Stay Classy: Alice in Wonderland (1903)

Maybe you’ve never heard of it. Maybe you’ve always wanted to see it. Or maybe you’re just tired of the new. Whatever your reason, the classics are always worth a nod. In Stay Classy, we look some of the films that started it all and how they hold up today. So sit back while we reel through the past.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Year released: 1903

How it fared back then: The film was originally 12 minutes long. At a time when cinema itself was still very young, a night out at the movies meant viewing a collection of shorts, and a 12-minute film was considered too long. (HA!) So scenes from the film were instead sold separately and thus aired separately.

The making of the film was actually much like you'd imagine the production of a very, very small indie film, so small that the lead actress, Mabel Clark, also doubled as the studio secretary. The film also starred director Cecil Hepworth himself, his wife, his cat and his dog (who would later move onto bigger and better things, i.e. 1905's Rescued by Rover). Based on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Hepworth tried to keep the film as tried to keep as much as possible to the likeness of John Tenniel's original illustrations and ended up spending a much longer time than usual pre-production preparing costumes and sets (which was probably a lot of work considering the main set was a small wooden stage). Though I can't say as much attention was paid to the actual story (but maybe more than later adaptations did).

Why it's lasted: It was the first adaptation of the popular children's book, released 38 years after the book. The book itself is a classic in children's literature, which has also developed a devoted cult following of adaptations, the first of which was this version. The film was also noted for its state-of-the-art special effects (see: when Alice shrinks and, in a later scene, disappears). Almost lost forever, film archivists at the BFI National Archive were able to restore 8 minutes of the film and its original colours for the first time in 100 years. So, technically, it hasn't "lasted" but was deemed historically significant enough to be restored and revered.

Classic moment: When Alice shrinks. Then grows. Then shrinks. As I mentioned, it was also very advanced for its time in terms of effects. On a more literary note, it plays a big role in the story's theme as a symbolic entry into a world where nothing really makes sense.

Does it still hold up? For those aforementioned followers of Alice adaptations, this film is a rare gem. For anyone who doesn't fit that description, probably not. Considering the original intended audience of Alice was children, this is definitely not one for them. It's actually kind of creepy. And doesn't stick to the story very well. Though since the film was originally sold by scenes, maybe no one ever cared for the story anyway. But if you're looking for something for the kids, I'd go for Disney. If you're looking for something for yourself, I'd say try Burton's. Both are really good. But if you love the adaptations like I do, go for this one.

Michelle's Top 10 of '10: Part 1

10. The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli is so epic, in the non-trendy, currently over-used sense of the world. It's one man's voyage through a world saturated by evil to bring the book of all that is pure and mighty to the only safe haven on Earth, effortlessly defeating all that stands in his way. Like I said, so epic. With Denzel Washington as it's title star, you'd probably never expect this film to be as anti-Hollywood as it is (well, it's also super Hollywood at the same time). Yes, it's full of gore, but beneath the bloodshed, it's about fate and determination, which is something, it feels, that Hollywood tries not to take head-on because it's supposedly cliché (though might dance around it in some attempt to be quirky). Anyway, if you're looking for something unexpectedly badass and righteous, this is it.

9. Easy A

Comedies rarely make me laugh, especially comedies with rave reviews. Case in point: until this, You Don't Mess with the Zohan was the last film I would actually call funny, which came out in 2008. It's "rotten" by Rotten Tomatoes (36%) and 54 out of 100 on Metacritic (yes, totally the most legit method of judging films). On this theory, I shouldn't have liked Easy A (Rotten Tomatoes: 87%, though 94% from top critics; Metacritic: 72 out of 100), but sometimes I just have to give into the buzz and see for myself. So I did. And I laughed. And I loved it. And I pray that Emma Stone comes back with another heavy hit soon because she is too stellar to let herself plummet from the radar. She's paired up with Easy A director Will Gluck again for ensemble rom-com Friends with Benefits due out later this year, so by theory, you should mark your calendars. Except that my theories don't work.

8. Shutter Island

This was the first of a pretty slick, strong (though similar) pair of films of Leo DiCaprio this year (IMO). Shutter Island is a dark, classy, and, as a good friend of mine calls it, Scooby-Doo-esque film. What makes this film so compelling though is it's moodiness. It's clouded and bogged (and I mean that in an artistic kind of way) in memories and palpable emotions, not to mention a killer mirroring atmosphere. It's beautiful, thoughtful escape, that doesn't force the viewer to much thinking on her own part, wisping her off to some semi-real narrative.

7. Alice in Wonderland

I love Alice and I love Wonderland. They're such beautiful, insane Carroll creations. His potential modern film director incarnate: Tim Burton. Before this film came out, it was kind of unnerving to think about. What would happen when the minds of Carroll and Burton come together? It could be a very close balance between masterpiece and disaster. When the trailer came out, the over-marketing of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter turned out to be a reason in itself not the see the film, and I kind of though it would be the latter. But I saw it anyway. I expected it to be a lot more darker, frightening and bizarre than it actually turned out to be. On top that, I'm also a huge fan of the Disney version of the story, so I worried it would be difficult not the weight the two films against each other. But it was simple: this version turned out to be completely different, and even more compelling and escapist.

6. True Grit

There's something about modern westerns that I like and I don't know what it is. They're slow. They're testosterone-heavy. They're predictable. Yet there's something about all the sound of a horse's hooves through a dusty, barren land as the cowboy rides in to save the town that keeps pulling me in. The Coen brothers have yet again won me over with a brilliant film. Though aside from a slightly off-beat story (you can't stray too far with a western), admirable actors and thoughtful cinematography, what really fuels this film is Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross. Yeah, she's a bit over-the-top, but she's just perfectly suited to this film and this genre. Who would have expected that in a film with both Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon, that the newcomer 14-year-old would be the driving force of it all?

All photos: allmoviephoto.com

TO BE CONTINUED...

DVD: Alice in Wonderland

Photo: amazon.ca

Starring Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway. Directed by Tim Burton. 108 minutes. PG

When Lewis Carroll's Wonderland works are adapted, we hope to be thrown into a world that's a wild and extravagant as his stories made us imagine. We also hope to be thrown a surprising jolt every so often on the ride. Disney's newest rendition of Alice in Wonderland surpasses these hopes and sends expectations exploding.

Most of us know the gist of the story. Alice (Mia Wasikowska) chases a white rabbit into a rabbit hole, tumbling head-first miles down to Wonderland where she meets a slew of curious and curiouser characters, all the while trying to get back home. In this version, Alice's journey revolves around a feud between sisters (the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) and the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter)) and Alice is plunked right into the dramatic mess.

For those of us who've grown up with Disney's original 1951 take on the Carroll stories, there are certain characterizations that we may already be familiar with. The Mad Hatter has a lisp, the caterpillar words are always painted in colourful smoke and the White Rabbit is always frazzled. It's tough to come into Burton's film with these pre-conceptions, but it's even more astonishing when Burton's new characters completely blow them away and create memorable, believable personalities anew.

Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter is not as scene-hogging and annoying as the trailers and DVD cover stage him to be. He's a sweet and likable aid to Alice. He could be a bit madder though, rather than let his bright eyeshadow and frizzy hair play the madness for him.

Carter as the Red Queen is terrifying, and she should be. Hathaway as the White Queen seems to be inspired by Glinda the Good Witch and is a little awkward, but in Burton's world, it works. However, it was Wasikowska who stole the spotlight.

Wasikowska makes Alice real. When her mind runs, she sends your mind running. When she believes, you believe. As the thread throughout the film, her commitment brings the story to life as she tugs the audience along on her trippy adventure through Underland.

Yes, Underland. It's Burton, what did you expect? It's much darker than Disney's original Wonderland, but not so much that it's frightening. Characters are literally blown out of proportion (Red Queen's bulbous noggin, the Tweedles' egg-like bodies), scenes are hazier, surrounded by fog and smoke, and evil is eviler. But it's all kid-friendly; there is no gore and no sexual innuendo. Can't say much for the drugs though, the film is littered with pot, hash and shrooms, but we already knew that.

Alice in Wonderland is an entertaining, nutty thrill ride that impresses with loops and curves when you're least expecting it. 'Rents and kiddies can both enjoy the whirlwind. A-

EXTRAS: Featurettes with the cast