Alice in Wonderland Discussion

[Sotiris]

There’s a silver/white cover with Alice in a keyhole and blue covers with Alice with characters in her pinafore. Which is the cover? Will there be 2/3 covers for different releases?

The keyhole one is the cover for the digital release whereas the blue one is the cover for the 4K Blu-ray.

[Sotiris]

Alice in Wonderland 75th Anniversary Screening at the Walt Disney Studios Lot
https://d23.com/d23-event/alice-in-wond ... udios-lot/

Photos: "Alice In Wonderland" 75th Anniversary Screening Held by D23 on Walt Disney Studios Lot in Burbank
https://www.laughingplace.com/disney-en ... 23-photos/

TCM Classic Film Festival: "Alice in Wonderland" 4K Restoration World Premiere Review
https://www.laughingplace.com/disney-en ... re-review/

[Disney's Divinity]

I wish the Keyhole one could've been the cover for all of them. The one with the characters on her dress is ugly. But oh well, at least the film itself should look perfect.

[Disney Duster]

Thank you, Sotiris. And I completely agree with you, Divinity.

[Sotiris]

The film is getting a sequel in the form of a novel.


Source: https://d23.com/exclusive-cover-reveal- ... -wondrous/

Timed to the 75th anniversary of Disney’s enduring classic Alice in Wonderland, this young adult sequel follows teenaged Alice on a curious new adventure down the rabbit hole, many years after her first visit to Wonderland.

Wonderland is a world of Alice’s own. Or is it? Years after her first tumble down the rabbit hole, Alice returns to Wonderland for good. As a young woman with limited options in 19th century London, only Wonderland can grant her the freedom she craves, like the chance to open a traveling magical tea shop. Even though Alice expects madness from familiar faces like Hatter, Hare, and the Cheshire Cat, she doesn’t expect to meet another real-world teenager—one who claims she is the “true” Alice and the first adventurer to explore Wonderland. Soon, the Queen of Hearts’ soldiers capture both girls and bring them to the castle, and more startling truths come to light: dozens of other so-called “Alices” have appeared in Wonderland, too. Based on a strange prophecy, the Queen believes one Alice is destined to save Wonderland from utter peril: three ghastly mock dragons who have invaded from another realm. Whoever can stop the mock dragons will be named "The Alice"...while the others will be exiled, never allowed to return. Determined to secure Wonderland’s future and her own, Alice sets out on a daring quest, equipped only with her enchanted tea set. Hesitant to trust any other Alices, she forms a tenuous alliance with a strange boy with a connection to the fearful jabberwocks of lore. But is Alice truly the Alice in Wonderland, or a mere footnote in another heroine’s story?

Source: https://www.amazon.com/Wondrous-Heather ... 1368114563

[Disney Duster]

Some of it sounds original and cool, but also a lot sounds like the 2010 live-action.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

To celebrate the film’s 75th anniversary, artists from the Walt Disney Film Restoration team spent more than nine months completing a digital scan of the original nitrate successive exposure negatives, followed by extensive clean-up to address dust, warping and age-related wear. The team also referenced original production artwork preserved by the Walt Disney Animation Research Library to ensure the restoration remained true to the filmmakers’ original intent, collaborating closely with Walt Disney Animation Studios veteran Michael Giaimo to review every shot and refine color and luminance.

Sounds like Alice in Wonderland was the last animated Disney features shot on nitrate:

The Disney Digital Studio Services Film and Digital Services Department is coming to the conclusion of an important 5 year project; over 16 million frames of deteriorating Nitrate Negative from the Walt Disney Studio’s library is now safely preserved for generations to come.
This complex and important task included 394 shorts and 18 feature films made between 1928-1952, that had been carefully stored in temperature and humidity controlled vaults at the Library Of Congress (LOC). Before 1952, all Disney projects were shot using a Kodak film stock commonly known as Nitrate. As the name suggests, the nitrate based negative stock ) which shares chemical characteristics of “guncotton”) is highly volatile, combustible and become perilously unstable as it decays.

https://www.disneydigitalstudio.com/pre ... he-future/ (2012)

Also makes me curious about the film used in theaters to show the movie.

I don't have a link here and now, but I read somewhere that even if nitrate could be dangerous because it was flammable, it still gave movies a sharpness and clarity that was rarely seen with acetate movies. If that's the case, and the restoration team has given much effort into recreating the movie the way it looked like when it was new, I hope they have tried to reproduce the nitrate look.

[carolinakid]

I still think it’s a shame that Disney doesn’t give these beautiful 4k restorations a national theatrical rerelease like Fathom Events Big Screen Classics series, even if it were just 4-5 showings over several days.
Earlier this month we saw Ben-Hur and in coming months we’re seeing Fried Green Tomatoes and The Birdcage.
Gone With the Wind, The Maltese Falcon and It’s A Wonderful Life are coming later this year.

[Disney's Divinity]

Pre-ordered it the day before yesterday. Very interested to see this one. I mean, I'd like to have these 4K original-sourced transfers for the whole canon, but I admit it's especially fun to see one where the colors have been off for as long as I can remember like with this and Cinderella.

Hopefully B&tB is coming after Sleeping Beauty and Peter Pan (I assume those two are next from things that have been posted here?). B&tB is the other major one with off colors. But I wonder... As far as the modern films, I wonder how them going to the original cels or whatever may impact tiny little alterations they've made to the films over the years (the Cave of Wonders shadow or whatever, the "Human Again" sequence, the little wavy effect over Ursula's cauldron--those kinds of little, unnecessary things they've done over the years). Personally, I'd be happy if those things are wiped and the film as it was gets released.

[DisneyJedi]

Wavy effect over Ursula’s cauldron? What shot was that?

[Disney's Divinity]

It was an effect they added with the Platinum release, I think, to indicate heat. There were certain shots (I think just as the first part of "PUS" ends) when the cauldron isn't fully open where the effect was at the top. I admit, I hadn't kept track over the years if it was also in the Signature 4K release.

EDIT: Checking now, I guess it was already wiped when they restored the film again for the Signature release and I didn't notice. But good.

[Marce82]

Hi,

So the reviews are out... and it seems the blu ray included in the 4K release has the old transfer. Dammit! I guess I will not be buying this: I bought Cinderella and SW for the new transfers on the regular blu rays... I don't own nor foresee owning a 4K player. Booooo Disney!

[Disney's Divinity]

Maybe that's why the recent TSitS release from the DMC (RIP) still featured the terrible previous restoration? Hopefully a 4K release in the future might actually feature the correct restoration that's currently streaming only!

[DisneyJedi]

Hi,

So the reviews are out... and it seems the blu ray included in the 4K release has the old transfer. Dammit! I guess I will not be buying this: I bought Cinderella and SW for the new transfers on the regular blu rays... I don't own nor foresee owning a 4K player. Booooo Disney!

Do you think it was a mistake on Disney’s part or that it was intentional?

[Marce82]

I don't think Disney makes mistakes with this sort of stuff. I suspect it was cheaper to not author a new blu ray and they figured most of the people into 4K wouldn't care.

I suspect I am among the few who buys 4K sets for the regular blu ray included hahaha (I do this mostly for better transfers and/or bonus material)

[Farerb]

Hi Marce82,

I don't know if you own Alice in Wonderland on digital but if you do then that version was updated to the new restoration even in 1080p. I also think Disney will update the film on Disney+ eventually.

[Disney Duster]

I am also like Marce in buying 4Ks for the restoration on blu, as I don’t know when I will get a 4K TV, but I may get the digital.

[dsneybuf]

I hoped that the 1080p disc would use the 4K restoration because I considered giving it to a sister who loves Wonderland, but doesn't have a 4K TV.

[Disney's Divinity]

Watched it the other night...looked so different. Just shocking to see such an old film look so sleek really, and yet often the colors could be very dull, I can understand why Disney had altered it over time and yet I prefer to have a film in its original state. I know the '50s films were somewhat lazy, less experimental than the early string of films or the Renaissance, but re-watching it like this sort of confirmed that opinion more. So many little things between some dialogue and certain designs felt similar to Cinderella in particular. Alice crying in the woods as the Cheshire Cat appears reminded me so much of Cinderella crying on the bench as the Fairy Godmother materializes. I never noticed how similar some of the faces here are to Lucifer and the Dwarfs. Or the Flowers like the elephant troupe in Dumbo. Alice herself looks a great deal like Cinderella at some moments (and I know Ariel is heavily inspired by Alice).

That said, I strangely enjoyed the film more than I ever have before. I guess because it's been so long since I actually sat down and watched it, it felt almost like a new experience. My favorite parts are still the Cheshire Cat, the Queen, the songs, and the ending. It's usually the Tweedles (they're the worst part), Mad Tea Party, and Caterpillar that were always a chore to get through.