My Take: A visually-entertaining made-for-TV effort.
When I watched this movie when I was a kid, I really loved it. And it didn't differ when I grew up. I still love this movie. It's so abundant in ideas and imaginative wonder, also sharing the imagery of Lewis Carroll's classic story.
It stars a very familiar cast. Their's Miranda Richardson (Queen of Hearts), Christopher Lloyd (White Knight), Ben Kingsley (Sgt. Caterpillar), Robbie Coltrane (Ned Tweddledum), Martin Short (Mad Hatter), Gene Wilder (Mock Turtle), Pete Postletwaite (Carpenter), Peter Ustinov (Walrus) and of course, Whoopi Goldberg as the mysterious Cheshire Cat. Tina Majorino is perfect as Alice, with a fine British accent to fit her role. I remember seeing her younger in Kevin Costner's "Waterworld", but she was quite memorable, for me, in this film. The strange creatures and make-up effects are great too, as supplied by the artists at Jim Henson's Creature Shop.
Not the best in a long line of 'Alice' adaptations, but it's curious settings and trippy characters is faithful to the pages of Carroll's classic story.
TV movie rating: ***1/2 out of 5.
When I watched this movie when I was a kid, I really loved it. And it didn't differ when I grew up. I still love this movie. It's so abundant in ideas and imaginative wonder, also sharing the imagery of Lewis Carroll's classic story.
It stars a very familiar cast. Their's Miranda Richardson (Queen of Hearts), Christopher Lloyd (White Knight), Ben Kingsley (Sgt. Caterpillar), Robbie Coltrane (Ned Tweddledum), Martin Short (Mad Hatter), Gene Wilder (Mock Turtle), Pete Postletwaite (Carpenter), Peter Ustinov (Walrus) and of course, Whoopi Goldberg as the mysterious Cheshire Cat. Tina Majorino is perfect as Alice, with a fine British accent to fit her role. I remember seeing her younger in Kevin Costner's "Waterworld", but she was quite memorable, for me, in this film. The strange creatures and make-up effects are great too, as supplied by the artists at Jim Henson's Creature Shop.
Not the best in a long line of 'Alice' adaptations, but it's curious settings and trippy characters is faithful to the pages of Carroll's classic story.
TV movie rating: ***1/2 out of 5.