Alice in Wonderland (1999) (TV)

Director:

Nick Willing

Writers (WGA):

Lewis Carroll (novel)
Peter Barnes (teleplay)

Release Date:

28 February 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Adventure | Fantasy

Plot:

The wizards behind "Merlin" and "The Odyssey" combine Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" into a three-hour special that just gets curiouser and curiouser.

Plot Keywords:

White Rabbit | Alternate Dimension | Fantasy | Tea Party | Child's Point Of View

Awards:

Won 4 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Robbie Coltrane	...	Ned Tweedledum
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Cheshire Cat
Ben Kingsley	...	Major Caterpillar
Christopher Lloyd	...	White Knight
Pete Postlethwaite	...	Carpenter
Miranda Richardson	...	Queen of Hearts / Society Woman
Martin Short	...	Mad Hatter / Chinless Idiot
Peter Ustinov	...	Walrus
George Wendt	...	Fred Tweedledee
Gene Wilder	...	Mock Turtle
Tina Majorino	...	Alice
Ken Dodd	...	Mr. Mouse
Jason Flemyng	...	Sir Jack, the Knave of Hearts / Cad
Sheila Hancock	...	Cook
Simon Russell Beale	...	King of Hearts / Society Man

Also Known As:

Alice im Wunderland (Germany)

Runtime:

Finland:131 min (TV) (2 parts) | USA:150 min | 65 min (2 episodes) | USA:129 min (VHS version)

Country:

UK | USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:G | Singapore:PG | UK:U | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Babelsberg International Film Produktion

Trivia:

The asymmetrical-eyed costume for the March Hare scared Tina Majorino. Director Nick Willing thought this a success, since he had wanted the March Hare to be creepy.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end of the movie when Alice is singing, in between shots her hair changes from being behind her shoulders on both sides to being in front on one side.

Quotes:

Alice: Why am I here?
Duchess: To save Jack from a death worse than fate!

Movie Connections:

Version of The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987)

held up well through several viewings

A visual feast that maintained most of my very favorite bits from the original Lewis Carroll books, (though not necessarily in sequence). I cannot imagine better casting (in 1999) highlighted by the superb performances of Gene Wilder as the Mock Turtle, Christopher Lloyd as the White Knight, Peter Ustinov as Walrus and Whoopi Goldberg as Cheshire Cat. Tina Majorino was absolutely believable as the unbelievable little girl Alice - won't she be something to watch as she grows up? My one complaint was a voice - while Miranda Richardson created the most wonderfully faithful Queen of Hearts, I would put a pillow to that "voice" if I had to live with it!

This version maintained not only my enjoyment through several viewings but that of my cinematically precocious 7 yr old son - (A fan who can already tell the difference between the effects of George Pal, Ray Harryhausen, Stan Winston, Buddy Baker... and who gets as excited by a big screen showing of The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston as Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers.

This is a DVD I'll be buying.