Alice au pays des merveilles

I was going through old Beta tapes from my childhood one day and was disappointed that I could not find this movie. I read other comments and some people said the same exact thing I did. My copy was either taped over or thrown out, a blessing in disguise. I was glad to see Warner has the rights and actually sells it on Amazon! I will admit that if you did not watch this movie when it first aired on CBS back in christmas of '85 that you might not like it nearly as much as I did and still do. I honestly still know the songs even though I have not seen it since probably the late eighties. I was 7 years old when this first aired and my mom taped it for me and my sister. I even remember there was an electrical storm that night in Los Angeles so my copy had interference from the lightning! Anyways, I would watch this tape all the time as a youngster. I think I watched it at least 25 times as a kid. I have not seen the 1999 version that aired on NBC, but I don't think that one would be quite as memorable as this one was. The cast were all well known celebrities, most of whom have either passed on or are no longer considered to be popular any longer. I give the story a 9. The visual design of the make up, costumes and sets gets a 10. The music gets an 8. And the acting and directing a 7. I give this movie an 8 overall. I am going to wait and see if Warner will release this on DVD. They did release another childhood favorite of mine last year, the Hobbit.

I love this version of Alice in wonderland, because of the jaberwalkie. this movie has a dark sinister undertone running through, which Alice and wonderland should have. when I was young it always gave me weird feeling and I loved it because it scared me in a way most movies had never achieved before. It was "trippy" and fun and interesting all at the same time. The songs are o.k. but the story is divine! Carol Channing's character made me really weirded out. This is the way Alice was meant to be, confusing, a little scary and amusing rolled into one a must see a real winner! a+ if you want to treat yourself to something fun and special this version of Alice in wonderland is an instant crowd pleaser, I mean I could just go on and on but you should just watch it for yourselves.

When this was first run, I liked it, but now barely recalled details of it. I was a senior in HS, and it was mainly put on to amuse my brother (but my family knew of my own fascination with Alice, lol, so I guess to amuse me too!), who didn't really care. I knew that I recognized the girl who played Alice (who was Jenny in Oliver & Co--THAT'S where I knew her from, thanks IMDB!) at the time, but never could place her. The actors and actresses took their roles and made them their own. I believe that besides Alice, the White Knight is my favorite supporting role, however. I too had nightmares at age 17 (!) of the Jabberwocky but that didn't stop me from watching it. In the many years since the details faded, but that Jabberwocky stayed with me--until I could no longer recall which version I had seen it in. I've been seeking it. I did like the 1999 version, which sits in VHS beside the Disney version (can't tell I'm a fan in general?) which I also liked. Each had their own parts that drew me in. This one, despite the problem with accents, did the same.

Yes, it's a Hollywood'ed version, so they tend to ignore the setting when it comes to accents, but would you really want to hear Sammy Davis Jr with an English accent? I did find Sally Struthers as the obnoxious Tiger Lily rather humorous (especially after her "correspondence school" commercials, iirc that she had out during that time too! It seemed to fit some how. :)

All in all, a very good movie, and one that I shall look for in Ebay, Yahoo and Amazon for a copy. I am very grateful to the local library who carried part 2, and allowed me to renew my acquaintance with this gem once again.

Dee

This is a great film-I watched the film as a child, and I actually played it for my kids tonight, they loved the songs, and I fell in love with the movie all over again! As I watched I thought about being a child and remembered all the actors that performed during the movie with a VERY small number of them STILL ALIVE.

It is very hard for me to watch much TV, with reality shows, and not much family shows that I grew up on. I loved the cast, my husband even forgot about all the stars that filmed the movie, and was excited to see it.

It would be great if today there could be an all-star cast for a TV movie just like this, but I doubt egos could coexist long enough for fans to have that chance. Great movie, great memories!

I wanted to be Alice. I wanted to wear cute little dresses and shiny black patent leather shoes. I wanted to dance with a caterpillar and float down a river of my own tears!!

This movie combines colors, music, imagery, and a lively cast to create the perfect children's movie. Every single cast member shone in their own light. Ann Jillian and Sammy Davis Jr. were my favorites!!

I can't imagine a film where the director spent more time focusing on the visual "smorgasbord" of colors and images!! The songs were easy to sing to, and Alice presented a lovely little girl who just wanted to be grown-up.

I hope that, someday, they replay this movie so that the children of the world can fall in love all over again with their imaginations. Anything they create today, anything they create TOMORROW will never even come close to the magic of this movie. This should be right up there with "The Wizard of Oz" in the children's movie section of your local video store.