Storyboard’s Unusual Suspects series oft-focuses on a character considered by many to be secondary. A minor role, if you will. This month as we focus on Walt Disney's classic Alice in Wonderland, we decided to shake things up a bit and talk about a rather primary character, who still manages to fall under the realm of an unusual suspect.
Walt Disney had a professional affiliation with the Alice character dating back to the early 1920s, when he and Ub Iwerks produced a series of animated shorts incorporating a live-action little girl in The Alice Comedies (the first of which was titled Alice’s Wonderland). In 1933, Disney acquired the movie rights to Sir John Tenniel’s Alice illustrations. Tenniel, an English artist and political cartoonist, illustrated both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll. Disney also registered the title Alice in Wonderland with the Motion Picture Association of America in 1938. The 1951 feature, which took elements from both Carroll books, was an inevitability. The film’s protagonist, however, is not your typical Disney heroine.
Alice was Disney’s third leading lady (Snow White in 1937 and Cinderella in 1950), and the first who didn’t become a princess by story’s end. She was also the toughest one to root for, even for Walt. After the film’s release, Walt felt that Alice was a little too spoiled, and more specifically, lacked heart. “The picture was filled with weird characters you couldn’t get with,” Walt stated. “Even Alice wasn’t very sympathetic. I wanted to make the White Knight a romantic figure and have him always popping up through the story… Alice could have tried to help him out. But I was talked out of it.”
To Walt’s first point in the above quote, this also marked the first time the film’s star was provided with so many co-stars. Dozens upon dozens of ancillary characters make Alice’s acquaintance at some point in the film, with some meetings briefer than others. Even after omitting several main characters (such as the White Knight and the Jabberwock), and combining multiple characters into one (the Queen of Hearts in Disney’s version is an amalgam of all four Queens and the Duchess from Carroll’s version), the film was viewed by many as a little on the crowded side. Additionally, Alice never had any true villains to contend with. The Cheshire Cat was more of a nuisance, and the Queen of Hearts didn’t appear until the film’s third act. Even then, she was little more than a big bully.
Despite Alice’s flaws (both the film and the character), the movie is beautifully animated, wonderfully scored, and thus has developed quite a loyal following over the years. Some even consider it to be their favorite Disney animated feature. Beleaguered by disappearing cats, less-than-sensible tea parties, and outgrabing mome raths, Alice has braved the treacheries of Wonderland, and has won a place amongst Storyboard’s favorite Unusual Suspects.
Keith Gluck is a WDFM volunteer, writer/editor for thedisneyproject.com, a Disney fan site. His Disney life started early, visiting Disneyland before turning one, and writing his very first book report on a Walt Disney biography for kids.