.  Alice only reads the beginning and climax of "Jabberwocky" and imagines herself in the role of the monster slayer.

Chapter II: The Garden of Live Flowers - MOSTLY INTACT
The Flowers only talk long enough to direct Alice towards the Black/Red Queen.

Chapter III: Looking-Glass Insects - MOSTLY INTACT/ALTERED
Everything up until the train leaps over the brook is kept in.  Alice briefly sees some insects that form into a giant Baobab tree butterfly.  She then enters the forest which takes her straight to the Tweedles.

Chapter IV: Tweedledum and Tweedledee - MOSTLY REMOVED
"The Walrus and the Carpenter" is omitted, as well as the Red King encounter.

Chapter V: Wool and Water - MOSTLY INTACT/ALTERED
The White Queen's conversation is heavily trimmed down.  When she becomes the Sheep, Alice must cross the water on a boat by herself to reach the shop where she discusses the items for purchase.

Chapter VI: Humpty Dumpty - MOSTLY REMOVED
Humpty Dumpty mostly talks to Alice about the words in "Jabberwocky" and little else.

Chapter VII: The Lion and the Unicorn - MOSTLY INTACT
Only one Messenger again this time, Haigha, and he is not the March Hare.  Everything is shortened and rushed.

Chapter VIII: "It's My Own Invention" - MOSTLY REMOVED
This scene is quite rushed as well.  The Knights' fight is essentially a minor argument and handshake, the White Knight only shows off his mousetrap, and his Aged Man poem is just the final stanza.

Chapter IX: Queen Alice - MOSTLY REMOVED/ALTERED
The Queen's examination is rushed and the White Queen gets a lot of the Red Queen's lines as a result.  Aside from meeting the food and the ending chaos, Alice doesn't do much at her feast.

Chapters X, XI, XII: Shaking, Waking, Which Dreamed It? - MOSTLY INTACT/ALTERED
The whole ending plays out mostly, only just with the black kitten.  Because the Red King was removed, Alice instead wonders whether the dream was hers or Kitty's.

Review:

For as odd as it can be, I'm very much a fan of Russian animation.  There's this grittiness to it that makes it feel a little bit deeper and magical.  And what I've usually seen from this era were Disney knockoffs which add this whole familiar charm that is just different enough to keep things interesting.  Through the Looking-Glass was a great choice for this style, as the stranger moments of the book lend well to animation.  It's another very dreamlike production.

The attention to detail was very strong during the opening scenes.  When Alice is reprimanding Kitty at the beginning, she manages to upset most of the chess pieces onto the floor, which explains the disarray in the Looking-Glass Room.  Alice trying to reach the hill in the garden is presented as an M.C. Escher type of maze which explains why she keeps ending up back at the house.  And during the Queen's explanation of the game, we pan over all the squares to see visuals that represent what each one looks like.  (And as Alice travels, signs and archways signify the Square she enters.)

I particularly liked the interpretation of Chapter 3. These elephant-bees actually came to land on Alice's shoulder (they aren't elephant-sized, mind you, but they are larger than bees), which helped bring some closure to that moment of the book, since Alice misses her opportunity to see them up close.  The train passengers are a lot more jumbled and crowded and they actually have tickets as large as they are.  They're always moving about as well, which makes it all very disorienting, especially when the guard shows up both inside and outside of the moving train car.

My complaints mostly stem from the rushed final two-thirds of the story.  So much attention is given to the beginning that we rarely get to spend time with the more fun characters.  I was particularly disappointed that the two Queens became very similar in personality since they now shared the Red Queen's lines.  And the additional narration, while helpful, seemed to be arbitrarily chosen.  Sometimes it was welcome, but other times, it would describe exactly what we were seeing (like Alice floating down the stairway), so one wonders why even bother with it.

Despite those qualms, I did very much enjoy seeing the story told in this style.  It may not be a definitive version, but had it expanded into a full-length feature, it could have come very close to rivaling the Disney version.  I'm glad I did not completely overlook this one.

Oh man...I just learned there's an Alice in Wonderland version that came out as well...hmm...

4 out of 5 Paper Dolls

Alice Through the Looking Glass (1973)

As the BBC is wont to do, a classic work of British literature was once again adapted for television, sticking as close to the original version as possible for posterity's sake.  While very little details can be found about this production, it does hold the honor of portraying many scenes that were overlooked in various other film versions.

Special effects are lacking as most are done with stylized "pop-up book" sets edited into a green screen.  But, this allows more of the subtle dreamlike moments in the book to be represented visually.

Original Source Breakdown

Through the Looking-Glass

Chapter I: Looking-Glass House - MOSTLY INTACT

Alice begins in the drawing room with her kittens (although Dinah is not present) and travels through the Looking-Glass.  She does not read "Jabberwocky" in full as that scene is reserved for later when Humpty Dumpty can explain it (which is an edit that makes sense).

Chapter II: The Garden of Live Flowers - INTACT

Even the ever changing path that keeps sending Alice back into the house is kept.  A few lines between her and the Queen are dropped, but that's true of most scenes in this film.

Chapter III: Looking-Glass Insects - MOSTLY INTACT

Alice suddenly finds herself on the train without the transition of seeing the Elephant-Bees before jumping over the brook.  Her train outfit and the chorus of voices are included (they even think in unison).  There is no mention of the Forest of No Names with the Gnat, and so she goes directly to the Tweedles house after her conversation with him.

Chapter IV: Tweedledum and Tweedledee - INTACT

Chapter V: Wool and Water - MOSTLY INTACT

The White Queen doesn't go into much detail about being able to remember the future and so we don't hear about the Messenger's imprisonment.  And Alice's boat ride with the Sheep is a little shorter than it is in the book, as she doesn't try to grab the dream-rushes from the water.

Chapter VI: Humpty Dumpty - INTACT

"Jabberwocky" is presented in full during the conversation with Dumpty.  The whole conversation is kept intact (even the unbirthday math) save for Dumpty's argument about all faces looking alike as he bids Alice farewell.

Chapter VII: The Lion and the Unicorn - INTACT

They remembered to have the Hare and Hatter as the Anglo-Saxon Messengers this time!

Chapter VIII: "It's My Own Invention" - MOSTLY INTACT

The Red Knight does not appear at all, and instead the White Knight attempts to make Alice his prisoner until she corrects him, saying they're on the same side.  Everything else is intact, including the Aged Man story.

Chapter IX: Queen Alice - INTACT

The guests at the feast sing Alice's welcome song in full while she is still outside the door rather than until she comes inside, which works because in the book, it states that she hears them singing before she enters, even though they repeat it once she enters.

Chapters X, XI, XII: Shaking, Waking, Which Dreamed It? - MOSTLY INTACT/ALTERED

Alice does shake the Red Queen into her kitten as she wakes up.  After rushing through which kitten played which chess piece in her dream, Alice holds up the Red King's piece to the mirror and asks it who was really dreaming.  Her reflection responds that it was Alice, of course, and runs off.  Alice tries one more time to pass through the mirror, but to no avail.  Oh well.

Review:

Just as with the BBC's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland miniseries, I was placed to find a version of the story that was so close to the book.  And I believe that this adaptation did a much better job at retaining Carroll's voice and humor throughout the story.

There are many little directorial choices throughout that pleased me because they were moments I hadn't really considered having to adapt into film.  While the green screen effect was cheesy for a lot of it, it really helped to visualize how the garden scene would have appeared.  The Aged Man poem was a particularly strong moment as it depicted the Aged Man as trying to get money out of the White Knight but he's too oblivious to his begging, which was not an interpretation of the character I pictured when I read the book.  During the feast, a lot of film and stage versions like to populate it with all of the characters that Alice met previously in her travels (even though the book just specifies assorted creatures), but this was the first one I saw where the Red King also appeared and he is still sleeping in his soup.  These little parts helped bring this version alive for me.

While I wasn't particularly impressed with a young Sarah Sutton as Alice (she rarely seemed to imbue her words with much feeling, especially during monologues), I found the rest of the cast to be filled with great hidden performances.  Freddie Jones was perfect as Humpty Dumpty, as he captured the character's arrogant attitude in a way no others had before.  These Tweedles, while not my favorite incarnations of the characters, had this mischievous little laugh added in that made them feel very much like teasing schoolchildren with everything they said.  I had never considered them to be malevolent characters before, but the dynamic worked.  And the Jabberwock was a giant puppet (or a regular-sized one filmed close up) meaning that there had to be some interesting choreography for the Boy to fight him with.

Most of all, I loved Brenda Bruce as the White Queen.  While other versions depict her as over-the-top loony or rude, Bruce played her as very sympathetic, flustered, and helpless, as if living backwards really had altered her mindset.  She would take these pauses as if her words were always escaping her and even her "meaner" moments towards Alice were played as if she was just innocently trying to say the right thing, matter-of-factly.  During the Queens' examination, when she says that she'll need to repeat her ABCs with Alice often to help her remember, it seemed like a child looking forwards to hanging out with a new friend.  She found the humor and charm in nearly every line.

While the 1986 BBC Wonderland often felt like it was just going through the motions, this Looking-Glass feels as if it's inhabited by actors and creators who wanted to produce the best, authentic version of the story that they could with the small budget they had.  While it's not flawless and it is uneven and strange looking with muted colors, it made me feel as if the book had come to life.

4 out of 5 Jabberwock Marionettes

Alice in Wonderland (1976)

After the surprise success of Andy Warhol's subversive Blue Movie in 1969, American film entered what was considered the Golden Age of erotic films in which X-rated features were legitimized and in vogue.  These films had comparatively wide releases in theaters and were critically reviewed by professional journalists.  The normalization of this material was fraught with both controversy and praise from everyone across the political spectrum.  The Supreme Court even weighed in in 1973, stating that these films must contain "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value" or else they would be labelled as obscenity and, therefore, illegal to showcase in public.

As a result, many of these films became adapted versions of literary works to prove their "literary value," and that's how America ended up with the Roger-Ebert-approved Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Comedy.

I'm highly discomforted and bewildered at how to realistically review a film such as this, but I did say I'd review every film adaptation and this was released in theaters.  So as to keep this review as PG as possible (for my sake, and yours), we are going to use the phrase "drinking tea" to reference any and all of the activities in the film.

Original Source Breakdown

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Chapter I: Down the Rabbit Hole - MAJOR REFERENCES

Alice is a young librarian whose boyfriend William insists that they've been dating long enough for them to start drinking tea.  Alice refuses and he leaves.  She notices her library's copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and suddenly the White Rabbit appears and beckons her through the mirror.  She ends up in the room with the Drink Me bottle that causes her (and only herself) to shrink.

Chapter III: The Caucus Race and a Long Tale - MAJOR REFERENCES

After leaving the room, Alice falls into a river, where she is rescued by the Mouse-like Scrugg and two other feline creatures.  They make Alice a new outfit and help her get dry...in the fashion that cats do to get clean.

Chapter V: Advice from a Caterpillar - MINOR REFERENCE?

Afterwards, Alice finds herself sitting on a talking rock who gives her advice on herself (hence why I considered it to be representative of the Caterpillar scene).  The rock teaches Alice how to drink tea alone.

Chapter VII: A Mad Tea Party - MAJOR REFERENCES

The White Rabbit catches Alice drinking tea and takes her to meet the Hatter, who is having a tea party all by himself (that one wasn't a euphemism).  He then invites Alice to drink tea with him (that one was).

Through the Looking-Glass

Chapter VI: Humpty Dumpty - MAJOR REFERENCES

The Hatter joins Alice and the Rabbit on their journey through Wonderland and they come across Humpty Dumpty who has already fallen off the wall and none of the King's nurses are able to fix...what broke.  Fortunately, (ugh) Alice drinks tea with him as well, revitalizing him.

Chapter IV: Tweedledum and Tweedledee - MAJOR REFERENCES

Dum and Dee are brother and sister.  NEXT!

Chapter VIII: "It's My Own Invention" - MAJOR REFERENCES

Alice and company come across the Black Knight (yes, not Red) who is drinking tea with a woman out in the middle of the forest.  The White Knight comes along and reprimands his partner and insists that they all go to the King's Ball.  The woman leaves and the White Knight and Black Knight walk off hand and hand.  WOMP WOMP!

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Chapter VIII: The Queen's Croquet Grounds - MAJOR REFERENCES

The King of Hearts is hosting his Ball where everyone has gathered to drink tea.  The Knave of Hearts runs around with several cards while the Queen is nowhere to be seen.  She arrives just in time to catch the King and Alice about to drink a full cup of tea together, and demands that she has Alice's head (ugh, again).

Chapter XI: Who Stole the Tarts? - MAJOR REFERENCES

The Queen places Alice on trial for never having drunk a full cup of tea.  Her sentence is that Alice and she must drink tea if Alice is found guilty.  After a crazy trial, Alice is indeed found guilty.

Chapter XII: Alice's Evidence - MAJOR REFERENCES

Alice is so effective at giving the Queen tea that the Queen passes out, allowing Alice to escape.  A mad chase ensues and Alice ends up back in the real world's library.  Her boyfriend returns to find her a very different lady and she agrees to drink a full cup of tea with him.  They then live happily ever after and start a nice little family and always keep the spirit of Wonderland with them always.

Review:

How do I even start?  Okay, I can do this.

There exists an R-rated edit of this film that cuts out all of the explicit tea-drinking, which goes to show that there actually is a story to be told, underneath it all.  It's almost as if someone wanted to make a Wonderland story that was filled with nuance and subtext about Alice growing up and what that actually means for a young woman, but then they accidentally hit the switch that made everything over-the-top and in your face so that there is no subtlety at all.

This film really earns its subtitle of X-Rated Musical Comedy.  There are absurd songs throughout (which are forgettable, all things considered), but the jokes are the real take away, for better or for worse.  If an innuendo or dirty pun can be made, it's made.  There is so much winking to the camera that, "Oh my, look at what we're getting away with" that it really feels like everyone was just having a silly old time making this film.

In a strange way, there is some cleverness to it, even if it's steeped in '70s era sexism and phobias.  Sure, the story is about Alice becoming a woman and there would be no movie without her adventures, but it seems to be oversimplified in its solution.  But maybe I'm reading too much into this film.  This was the actress's first film and she did eventually work her way into mainstream films and television.  She portrays this innocence and naivete throughout all of the proceedings that you kind of root for her to make it through this crazy Wonderland.

In regards to the phobias, there were the aforementioned Knights who are treated as a punchline (yet it was still sweet to see them end up together, as they actually seemed to be in it for more than just the tea).  And some strange edits indicated that there were specific certain elements that were deemed too risque even for an X-rated film, specifically women getting pleasure from drinking tea.  The only time there isn't an obvious cut away is during the Queen and Alice's tea party which is crucial to the plot.  I think this may be one of the only movies where that is crucial to the plot.

The whole experience captures the dreamlike quality that Wonderland is supposed to evoke, even if it is a dream you probably wouldn't want to share with anyone.  And, while it was a strong departure from the books, it was clearly that there was a reverence to the original material.  Wonderland fans put this film together and it shows in the costumes, the setting, and even the dialogue.  This was not just a quick cash grab with a public domain work.

My final verdict is that it is impossible to classify with a proper rating.  It's exactly what it says it is and the creators put their all in to make it the best version of it that it can be.

Okay, I need to take a shower to wash this film off me.  And I may never look at tea the same again.

? out of 5 Obvious Innuendos

Jabberwocky (1977)

In a bit of a change from the normal Carrollian adaptation, Monty Python member Terry Gilliam decided to only adapt the famous "Jabberwocky" poem as his first solo-directorial feature.  While it borrowed much of the humor, look, and style from the previous Monty Python and the Holy Grail, this film also set up much of Gilliam's own personality and tone that would be present in his later films.

Expanding upon the short tale told in the poem means that there is a lot of added content and characters and the story, in fact, differs drastically from the original as a result.  There is no specific connection to the Wonderland universe, although the behavior of the inhabitants would definitely not be out of place in the original books, so it almost works as a historical prequel.  Being so far removed, I'll just provide a short synopsis in the Original Source Breakdown.

Original Source Breakdown

Through the Looking-Glass
Chapter I: Looking-Glass House - ALTERED
The official "Jabberwocky" poem appears in snippets throughout the film as being told by a street-performing puppeteer.  The first verse opens the film and most of the tale is included.  The extra creatures of the Tulgey Wood are excluded and the Jabberwock is the only monster.  In fact, it is mostly referred to as "The Monster" by the citizens of the kingdom.  It appears as a giant puppet suit worn by an actor that mostly mimics the original illustration.

Dennis Cooper is a young barrel-maker's apprentice who leaves to make his mark in the "big city" after his father passes (and disowns him).  He is naive and helpful and often finds himself accidentally bouncing around from situation to situation.  The kingdom is being tormented by the Jabberwock which is bad for morale, but great for the economy.  While the merchants try to prevent the King from finding a knight to slay the beast, he holds a tournament to find his strongest warrior.

Through a series of misunderstandings (after being mistaken for a prince by the Princess), Dennis ends up taking the role of squire for the champion knight Red Herring.  As the two set forth to slay the beast, they encounter the Black Knight, hired by the merchants to protect the beast.  When the Jabberwock arrives, all are killed except for Dennis who, accidentally, defeats it.  He returns with the head of the monster and he is given the kingdom and the Princess's hand in marriage, even though that wasn't at all what he wanted.

Review:
This film isn't a smashing success, but I enjoyed so much of what it did and tried to bring to the table.  If you're expecting a consistent level of humor on par with Monty Python's other works, you won't find it here.  Instead, Gilliam tried to fully flesh out the world of the Jabberwock, opting for a parody of fairy tale tropes and romantic adventures.  What would a medieval Wonderland look like?  Well, it's probably very close to this one.

Everything is designed to subvert your expectations.  The "hero" doesn't have any desire to be one.  He just wants a steady job and to marry a homely, disrespectful neighbor girl.  All of his true skills for planning and efficiency are ignored and don't even come during his encounter with the beast.  Even the expectations to the subversions are thwarted.  When it's announced that there will be a jousting tournament to find the champion, I expected a Shrek-like scenario where Dennis would come out the unintended victor.  But nope, he never even gets into the tournament field.  Instead, in silly Python fashion, the tournament is replaced with a giant game of hide-and-seek in one of the films funnier scenes that felt as if Carroll had designed it.

There's a lot of social commentary going on in the plot, specifically in the relationship with the old King (who has lost touch with the plights of modern society) and the merchants and bishop (who chase after the profit that the Jabberwock has brought their trades).  And the Princess's insistance on marrying a Prince (because that how it happens in all the books) is taken to its absurd extreme.  Even the Herald is a slave to his position even though he has no idea how to properly execute his duties.  This idea of everyone being trapped in the role designed for them is great and thus feels like a missing chapter from Looking-Glass.

Where the movie falls short is that Gilliam had not yet perfected the art of sustaining his story.  There are a lot of funny moments that are connected by boring slogs of character business that could have been edited away.  Dennis's aimless journey really does feel aimless, but not in a tightly structured way.  It's more of an excuse to see different parts of the kingdom.  The fact that the tournament lasts two days, and thus two scenes, feels kind of repetitive, and it could have been better structured to cut out the first day.  We get all of the funnier jokes in that second day (with the body count of knights rising and the spectators getting covered with more blood each time the camera cuts to them).

I liked that this was the first adaptation I saw that really tried to expand on world-building in the Wonderland universe, without making it all about Alice and "dark reimaginings."  Despite having so much new material, it didn't feel as if it clashed with the stories we are familiar with.  A lot of the "modern" adaptations make the world feel too much like our own world, but by setting this in the distant past which is already a bit fantastical in our minds, it works perfectly.  It's a fun medieval film that would fit right alongside the best of them.

4 out of 5 Turnips