SPOILERS, SORRY
A few of my friends know this, but over last December I managed to rewatch the 1985 Irwin Allen 2 part adaptation. It was only my second watch, and the last time I saw it I must have been about 10. I saw it when the DVD was first released in the US, and have no real nostalgic memory of it, unlike a lot of people.
On this rewatch, I found the Alice in Wonderland adaptation to be a real mixed bag. There are scenes which are directly from carroll's text, using all the dialogue. This is followed by scenes that don't use Carroll's words, these are normally scenes in which new songs appear. This way of adapting is quite jarring. It thankfully goes out of the window in the Through the Looking Glass adaptation which is mostly all Carroll (with the exception of how the poem Jabberwocky is used... we'll get to that)
PERFORMANCES
On rewatch I'm afraid to say I still don't like Natalie Gregory as Alice too much. Her Alice is 1000 miles away from Carroll's original. Gregory's Alice is just a normal, American child, and lacks the eccentricity of her book counterpart. Despite book Alice being 7 and a half, I think this version really overdoes the child qualities, as Alice seems less worldly wise in this version. I think this is to fit in with the growing up subplot but still... The poems Alice recites in the books are mainly missing, as are the little eccentric asides she has. I miss them.
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The performances are uneven in the Wonderland adaptation, I love how condescending Alice's sister is in this version, completely not how she is in the novel but still very fun. I think an opportunity was missed at the end of part 1: imagine this sister waking Alice up. Jayne Meddows is an amazing queen of Hearts, who is fabulously cruel but the less said about Ringo Starr as the Mock Turtle the better. Imogene Coca is a mad cook, Red buttons a decent white rabbit. Some performances are just downright bizarre. Telly Savalas as the Cheshire Cat?? Song wise its a mix between dreadful (I never want to hear I hate dogs and cats again. Sorry) and good (There's no way home is sung brilliantly) and of course some of Carroll's poems are sung, the highlight being you are old father William. Tap dancing Sammy Davis Jr!
On the other hand Through the Looking Glass contains an overall better standard of acting. as the Red Queen, Ann Gillian plays the role as controlling and childlike, and it surprisingly totally works. Dum and Dee as played by Eydie Gorme and steve Lawrence are extremely obnoxious in the best way possible, down to the song and dance routine of the walrus and the carpenter. Even the actors that choose to play their roles as hammy work this time around, Carol Channing as the White Queen being a crazy highlight. The songs are better here too, with more Carroll poems being adapted. Best song here is probably We are Dancing.
ADAPTATIONS
Tonally the Wonderland adaptation is a bit too bright (I found myself wondering why Alice was so desperate to go back home, there's no real threat in part 1 before the Queen of Hearts shows up) Carroll's proto surrealist twists and turns are played for comedy here. You miss the slight edge the book has. The feel isn't exactly helped by the fact the animal costumes are very bulky and cuddly.
Thankfully Through the Looking Glass matches more of its source material's tone, the overall adaptation conveying the oddness as well as the wonder in equal measure. Even the things that aren't Carroll slot in better. "We are Dancing" isn't "A sitting on a gate" but it serves the same function and conveys the same melancholy that that chapter has.
My only pick with the Looking Glass adaptation is that in order to fit the framework narrative these adaptations have (about Alice wanting to grow up) the Jabberwocky becomes a plot point. As in the Jabberwock appears and chases Alice whenever she feels intense fear. The worst scene utilising this is the Humpty Dumpty scene: where the Jabberwock turns up halfway through, immediately taking us away from Carroll's dialogue and story.
ENDINGS
I really liked upon rewatch was how part 1 ends. Or rather, the way it tricks the audience. As with the end of the first novel, Alice does wake up on the riverbank near her house. She runs in, overjoyed that she is now home. To tie the two adaptations of Wonderland and Looking Glass together this version then pulls a moment that is truly odd. Alice isn't actually awake at all, and she is now trapped in looking glass house in yet another dream world. The jabberwock shows up. Cue credits.
I love the way this shifts. And its the darkest moment in a version which up to this point has been very light. It helps set the tone for part 2's more Carroll focused more darker adaptation.
Part 2's ending is.... less good. After defeating the Jabberwock Alice finally awakens and is told by her mother she's now old enough to have tea with the adults.
Alice then imagines the residents of Wonderland and Looking glass World waving her goodbye from the mirror. This moment has always struck me as strange because the Queen of Hearts is among those waving Alice goodbye and singing good luck to her. Someone that 1 dream ago wanted to behead her... weird.
OVERALL
A decent adaptation with a much better second half!
