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"