Chapter 2 appears [...]]]> Enough Un-Anniversaries, July 28th is actually the day Disney’s Alice in Wonderland was released in 1951. To celebrate properly, we’ll re-post from reigning expert Matt Crandall’s excellent Disney Alice blog, vintagedisneyalice.blogspot.com, where he posted today images of a Disney comic book:

Mickey Mouse Weekly #585 from England – July 28th, 1951

Chapter 2 appears in the issue dated July 28th, 1951, the date of the US premiere and the official anniversary of the film’s release.

Previously on Far Flung Knight: Now Available Again: Disney’s 1951 Alice in Wonderland

Dalmation Press has published a new Disney Alice in Wonderland for children aged 2–4, perhaps, as Dodgson wished for his Nursery Alice, “to be thumbed, to be cooed over,to be dogs’-eared, to be rumpled, to be kissed, by the illiterate, ungrammatical, dimpled Darlings [...]]]> Clare Imholtz reports, with a mini review for a mini book:

Dalmation Press has published a new Disney Alice in Wonderland for children aged 2–4, perhaps, as Dodgson wished for his Nursery Alice, “to be thumbed, to be cooed over,to be dogs’-eared, to be rumpled, to be kissed, by the illiterate, ungrammatical, dimpled Darlings that fill your Nursery with merry uproar…”

This teeny abridged version is a board book about 2.5 by 3 inches and just ten thick pages long. Five pages of text face five pages of illustration. The book reads in toto:

p. 1 Alice follows the White Rabbit into a strange world.
p. 3 She meets twins named Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
p. 5 The Mad Hatter and March Hare have a tea party.
p. 7 Alice meets the Queen of Hearts.
p. 9 Was it all just a dream?

Well, what do you expect for $1.00! This may be available at your local Target.

We know of another 6-inch-tall Alice. In August 2010, we posted “New Media Artist” Jason Huff‘s Auto-summarized version of Through the Looking Glass, from his book AutoSummarize, for sale here. For this project, he ran famous books of literature through Microsoft Word’s AutoSummarize feature. His TTLG is only 20 words long, and here’s one of his several AAIW, for comparison to the Dalmation book:

Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll

Poor Alice! Alice felt dreadfully puzzled. Alice sighed wearily. Alice asked.

Alice was silent.

‘Yes!’ shouted Alice.

Alice thought to herself.

Alice asked.

Alice’s Evidence

‘I won’t!’ said Alice.

29 words! …but I’m not sure what 2-4 year olds would make of it.

oReflections on Alice: Walt Disney labored for almost twenty years to get his vision of [...]]]> If you recall, Disney re-released their 1951 animated feature Alice in Wonderland on DVD last year in conjunction with their new Tim Burton version: a “2-Disc Special Un-Anniversary Edition“. This is still available, and contains the following special features:

oReflections on Alice: Walt Disney labored for almost twenty years to get his vision of Alice in Wonderland on the screen. In this featurette, learn about how a exceptional group of talented individuals conquered the difficulties of translating Lewis Carroll’s beloved tale into a classic animated movie
oDeleted scene: Pig And Pepper: In the twenty years it was in development at the Walt Disney Studios, Alice In Wonderland went through many changes. This rare glimpse at a scene that was once considered for a 1939 version of Alice In Wonderland is narrated by the directors of The Princess And The Frog, and offers their informed perspective on how scenes come and go during the development of an animated movie
oRemastered and restored with an all-new transfer
oVirtual Wonderland Party activities including riddles, silly song & dance, Teapot orchestra, Mad Hatter Says, and other games and stories
o”Thru the Mirror” animated short with Mickey Mouse
o”I’m Odd” never before heard song
o2 Sing along songs
oSet-top game
o”One Hour in Wonderland” documentary (60 mins.)
o”An Alice Comedy: Alice’s Wonderland” featurette (8 mins.)
o”Operation Wonderland” featurette (11 mins.)
oExcerpt from “The Fred Warring Show” (30 mins.)
oDeleted Material Featurettes: “From Wonderland to Never Land,” “Song Demos,” Deleted Storyboard Concept: Alice Daydreams in the Park”
oOriginal Walt Disney TV introductions and trailers

Kathryn Beaumont with Walt Disney c. 1949

Now, on February 1st, Disney is issuing again their 1951 animated feature Alice in Wonderland, a “Two-Disc 60th Anniversary Blu-ray/DVD Combo“. We look forward to 2012′s Special 61st Re-Un-Anniversary Edition. In the Knight Letter 85 (now available!), we mentioned that Kathryn Beaumont, “voice of both Disney’s Alice and Wendy from Peter Pan, appeared at the Walt Disney Museum in San Francisco on May 22, 2010, to share her memories as a voice-over artist. The actress, who turned 72 [last] year, was recently heard in the video game ‘Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep’ as the voice of ‘Kairi’s Grandma.’ She will also be introducing the special feature ‘Through the Keyhole: A Companion’s Guide to Wonderland’ in the digital remastering of the 1951 film to be re-re-re-re-released in February 2011.” I do not know if this 2011 edition is significantly more remastered than the 2010 edition, but for shopping comparison, I’ll quote the full special features on the new one also:

o New BD Features
o Through the Keyhole: A Companion’s Guide to Wonderland – View the movie in this special mode and discover references to the original Lewis Carroll classic – introduced by the voice of Alice, Kathryn Beaumont.
o Disney View – Watch the movie in this expanded viewing experience with new Disney art in the wings of the screen
o Painting the Roses Red game – Help paint the roses red in the Queen’s garden. Careful, or someone could lose their head
o Walt Disney color TV introduction (1959) – A never-before-seen color TV intro by Walt
o Reference Footage: Alice and the Doorknob – Kathryn Beaumont provides an introduction to this newly discovered reference footage of Alice talking to the doorknob
o Pencil Test: Alice Shrinks – Kathryn Beaumont introduces a newly discovered pencil test of Alice shrinking
• PLUS, Classic DVD Features:
o Reflections on Alice
o Operation Wonderland (now in hi-def)
o “I’m Odd” newly discovered Cheshire Cat song and intro
o Thru the Mirror Mickey Mouse animated short (now in hi-def)
o One-hour in Wonderland
o An Alice Comedy: Alice’s Wonderland
o Original theatrical trailers (1951 & 1974)

So, lots of new stuff! But, for some reason, not all of the stuff from the 2010 release. If you want to read more about Beaumont’s appearance at the Disney Family Museum last year, there was an article about it on blog Disney Fan Insider here.

According to the Wikipedia, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is now behind only two James Cameron films, the final Lord of the Rings movie, & another Disney Johnny Depp flick, as the highest grossing movie world-wide (of all time, partly adjusted for inflation.) They discuss the difficulties of calculating these figures meaningfully (inflation, [...]]]>

According to the Wikipedia, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is now behind only two James Cameron films, the final Lord of the Rings movie, & another Disney Johnny Depp flick, as the highest grossing movie world-wide (of all time, partly adjusted for inflation.) They discuss the difficulties of calculating these figures meaningfully (inflation, ticket-price inflation, population and distribution, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.)

In comparison, in their “List of Highest Grossing Films in the U.S. and Canada: Not Adjusted for Inflation”, Alice in Wonderland is merely 20th, just above Forrest Gump. It is still the highest grossing film of 2010. Not bad for a movie sort-of based on a Victorian-era children’s book with no linear narrative. And also, a bit of an Alice-redemption for the Disney Corporation, whose 1951 version received sour reviews and box office disappointment.

Some light entertainment for your Sunday morning: Where would you put a life-size cut-out of Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen (yours for only $34.95 from AG)? I would like to think of her used to direct attention to a particularly important agenda item, [...]]]>

The Red Queen, sold by AG (Advanced Graphics)

Some light entertainment for your Sunday morning: Where would you put a life-size cut-out of Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen (yours for only $34.95 from AG)? I would like to think of her used to direct attention to a particularly important agenda item, or perhaps to direct traffic (to the left).

I have to admit I am featuring this item mainly because the idea of the company made me giggle: AG, “Home of Cardboard People” is “the world’s largest manufacturer of cardboard standups.” Where “our kind of people are cardboard people.”

But fans of Disney’s 1951 Alice in Wonderland may like to ask why it is possible to purchase a three-foot-tall cut out of Dumbo, but no Alice and no Cheshire Cat? Who exactly is the target audience? Does the Dumbo fan club really wield more eccentric purchasing power than the fans of Alice? Say it isn’t so!

This cartoon cel of Disney’s Mock Turtle is from LCSNA member Matt Crandall’s collection (featured in an interesting article on the “official” Disney fan site, D23.) Although the Mock Turtle is an important character in the book, he didn’t make it into either the 1951 or 2010 Disney movie. [...]]]>

This cartoon cel of Disney’s Mock Turtle is from LCSNA member Matt Crandall’s collection (featured in an interesting article on the “official” Disney fan site, D23.) Although the Mock Turtle is an important character in the book, he didn’t make it into either the 1951 or 2010 Disney movie. This frame is from a Disney animation for a 1957 Jell-O commercial – oddly fitting that they used the calf’s head (like in the original Tenniel illustration). Was Jell-O the mock turtle soup of the 1950s (and should a turtle with the head of a soybean be doing TV spots today singing “Beau–ootiful To–fuuurkey”…?) We’re told the 1957 commercial will be a special feature on the upcoming DVD release of Disney’s 1951 Alice in Wonderland.

And now for something completely different: drive yourself mad with a Disney-themed interlocking pocket puzzle, sold online at ThinkGeek.com. The puzzles are based on the classic mechanical games involving two interlocking pieces which must be separated – only this time you are offered motivation from the Magic Kingdom: [...]]]>

Japanese Pocket Puzzle from ThinkGeek.com

And now for something completely different: drive yourself mad with a Disney-themed interlocking pocket puzzle, sold online at ThinkGeek.com. The puzzles are based on the classic mechanical games involving two interlocking pieces which must be separated – only this time you are offered motivation from the Magic Kingdom: help Alice navigate the Red Queen’s maze, extract Winnie the Pooh from Rabbit’s hole, separate Minnie and Mickey (?…).

The vendors says that the puzzles are intended for adults – “kids might be pretty frustrated,” by which I think they mean they will be quiet for hours (good), right until the point they pitch the thing through the passenger side window (bad).