“Alice in Wonderland” was of course, based on Lewis Carroll’s story about Alice and adventures. Alice follows the white rabbit, falls down a rabbit hole, and meets all sorts of strange, unusual, and fun characters and creatures. During her travels, she meets a talking door knob, who helps her get through the keyhole, and into Wonderland, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, who tell her the story of the “Walrus and the Carpenter”, the Caterpillar, the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, who she joins for an unbirthday party, and the Queen of Hearts and her army of cards. In the end, Alice awakens to learn it was all just a dream.
Walt Disney first considered a live action version of the story, starring Mary Pickford. Paramount made a version, causing Walt to put the idea aside. Later, Walt had artist David Hall create concepts for an animated version. It wasn’t until the late 1940’s that work began on the film. Walt’s big problem with the film was that he was dealing with a classic, held in high regard, but what was charming and bizarre in the book seemed very out of place on screen. Walt expressed later on that he felt that Alice had no heart. Later, the film was rediscovered by a psychedelic generation when it was made available on 16mm for schools. It was rereleased in theaters in 1974 and 1981, and released on video in 81 and 86.
The film premiered in England, and was released in the United States just two days later. Kathryn Beaumont provided the voice of Alice, and Verna Felton voiced the Queen of Hearts. Ed Wynn provided the voice for the Mad Hatter. The film was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. This film has won many hearts over the years, and will surely continue to win more as time moves on.