Which version of Alice in Wonderland should I show my kid?

Cafe Society
1

My four year old and I are just about to finish up Alice in Wonderland. He asked if there’s a movie, and we said we’d get it on Netflix for him.

Turns out there are several.

Which should I show him?

I see there are some adaptations that play up the surreal nightmarish aspect of the book. I’d want to avoid those for now. (I saw one years ago which I think was in Czeck? And it was mostly stop animation? And it was awesome? You know the one I’m talking about? Yeah, not going to show him that one right now.)

The Disney cartoon version is not available at Netflix for some reason.

ETA: To make it clear, what I’m looking for one that maximizes quality and kid-friendliness as much as possible.

2

Alice by Jan Svankmajer. And it is, indeed, awesome (easily the best of the bunch).

Since most other versions trade on distracting stunt casting, I’d go with the Disney version. Definitely has its trippy moment, and probably the least sentimental of all their cartoons from the 40s through 60s.

3

The Disney version is fun, and very kid-friendly.

4

I’m not sure Svankmajer’s Alice is intended for maximum “kid-friendliness,” and I don’t think a 4-year-old is likely to be distracted by stunt casting, unless Elmo shows up unexpectedly.

I remember liking this version a lot when I was a kid, but I may have had a little crush on Fiona Fullerton.

As much as I hate to be Disney booster though, I think it may be worth a trip to Blockbuster to pick up that version. It’s not great art, but it’s pretty and moves along briskly, which unfortunately is more than can be said for a lot of adaptations.

5

Probably the least child-friendly version of Alice is the anime Miyuki-chan in Wonderland, which is nice if you like scantily-dressed lesbian cartoon characters.

But of the straight (in several senses of the word) versions, I find the 1999 version pretty satisfactory, and suitable to show to children of any age.

6

I’m going out on a limb here and saying no version. At least not for another few years. I can’t be the only person who knows 4-year-olds who were terrified by the Disney version, can I?

7

The Disney version is fine as its own animal, but none of the adaptations are particularly effective in my opinion.

Swankmejer’s Alice is brilliant and gorgeous, but is a radical departure from the book.

The book is built on wordplay and allusions; things that translate pretty awkwardly to film.

8

I’ve never been especially happy with any film version. Some of them seem to have been made by people who never read the book. Others seem to have as their goal freaking people out.

I agree with typoink about the books not translating well into film. That said, I’m surprised how much of the book actually got into the Disney version. I think Disney got a lot of flak for “Disneyfying” the book, and not trying to copy Tenniel’s illustrations (as if most of the other versions tried to copy tenniel), but there are at least parts of more of the poems and songs from the book in Disney’s version than the others. And they do try to maintain the book’s sense of humor and absurdity better than any other version, even if they don’t 9arguably because they don’t) stick slavishly to the text. The Mad Tea Party is a case in point. The jokes and puns come fast and furious at the hands (mouths) of Jerry Colonna and ed Wynn. (“Sugar?” “Two Spoons” “Two Spoons,” says the Mad Hatter, and jams two literal spoons – not spoonfuls of sugar – into the watch.) And watching the inventiveness of the different pots and ways of serving tea (squirting out of one, pouring simultaneously from a triple-spouted on. Taking one with no apparent spout or lid and serving by cracking it open like an egg)
Yeah, I’ll take the Disney one any day.

9

The Disney animated film is the best of the bunch. The book is better, though.

10

The 1933 Paramount version is kind of fun for the costumes, but Disney is probably the best for kids.

Alice is a very hard book to adapt, mostly because the plot is so picaresque, the story is purely literary, and because people will think something is wrong if you leave out incidents from Through the Looking Glass.

11

Wait until March and take him to see the new Tim Burton version…

…if you want him to grow up to be a serial killer.

12

THAT would be the American McGee version, if it ever gets made.

13

I didn’t even know there were other versions besides the Disney! Show him the animated Disney, he’s not going to sit through anything but that.

14

Weird that the Disney one isn’t available through Netflix right now. I got it from them for my 3 year old last year. For her 4th birthday I bought it because she loved it so much! You say you read it to your 4 year old? I need to try that. I never thought to read it to mine yet. I’ve been busy reading the Little House books to my daughter, which she loves, but I bet she would like Alice too!

15

Well, to be honest, as far as I can tell he’s not following the story at all and usually has no idea what’s happening. I’m not sure why he keeps wanting me to read it, actually. But he does, and so I do. :wink:

16

There are MILES of film based on either Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Through The Looking-Glass, or both in some sort of mixture.

17

Isn’t that always the way? And then in 3 or 4 months he’ll probably decide he wants to tell you a story, and it won’t be about Alice, but he’ll have all the details of some random chapter perfect! Kids are so awesome.

18

Well, there was a 70s-80s (?) live action version of Alice—I saw it as a kid on the Disney Channel during the 80s, and it had the production values and styles of a (very good) TV movie, though I don’t know for sure if it was one originally or not. It may also have been a musical.

Anyway, I seem to recall it being okay…except for the Jabberwock. Which was horrifically, luridly, horror-movie monsterously life-like.

It appeared, like, twice in the movie, I think. The last time, it actually snuck into a party inside a small gift box. Now, the monster was ten feet tall if an inch, and it was in a box large enough for a modest-sized hat.

So, of course, the way they showed it squeezing out of it’s hiding place was to have the box get opened…and the Jabberwock’s flesh suddenly rolling out, like a pot boiling over as it expanded to it’s full size.

:eek:

I’m thinking that I remember it managing to tear someone’s arm off at that point, too, but I might be imagining things. Knowing broadcast standards, it probably just clamped down on someone’s hand with it’s mighty jaws and shook them around as they screamed, and my young mind filled in the rest.

Needless to say, that scene’s stuck with me since. And now I’m a Lovecraft reader for some reason.

A little digging has shown that it was probably this version of the film that I saw, a TV movie which is available on DVD. The first half is actually on YouTube (somewhat illicitly), but doesn’t include the second night’s worth of movie which includes said Jabberwocky.

So, that might be a safe enough one to try your kid on. Just only use the YouTube version, or remember to hit “stop” on the DVD player after the first half of the movie, which has a happy ending. Just, uh, tell your kid the rest of it is the bonus Spanish version, or something.

19

I recall enjoying this one quite a bit, as a young teen who’d just been introduced to the Wonderland of late-night cable.

20

From the 1985 Alice: the Jabberwock comes out of the box and attacks! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV7ASH_BHR0