By Paulina Leskow, ’24

Staff Writer

“Curiosity often leads to trouble” is exactly how I would describe the 1951 Disney animated movie, Alice in Wonderland. An adaptation of the classic Lewis Carroll story, “The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass,” Alice in Wonderland revolves around the world of curiosity in a chaotic manner that makes it difficult for the viewer to follow along.

Alice in Wonderland tells the story of a very curious girl who finds herself stuck in the world of Wonderland, which consists of creatures and settings that defy the real world in every way possible, with creative creatures such as talking doorknobs, magical tables, smoking walruses, argumentative plants and flying toast. Although it is a creative concept, the storyline does not seem to have any consistency with its characters, as Alice is the only predominant protagonist throughout. Even “sidekick” characters, such as the Mad Hatter and TweedleDee and TweedleDum make very rare appearances that seem insignificant to the plot.

In regards to the plot, once again, there is a lack of continuity and consistency. The first half of the story has Alice searching for the White Rabbit, who claims to be running late “for a very important date.” About three-quarters into the story, that motivation driving Alice instantly disappears and turns into Alice suddenly having a desire to go home and escape the wrath of the Queen of Hearts who, even though she is considered the main antagonist and villain of the story, barely has any backstory or significant connections to Alice or the story as a whole. I like the character of the Queen of Hearts, I mean who doesn’t? Also, the deck of cards serving as her henchmen and military is a clever play on words and had so much potential as an important part of the movie. Unfortunately, the creators left the deck of cards and the Queen until the very end, taking away from their significance or character development. 

Overall, in terms of characters, I think it was pointless to include so many characters and so many irrelevant scenes with those characters. For example, I think back to the scene about the oysters in which one of the extra characters “invites” an entire army of oyster children to dinner and then, in the end, all of the oysters are eaten. Although this was a sad yet ironic scene, it was so unbelievably irrelevant to the story, and not related to Alice and her journey through Wonderland or finding her way home whatsoever.

The ending in which the reader simply finds out that Alice dreamed up Wonderland in her sleep was seemingly satisfying as there is a logical conclusion and explanation for the wild events that occurred throughout the movie. But it also just emphasized the idea that Alice is simply a delusional girl who clearly needs help, but no one seems to care enough to help her find control of her imagination.

Despite its character and plot flaws, there were also positive aspects, which make the movie as iconic as it is today. I was unaware that there was singing involved, and I feel the songs were placed nicely and not over-the-top. I also liked many of the concepts of the film, especially the idea that certain foods lead to growth or shrinkage of a person. The animation style is just like any other classic Disney movie, which adds a sense of nostalgia.

Alice in Wonderland is an iconic Disney movie seen by generations, with references and characters known and quoted around the world. But the unnecessary number of characters and the disorder of the plot make the film difficult to watch and comprehend.

Featured image: One of the scenes of Alice in Wonderland, with protagonist Alice, well-known side character Mad Hatter and additional characters celebrating an “Unbirthday.”