DVDizzy Forum

Yup, I got it yesterday, and watched everything on it. Here's my feelings on this dvd.

The Prevews
I really liked the previews on this dvd. Mulan 2 is a great one, and so is Mary Poppins. Home on the Range is ok. There is also a preview for the Brother Bear dvd, but it is almost the same as the original theatrical preview. It also has the "hot tub" trailer from Lion King 1.5.

The Movie
This was a real refresher to me because I've only seen "Alice in Wonderland" once or twice when I was really young (like 3 or 4). My favorite part is when Alice sings "A world of My Own". I also like the singing flowers in "The Golden Afternoon" and "The Unbirthday Song" (I remembered both of those songs from the Sing-along tapes I would watch over and over when I was younger). Overall I liked the movie. I liked the smoking caterpillar! The only parts I didn't really like were the part with the Walrus and the Carpenter, and the croquet game followed by the Trial.

The Virtual Tea Party
I did not like this at all! I felt like I was watching an episode of Barney! The only neat thing I discovered was if you click on the index of activities, you'll see "cookie recipies". Click on that, and there are three recipies fro Chocolate chip, Peanut butter, and Oatmeal cookies. I like to cook, so that appealed to me.

The Sing-alongs
I really liked these since I have always loved Disney's Sing-along Songs. It's also neat beacause these sing-alongs (of "The Golden Afternoon" and "The Unbirthday Song") show the film before it was restored. Speaking of the restoration, It's WONDERFUL! They did such a great job!

The "Alice Set Top Game"
One word, boring. This was even lamer than the tea party! It shows you, like 5 objects. Then, it asks you a question like "What does the Mad Hatter wear on his head?" You would then click on his hat....see, lame.

"I'm Odd"
I liked the song, but I wish they created new animation and integrated it into the film. What they did was just use their animation of the Cheshire Cat that was in the movie, and try to make it fit the new song. The song itself though, is enjoyable and very pleasing to the ear.

"Thru the Mirror"
This Mickey mouse cartoon was cute and interesting to watch.

One Hour in Wonderland
I LOVED this! It was very enjoyable to watch. The story was, Walt had the Magic Mirror from Snow White, and he entertained the girl that voiced Alice and some other people with it by having the mirror show them parts of Disney movies and cartoons. These included, "The Silly Song" from Snow White, A Mickey Mouse cartoon where Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were all cleaning a big clock, Zip-a-dee-doo-dah plus a little more of Song of the South, and a Pluto cartoon where Pluto took a bone from a bulldog. After that, they showed Disney animators playing "Jingle Bells" with trumpets, tubas, and other wind instruments. That was very comical . At the end, it showed "The Unbirthday Song" from Alice in Wonderland. Throughout the show, it also showed old advertisements for Coca-cola, and they were amusing to see as well.

The Alice Comedy
I know a lot of you guys are really looking foward to this, but I didn't think it was very good. It just showed a real girl, going through a dull cartoon world. I thought it got boring after the first 3 or 4 min, (it's 8 minutes total).

The Original Theatrical Trailers
They were nice.

Walt's TV introductions
They were nice too.

"Operation Wonderland"
I really liked this "Behind the scenes" of Alice. I always look foward to this kind of stuff on Disney dvd's.

The Fred Waring Show
I liked the first part of this, where Walt talked briefly abot Snow White, Cinderella, and Alice. After that though, I didn't like it at all. It was very weird seeing the people on the show act out some of the scenes in the movie. The Cheshire cat scene was particulary weird acted out with real people.

Deleted Materials
These were very good. "From Wonderland to Neverland-Evolution of a song was neat since "Second Star to the Right" was originally written for Alice with different words. "Alice daydreams in the park" was ok, and the "Song demos" were very fun to listen to.

Art Galleries
They are very nice pictures, but it would have been nice to see more.


Well, that's my review! I hope you enjoyed it!
Feel free to post your own comments on the dvd as well!

Alice was and is my favorite Disney animated movie. I am glad they restored it. They should restore every animated movie even the less popular ones in my opinion.

That's for the review Mermaid Kelly.
I seen Alice in Wonderland like 3 times.
I can't wait to get it on Tuesday.
How did you get it so early.

Nice review. Makes me look more forward to getting my copy.

Thanks you guys for checking out my review. I'm glad you all liked it!
I got my copy yesterday at my local Blockbuster Video. I didn't expect to buy it there, since I just went to rent a couple movies, but there it was, staring at me! I just had to get it.

Looking forward to Tuesday. I think I'll watch it after 24

Thats really cool. You did a great job on the review. I bought it on amazon so i should get it Feb. 3rd . I might have to rent it

Mermaid Kelly wrote:"I'm Odd"
I liked the song, but I wish they created new animation and integrated it into the film.

Fortunately, you're in the minority here. That would have ruined the film.
Anyway, I can't wait to get my copy and see the new restoration...

Billy Moon wrote in response to Mermaid Kelly's comment about "I'm Odd" being animated and put back into the film:

That would have ruined the film.

I personally feel that to much time has passed for a newly animated scene to look like it's supposed to be in the film. I also feel that unless the original filmakers where alive and Disney had their approval, it would ruin the original vision they had for it. The only new scene in a Disney movie that I like is "Human Again" from "Beauty and the Beast," mainley because it was intended to be in the original film, and was cut out due to time and budget. I don't yet own the DVD, so I don't know why "I'm Odd" was deleted, but I'm sure the filmakers had a good reason. Also, Mermaid Kelly's review of the song makes it sound like Disny used clips of the Chesire Cat from the movie and tried to synch up the mouth of the cat to look like it's singing the song. If this is true, I wish Disney would have set the song to the original storyboards of the sequence.

goofystitch wrote:Mermaid Kelly's review of the song makes it sound like Disny used clips of the Chesire Cat from the movie and tried to synch up the mouth of the cat to look like it's singing the song. If this is true, I wish Disney would have set the song to the original storyboards of the sequence.

Yes that's what they should have done! Storyboards are always neat to see. It looks weird with the footage that was already in the movie!

Thanks, MK. That's a really nice summary. Will definitely be picking this one up.

Memaid Kelly wrote:Throughout the show, it also showed old advertisements for Coca-cola, and they were amusing to see as well.

Ooh, that sounds really cool. I'm glad they are including the original program as it aired.
I have to admit to having a fondness for old ads, particularly those for Coke (to which I'm addicted - take that as you will ). This shows the kind of effort that should have gone into other DVD productions.

I mean, it sounds like it is by no means a "Masterpiece", but it does show that Disney can track down and include interesting supplements such as these. They still don't seem to be able to work out a set that is both (allegedly) "family friendly" and "fan friendly", but this certainly seems like a better effort than Lion King.

Mermaid Kelly wrote:

goofystitch wrote:Mermaid Kelly's review of the song makes it sound like Disny used clips of the Chesire Cat from the movie and tried to synch up the mouth of the cat to look like it's singing the song. If this is true, I wish Disney would have set the song to the original storyboards of the sequence.

Yes that's what they should have done! Storyboards are always neat to see. It looks weird with the footage that was already in the movie!

I second that. It would have been the best way to present it. It's possible, though, that they didn't have enough original storyboards to illustrate the song. Or possibly they thought it would be less appealing to children with storyboards...

Mermaid Kelly wrote:The Prevews
I really liked the previews on this dvd. Mulan 2 is a great one, and so is Mary Poppins. Home on the Range is ok. There is also a preview for the Brother Bear dvd, but it is almost the same as the original theatrical preview. It also has the "hot tub" trailer from Lion King 1.5.

Is the Home On The Range trailer the theatrical one, the one that appeared on Finding Nemo, or is it a new one? I'd really like to know... here in Holland the dvd wont be out for a while and I was hoping someone could tell me wich trailer it is, thanks in advance

What is the Mulan II preview about? Does anyone know if it's available online?

Loomis wrote:I mean, it sounds like it is by no means a "Masterpiece", but it does show that Disney can track down and include interesting supplements such as these. They still don't seem to be able to work out a set that is both (allegedly) "family friendly" and "fan friendly", but this certainly seems like a better effort than Lion King.

Well, for me, Disney always does a great job with their special editions - even the weakest of them are better than most special editions from other companies.
Unfortunately, I won't be getting "Alice" as early as I though I would - at least I'm still getting it this week!

Thanks for you review, MermaidKelly!

Joe, you're probably right about Disney putting out good Special Editions compared to the competition (it's a sad fact that the whole format has on the whole been "dumbed down" for the mass market) but it doesn't alter the fact we know Disney can do better.

The days of the Fantasia, Snow White and Atlantis releases are long gone. The virtual tea party is a complete waste of time, money and space. I don't mind stuff like this on Disney discs for the young children, but Disney have gone way overboard with this. Plus, we know other content was on the LD.

I'm not going to praise Disney for lacking features from previous home video releases, endless kiddie features and, most importantly of all, for a decline in quality since they started the Collectors Editions.

2099net wrote:I'm not going to praise Disney for lacking features from previous home video releases, endless kiddie features and, most importantly of all, for a decline in quality since they started the Collectors Editions.

I see your point 2099net, and I agree with you. It's sad we won't have more special editions up to the standards of "Atlantis", "Snow White", "Fantasia", "A Bug's Life" and on. Still, I want to sit back and enjoy what we have. Of course they can do better, but we still have lots of good stuff on the current DVDs...
Of course, that doesn't mean I forgive Disney for not including all the LD material on their DVDs and for only promoting the kiddie stuff. I miss the time when we had two editions of their animated films - one version to the families and other one to the collectors.

But, as I said before, only because some DVDs are not good as they should be, it doesn't mean I will stop enjoying them and think that all the is included on the disc is pure crap. But I would be extremely happy to see the good old collector's edition return.

Thanks for the great review Mermaid Kelly - from having reviewed the list of contents your reviews kind of match my expectations already - definitely will be picking this up this week as soon as I can make it through all the snow and ice!!

Does the new Alice DVD have a commentary track? If so, who does it?

Sadly and frusturatingly, no; it doesn't have a commentary track. It doesn't even have a real "making of" featurette or documentary (besides the promotional featurette from 1951). This makes Alice the first 2-Disc Disney DVD to not have audio commentary, and one of the few to not have a "making of" featurette or documentary (nor multiple vignettes that make up a documentary ala Tarzan or Monsters, Inc.).