Alice In Wonderland: 60th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray + DVD Combo)
DVD Reviews | Jan 28th, 2011
Starring: Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Richard Haydn, Sterling Holloway, Verna Felton, J. Pat O’Malley, Bill Thompson, Joseph Kearns, Dink Trout, James MacDonald
Written By: Lots of people
Directed By: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske
Studio: Disney / Buena Vista
Buy On Amazon.com
In 2005, I reviewed Alice in Wonderland: Masterpiece Edition. Since then, there’s been another edition DVD, a live action Alice in Wonderland movie directed by Tim Burton, and now there’s a 60th anniversary edition Blu-Ray/DVD Combo. Obviously, getting this Blu-Ray will be your best option to see the movie like you’ve never seen it before!
Alice in Wonderland is about a young girl named Alice who doesn’t want to live in a world of reality and just daydreams a lot. She wants everything to be colorful, wacky and unusual. Well she gets just that and tumbles her way into Wonderland after following a white rabbit carrying a large pocket watch down a hole. She encounters strange characters like Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum, Mad Hatter, Talking doorknobs & flowers, a Cheshire Cat, Smoking Caterpillar and head chopping Queen of Hearts. Alice experiences many things, like growing larger & smaller, having unbirthday parties with crackheads and almost getting killed a few times. You know, kid crap. She eventually makes it back home, but just barely.
Every time I see Alice in Wonderland, I’m just amazed at how trippy it is. It just is a wacky and weird movie, and one of Disney’s weirdest. The animation was fantastic for the movie, and some characters more memorable than others. I always get depressed and a little freaked out at Tweedledee and Tweedledum’s poem of ‘The Walrus and The Carpenter’ about that fat Walrus eating all the cute oysters. I think it’s the fact that Disney make the oysters cute that makes the poem tough to watch for some reason. I always liked watching the UnBirthday party with Mad Hatter, Dorm Mouse, and March Hare. I can appreciate the animation, music and narrative, but Alice in Wonderland is one Disney film I just don’t like as much as others.
The Blu-Ray for Alice in Wonderland looks astonishing! I thought it looked great for the Masterpiece Edition but that’s nothing compared to the Blu-Ray. The movie is still in standard video which is a shame but the overall quality of the video was really cleaned up since the DVD. I didn’t noticed any type of grain or dated look to the movie. Having the video this clean, it really showcases the beauty of the animation. The Blu-Ray has features like Disney View which has expanded artwork when you’re watching, there’s a companion’s guide to Wonderland, some other things that were decent. There was one featurette that seemed new to me, and it was about an hour long. It talks about Alice in Wonderland the book, the movie and other things associated with it. Not sure if it that was on the original DVD sets though. The original DVD extras are also included, as well as a DVD itself. I always like having both a DVD and Blu-Ray; just in case you needed to watch it on DVD.
So since there’s been a bunch of Alice in Wonderland editions to come out on DVD and Blu-Ray, the question is should you get this one? I think you should definitely upgrade and get the Blu-Ray. The video quality is practically flawless and as good as you’re gonna get with Alice in Wonderland. Definitely a worthy purchase for Disney and animation fans.
Features:
– New BD Features
– Through the Keyhole: A Companion’s Guide to Wonderland
– Disney View
– Painting the Roses Red game
– Walt Disney color TV introduction (1959) – A never-before-seen color TV intro by Walt
– Reference Footage
– Pencil Test: Alice Shrinks – Kathryn Beaumont introduces a newly discovered pencil test of Alice shrinking
– PLUS, Classic DVD Features:
– Reflections on Alice
– Operation Wonderland (now in hi-def)
– “I’m Odd” newly discovered Cheshire Cat song and intro
– Thru the Mirror Mickey Mouse animated short (now in hi-def)
– One-hour in Wonderland
– An Alice Comedy: Alice’s Wonderland
– Original theatrical trailers (1951 & 1974)Video:
Subtitles:
English, French, Spanish
Bottom Line: Alice in Wonderland hasn’t looked this fantastic!
Running Time: 75 mins
Rating: G
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating:
