In1986, BBC finally got around to just doing a straightforward mini-series adaptation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Thus far, this has been the most faithful adaptation of the book and it's about as straightforward as one can get with a live-action version. Poems and songs are extended and some musical numbers are added to fill out the runtime, but there are no drastic changes from the book.
This is a 4-part series, with each section coming it at 30 minutes long. Episode 1 covers Chapters 1-3, Episode 2 is Chapters 4-6, Episode 3 is Chapters 7 & 8 with the first half of 9, and Episode 4 picks up where 3 left off. The frame work of Charles Dosgson telling the story to the Liddell girls on their picnic trip is kept in, allowing for some of his narration to remain as well. Each episode shows a different part of the Liddell picnic, as the real world circumstances would often influence the next part of the story. Only the first part of the sisters wanting a story about nonsense and rabbits actually hails from the opening poem that Dodgson included in the book, and the other "real life scenes" are new for this series.
Original Source Breakdown
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - INTACT
Nearly everything in this version is intact, from the opening poem right down to Alice explaining the dream to her sister at the end. In fact, there are only two notable omissions and, surprise, surprise, it's the same two scenes that are nearly always cut out: the giant Puppy and the Pigeon. I don't know why the Puppy always gets cut out as the effect was possible in the old silent versions. PErhaps it just doesn't gel with the story. I understand the Pigeon scene a little bit more as it's hard to elongate Alice's neck like a snake in a believable live-action way. Ironically, the 1951 Disney scene is one of the only ones to keep the scene in and they didn't even bother stretching Alice's neck. Having her just be a giant works just as well.
Review:
Well, it is nice to finally see a very complete version of the story. But that commitment is really all this miniseries has going for it. In order to fill out the 30 minute runtime of each episode, it feels as if conversations drag on and the characters overact and exaggerate their reactions too much. Had the dialogue moved at a faster clip, this could have worked just fine as a feature length film.
The songs are forgettable as songs, but some of them serve a great purpose in helping Alice get through her longer monologues. The Pool of Tears sequence is clever as we just get a close up of Alice's head and shoulders during her song/monologue and every time she fans herself, the actress has grabbed a larger prop fan out of frame, to subtly suggest that she is shrinking.
The special effects and costumes...are the best that you can expect out of a 1980s British television show. A great amount of detail went into making everything look authentic to the illustrations, which is a plus.
My largest complaint is with Kate Dorning as Alice. This is another issue of an older actress playing a child, which makes for a lot of awkward and unpleasant moments. She affects this baby-ish voice throughout the whole series, and her bouts of crying in the first episode seem very disingenuous and grating. Fortunately, at the beginning of the second episode, the Liddell sisters complain that Alice cries too much and Dodgson assures them that she wouldn't cry again for the rest of the story.
I can't really think of too much else to say. I appreciate how close they wanted it to stick to the book, but they could have done something a little more interesting that what they did.
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