Alice In Wonderland... with Stamos

Chances are you're familiar with the classic Disney animated feature of Alice In Wonderland. That cartoon has become stapled inside the consciousness of children all around the world, as many Disney movies have. It's a good cartoon, I'll give it that. Disney made fine animated features up until the early 90s and then I stopped liking them entirely. So what we have here is the 1985 Television Special of Alice In Wonderland which was so bloody long that it had to run in two parts. I first saw it on television in the early 90s when it was re-aired one Sunday afternoon on TBS. Clocking in at just a little over three hours long, this includes the moments from the books that were unfortunately left out of the Disney version. 

The Good: If you aren't already baked out of your mind when you watch this, the DVD will make you feel baked. There are a lot of very fucked up moments throughout the broadcast that make you shake your head to see if you're still completely with it or not. The cast is an all-star list of television stars from the 80s with some classic superstars added in. You've got Sammy Davis Jr. There's Beau Bridges. Scott Baio makes an appearance. And of course (and this is the real reason I bought the DVD), there's an appearance by John Stamos, who we all know is Uncle Jesse on Full House. The songs are written by Steve Allen and most of them are enjoyable and catchy. The little girl who plays Alice is full of charm and to coin a phrase, she's cute as a button. The Jabberwocky is menacing looking, even for an '85 television budget. And let's not forget Carol Channing and her crazy antics.

The Bad: This movie is really friggin' long. I wasn't kidding when I said you need to watch it in two parts, and luckily it's divided into ...Wonderland and Alice Through The Looking Glass. At some points you just wish everyone would stop singing to Alice, cause really, if you don't have the dancing skills of Sammy or the soft vocals of Stamos then you're going to be ignored rather quickly. Pacing wasn't something that director Harry Harris (I wish that was my name) was very concerned with it seems. After all, the growing-shrinking scene drags on for nearly five minutes, and that kind of slowness isn't needed so early in the show. Especially if you expect kids to sit through it.  But if you're on some wicked drugs when watching this, you won't notice the pacing problems. If you're like me and you're really just watching this movie for the Uncle Jesse appearance, then you'll be upset that you have to wait nearly two hours before you can have any mercy. And then Stamos' appearance is fairly limited. Just don't throw your TV out the window in anger, because I have given you fair warning. 

The Verdict: I picked this DVD up because I bought an Avril Lavigne CD for my niece's birthday and she already had it. So after giving her money to get what she wanted, I just decided to return Avril and get something with store credit. I stumbled across the Alice DVD and thought Hey, why not? I was pleasantly surprized that I enjoyed Alice In Wonderland far more than the first time I saw it in the early 90s. I'd recommend it as a great rainy day flick, cause it's a great way to kill three hours. And part of your soul.

- ryan