Check out the Blu-ray review for the Disney classic, Alice in Wonderland. Is the Blu-ray version worth the upgrade over its DVD counterpart? Take the plunge down the rabbit hole to find out.. or you can just click the link below. Whichever will get you there, I’m sure.
Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Genre(s): Animated, Fantasy
Disney | G – 75-min. – $39.99 | February 1, 2011
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske
Writer(s): Lewis Carroll (novels)
Cast: Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn
Theatrical Release Date: July 28, 1951
DISC INFO:
Features: Disney View, Featurettes, DVD Copy
Number of Discs: 2
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Video: 1080p/Full Frame 1.33
Subtitles: English SDH
THE MOVIE – 4.25/5
Plot: On a golden afternoon, young Alice follows a White Rabbit, who disappears down a nearby rabbit hole. Quickly following him, she tumbles into the burrow – and enters the merry, topsy-turvy world of Wonderland! Memorable songs and whimsical escapades highlight Alice’s journey, which culminates in a madcap encounter with the Queen of Hearts – and her army of playing cards!
Alice in Wonderland is probably one of the most popular of the classic Disney films that Disney has every produced and rightfully so. Unlike some of the other films (damsel in distress), Alice shows real strength as she travels deep within Wonderland in search of a way out, unlike the Princesses from other films (yawn).
What works with this film is that it’s an enjoyable story that not only women can enjoy but men as well. It’s been well over a decade since I last saw this, and I can still remember how much I enjoyed it as a young boy watching it over and over. Possibly it’s because the Cheshire Cat has a way with words (and very unique colors) or the Mad Hatter who comes off as a delirious friend. But one thing’s for sure – kids and adults can enjoy it over and over again.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4/5
Most of the features are presented in SD unless otherwise stated. A fancy slip cover houses the Blu-ray and DVD.
The following are all ** Blu-ray Exclusives **.
Through the Keyhole (1 Hour, 17 Minutes; HD) – Lewis Carroll and various Disney Historians get together in this PiP track that offers up a wealth of knowledge on the film with the use of clips and archival material.
Disney View – Now this is an interesting new feature that viewers will either love or hate. Since Alice in Wonderland is 1.33:1 (4:3), when you select this option you are able to get some artwork in the “black bars”. All of this is brand new; hand painted, and supposed to match each scene. While this looks great, I found it a bit distracting. You’ll see plenty more of this on other classic Disney releases that are not widescreen in the future. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **
Painting the Red Roses is an interactive game for the kids to play, a short Introduction by Walt Disney and Reference Footage (2 Minutes; HD) of a doorknob.
Everything else has been ported from the two year old DVD:
Pencil Test (1 Minute, HD) – A small introduction on what we are going to see… which is a 10 second clip of Alice. Yawn.
One Hour in Wonderland (1 Hour) – An odd-duck feature, which is several classic Disney shorts and such mashed together for a TV Show.
Lots of smaller features are included like:
Reflections of Alice (13 Minutes) repeats some of what is included in the Blu-ray exclusive “Through the Keyhole”
Operation Wonderland (11 Minutes) is a behind the scenes look at the making of the film in Black and White.
Newly Discovered Cheshire Cat Song (4 Minutes), “Thru the Mirror” Short (9 Minutes), The Silent Short “Alice’s Wonderland” (9 Minutes), Two Walt Disney Introductions, Theatrical Trailer, Art Gallery and several Deleted Scenes (22 Minutes) round out the disc.
As usual, a DVD copy of the film is included for the kids.
VIDEO – 5/5
Alice in Wonderland is presented in 1.33:1 (MPEG4) on a 50GB Disc. It’s nearly impossible to think that this film is 60 years old. It looks spectacular on Blu-ray. Colors are incredibly rich and every single line and brushstroke so much detail that you might long for the days when Disney still animated by hand.
AUDIO – 4.5/5
Disney has included an English 5.1 DTS MA Audio Track for this release (as well as the original 2.0 track). Clearly with a film of this age you can’t really expect much from an audio track. Dialogue is nice and clean (surprising) while the rears are use sporadically throughout the film. I did enjoy this one more then some previous (classic) Disney films, so it looks like Disney is stepping it up a bit.
OVERALL – 4.25/5
Once again, Disney knows how to knock these classic films out of the park. Alice on Blu-ray looks and sounds great, and with a wealth of Special Features and a low price, this film belongs in your library.
Brad Lowenberg
Published: 02/15/2011
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