# Which version of Alice in Wonderland should I show my kid? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2009, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-version-of-alice-in-wonderland-should-i-show-my-kid/515670 "2009-10-29T23:28:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-version-of-alice-in-wonderland-should-i-show-my-kid/515670/21 "2009-11-02T03:18:36Z")
Do you know I’ve spent the last 25 years thinking that Alice in that 1985 version was played by Heather O’Rourke (the little girl from _Poltergeist_)? Even after watching at least three YouTube videos of it today, I thought that. I only realized it wasn’t her when I checked the IMDB listing to look up some of the other actors. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-version-of-alice-in-wonderland-should-i-show-my-kid/515670/22 "2009-11-02T03:24:42Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > From the 1985 Alice: the Jabberwock comes out of the box and attacks! [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV7ASH\_BHR0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV7ASH_BHR0) Thank you. For making my nightmares become real again. 😉 And it looks like I was wrong about it chomping on someone’s arm…it gets a man’s _head_ in it’s jaws, if only briefly. Friggin’ shoggoth-looking motherf… ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-version-of-alice-in-wonderland-should-i-show-my-kid/515670/23 "2009-11-02T14:49:40Z")
Far and away the best version is [Jonathan Miller’s 1966 black and white version](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060089/). It is very surrealist, dreamy and psychedelic. It gets very close to the atmosphere of the book. I’m not sure what children would make of it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-version-of-alice-in-wonderland-should-i-show-my-kid/515670/24 "2009-11-02T15:12:43Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > Far and away the best version is [Jonathan Miller’s 1966 black and white version](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060089/). It is very surrealist, dreamy and psychedelic. It gets very close to the atmosphere of the book. > > I’m not sure what children would make of it, though. Oh wow, here’s [ten minutes of it](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrTfEk2P9nw) at youtube. It is a very nice adaptation indeed! (But you’re right, not right for the kiddos.) I like how the animal characters aren’t dressed up as animals. Not sure why. But it seems right. I’ll have to think about that! ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-version-of-alice-in-wonderland-should-i-show-my-kid/515670/25 "2009-11-02T15:20:50Z")
I was wondering why there’s no love for [this version](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_(1933_film)), but I see it’s never been released on VHS or DVD. What a shame! W. C. Fields, Cary Grant, Cary Cooper, and the Walrus and the Carpenter animated by the Fleischer Studios! ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-version-of-alice-in-wonderland-should-i-show-my-kid/515670/26 "2009-11-02T15:30:04Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Oh wow, here’s [ten minutes of it](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrTfEk2P9nw) at youtube. It is a very nice adaptation indeed! (But you’re right, not right for the kiddos.) > > I like how the animal characters aren’t dressed up as animals. Not sure why. But it seems right. I’ll have to think about that! Yes, it really is very good. The langour, the silences, the detachment of Alice. The sets: notice the cobwebs on the tea urn, for example. The sitar music by Ravi Shankar: in theory, out of context, but it adds to the otherworldliness of it. The cast is stellar too: Peter Sellers, Sir Michael Redgrave, Sir John Gielgud, Peter Cook, Alan Bennett, Michael Gough, Wilfred Brambell, Wilfred Lawson, Leo McKern, Malcolm Muggeridge amongst others. It’s on [DVD](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alice-Wonderland-DVD-Anne-Marie-Mallik/dp/B00008WQ58/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1257175744&sr=1-5). ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-version-of-alice-in-wonderland-should-i-show-my-kid/515670/27 "2009-11-02T15:39:00Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > It’s on [DVD](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alice-Wonderland-DVD-Anne-Marie-Mallik/dp/B00008WQ58/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1257175744&sr=1-5). I wonder if I can play that DVD easily here in the states. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-version-of-alice-in-wonderland-should-i-show-my-kid/515670/28 "2009-11-02T15:43:45Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I wonder if I can play that DVD easily here in the states. It is available - at a price - on [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/Alice-Wonderland-Mark-Allington/dp/B0000CG8I8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1257176548&sr=1-1)USA. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_In_Black)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-version-of-alice-in-wonderland-should-i-show-my-kid/515670/29 "2009-11-02T20:53:43Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > 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](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_(1985_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. Yes, it is this version: [Alice in Wonderland (TV Mini Series 1985) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088693/) I think this is one of the best. The first part is alice’s adventures in wonderland and the second part is through the looking glass. It tells both stories, but keeps them separate. If you can find it (and you and your kid don’t mind musicals), I would go with this one. And Natalie does look like Heather O’Rourke from Poltergeist. (RIP Heather) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_In_Black)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-version-of-alice-in-wonderland-should-i-show-my-kid/515670/30 "2009-11-02T21:04:18Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Oh wow, here’s [ten minutes of it](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrTfEk2P9nw) at youtube. It is a very nice adaptation indeed! (But you’re right, not right for the kiddos.) > > I like how the animal characters aren’t dressed up as animals. Not sure why. But it seems right. I’ll have to think about that! I watched that youtube clip. That was soooo dry. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-version-of-alice-in-wonderland-should-i-show-my-kid/515670/31 "2009-11-02T22:31:03Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > Far and away the best version is [Jonathan Miller’s 1966 black and white version](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060089/). It is very surrealist, dreamy and psychedelic. It gets very close to the atmosphere of the book. Not to _my_ idea of the book’s atmosphere, it doesn’t. I never thought of her adventures as being dull, which is the main feeling I took away from the clip. I’m a big fan of Peter Cook, but I couldn’t watch half of that video. Why in the world did Miller direct him to take that weird voice? Very annoying. I’ve never seen the Disney version, apart from little bits and pieces, but I’m beginning to think that it’s not possible to make a version of _Alice_ that I’d consider acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![Lily\_Milliner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8edcca/32.png) [@Lily\_Milliner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lily_Milliner)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-version-of-alice-in-wonderland-should-i-show-my-kid/515670/32 "2009-11-02T23:53:01Z")
See if you can get the Muppets Show episode guest-starring Brooke Shields where the muppets and Brooke put on Alice in Wonderland! It’s a fun parody and short, of course. Brooke Shields is only 12 or 13 years old in it–I think she was their youngest guest star ever. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-version-of-alice-in-wonderland-should-i-show-my-kid/515670/33 "2009-11-03T08:02:57Z")
> [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](#): > > I watched that youtube clip. That was soooo dry. ‘Ahem!’ said the Mouse with an important air, ‘are you all ready? This is the driest thing I know.’ ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-version-of-alice-in-wonderland-should-i-show-my-kid/515670/34 "2009-11-09T04:39:08Z")
> [@Labdad](#): > > I was wondering why there’s no love for [this version](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_(1933_film)), but I see it’s never been released on VHS or DVD. What a shame! W. C. Fields, Cary Grant, Cary Cooper, and the Walrus and the Carpenter animated by the Fleischer Studios! It’s not that there’s no love, it’s that a kid might find it boring. That’s how I felt when I saw it as a kid. I would like to see it now. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2009, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-version-of-alice-in-wonderland-should-i-show-my-kid/515670/35 "2009-11-09T05:27:28Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > But of the straight (in several senses of the word) versions, I find the [1999 version](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_(1999_film)) pretty satisfactory, and suitable to show to children of any age. I enjoyed this one as well! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-version-of-alice-in-wonderland-should-i-show-my-kid/515670.md?page=1)