Alice in Wonderland (1999 film)

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Alice in Wonderland
AliceInWonderland1999.jpg
Based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
by Lewis Carroll
Screenplay by Peter Barnes
Directed by Nick Willing
Starring
Composer Richard Hartley
Country of origin
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • Germany
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersRobert Halmi, Sr.
Robert Halmi, Jr.
Producer Dyson Lovell
Cinematography
EditorAlex Mackie
Running time129 minutes
Production companies Hallmark Entertainment
Babelsberg International Film Produktion
Budget$21 million
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseFebruary 28, 1999 (1999-02-28)

Alice in Wonderland is a 1999 made-for-television film adaptation of Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). It was first broadcast on NBC on February 28, 1999 and then shown on British television on Channel 4.

Contents

Tina Majorino played the lead role of Alice and a number of well-known performers portrayed the eccentric characters whom Alice meets during the course of the story, including Ben Kingsley, Martin Short, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Ustinov, Christopher Lloyd, Gene Wilder, George Wendt, Robbie Coltrane and Miranda Richardson. In common with most adaptations of the book, it includes scenes and characters from Through the Looking-Glass .

The film won four Emmy Awards in the categories of costume design, makeup, music and visual effects.

The film was re-released as a special edition DVD on March 2, 2010. No special features were included; however, the film was restored to its original speed as prior releases suffered from PAL speed-up. A rare behind-the-scenes documentary of the film was released to YouTube in 2019, the 20th anniversary of the film's release.

Plot

Alice unwillingly prepares a performance of the song "Cherry Ripe" for her parents' garden party; facing stage fright of performing a song she dislikes to an audience of strangers, she hides in the woods. There, she sees the White Rabbit and follows him to a rabbit hole, which leads her to Wonderland. Alice attempts to enter a small door leading to a beautiful garden, but accidentally grows to giant size and floods the room with tears before shrinking to the size of a mouse. She meets Mr. Mouse, whose avian friends attend his boring history lecture and participate in a Caucus Race, which Alice is asked to give out prizes for.

Alice again encounters the White Rabbit, who tells her to retrieve his gloves from his house; there, Alice drinks from a bottle which makes her grow, trapping her inside. The White Rabbit and his gardeners Pat and Bill attempt to remove Alice, but she shrinks to a tiny size. Wandering in long grass, she meets Major Caterpillar, who tells her not to be afraid when performing before transforming into a swarm of butterflies. Alice returns to normal size by eating part of his mushroom and arrives at the manor house of the Duchess, whose Cheshire Cat advises Alice to visit the Mad Hatter and his friend the March Hare.

Alice meets the Hatter and Hare with their friend The Dormouse friend at a tea party, where she is given advice on the fun of performing and how to get around stage fright. The Mad Hatter performs for her as he had previously at a concert of the wicked Queen of Hearts. Alice leaves when the two start to stuff the Dormouse into a teapot and once again finds the small door, this time entering the garden, which turns out to be a labyrinth maze belonging to the Queen of Hearts, who is quick to have people beheaded. The Queen invites Alice to her bizarre game of croquet, where the Cheshire Cat's face appears and is ordered to be beheaded, but Alice's logic stays the order and everyone applauds her.

Alice escapes the croquet game and meets the Gryphon and Mock Turtle, who teach her the Lobster Quadrille dance. Alice then wanders into the illustration in an enormous book, emerging in a wooded area where the Red Knight is battling the White Knight, who encourages her to be brave when she goes home. Alice encounters talking flowers and bickering twins Tweedledum and Tweedledee, who tell her the story of The Walrus and the Carpenter, before card soldiers bring her to the royal court, where the Knave of Hearts is put on trial for apparently stealing the Queen's tarts.

Upon seeing the tarts have been untouched and the trial is pointless, Alice openly criticizes the Queen and King Cedric. She is called to the stand to defend herself, where the White Rabbit asks her if she has confidence in herself; when she answers that she does he states "then you don't need us anymore", and Alice awakens back home. Instead of singing "Cherry Ripe", Alice courageously sings the Lobster Quadrille in front of her parents and their guests (who all resemble the Wonderland characters), who, to Alice's delight, all enjoy her performance.

Cast

Special effects

The film utilized both puppetry and live-action footage. The puppet designs were created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

In all, 875 special digital effects were created for the film. An example is Martin Short's head; it was enlarged to three times its size to resemble the Hatter in Tenniel's illustrations.

In December 2018, composer Richard Hartley was interviewed for Tammy Tuckey's "Rattling the Stars" podcast about his work on the film for the 20th anniversary, providing never-before-heard stories. [1]

In September 2019, director Nick Willing was also interviewed for Tammy Tuckey's Rattling the Stars" podcast about his work directing the film for the 20th anniversary. [2]

In 2019, a behind the scenes documentary of the film was released on YouTube, which had originally been broadcast on the Hallmark Channel (then known as Odyssey Network) in 1999 and had not been included on any VHS, DVD, or digital releases of the film. [3]

In March 2024, castmembers Kiran Shah, Richard Strange, Nigel Plaskitt, Matthew Sim and Francis Wright as well as production designer Roger Hall, reunited to celebrate the film's 25-year anniversary by participating in a 1-hour livestream on YouTube on The Tammy Tuckey Show. The event had been organised ahead of time. [4]

Reception

The original NBC airing averaged a 14.8 household rating and a 22 percent audience share and was watched by 25.34 million viewers, ranking as the 6th highest rated program that week in terms of households and the most watched program that week in terms of total viewers. [5] [6] [7] [8]

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 33% based on six critical reviews. [9]

David Zurawik gave the film a positive review in The Baltimore Sun , calling it a "grand and magical production" and praising the cast's performances, particularly Majorino and Wilder. [10] Rating the film 2 out of 5 stars, David Parkinson of Radio Times praised the "wondrous Jim Henson puppetry" and the performances of Richardson and Wilder; however, he found the film "still falls short of the cherished images taken from those first readings of Lewis Carroll's classic tales." [11]

Awards

YearAwardCategoryRecipientsResult
1999 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Movie Charles Knode Won [12]
Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special Anne Spiers, James Kell, Duncan Jarman and Sandra ShepherdWon [13]
Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries or a Movie David Booth, Richard Conway, Bob Hollow, Andy Lomas, Alex Parkinson, Martin Parsons, Jamie Courtier, Avtar Bains, William Bartlett, Nick Bennett, Oliver Bersey, Murray Butler, George Roper, Pedro Sabrosa, Angus Wilson and Ben CroninWon [14]
Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries or a Movie (Dramatic Underscore) Richard Hartley Won [15]
Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie Karen Brookes, Roger Hall, Rosalind Shingleton, Alan TomkinsNominated [16]
Outstanding Main Title Design Chris AlliesNominated [17]
1999 Artios Award Movie of the Week CastingLynn KresselNominated [18]
1999 Golden Reel Award Best Sound Editing – Television Movies of the Week – Music Andrew GlenNominated [19]
2000 RTS Craft & Design Awards Visual Effects Framestore Won [20]
1999 Television Critics Association Awards Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials Alice in WonderlandNominated
1999 YoungStar Award Best Young Actress in a Mini-Series/Made for TV Film Tina MajorinoNominated
1999OFTA Television Award [21] Best Motion Picture Made for TelevisionAlice in WonderlandNominated
Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or MiniseriesNominated
Best Costume Design in a Motion Picture or MiniseriesNominated
Best New Titles Sequence in a Motion Picture or MiniseriesWon
Best Production Design in a Motion Picture or MiniseriesWon
Best Sound in a Motion Picture or MiniseriesNominated
Best Visual Effects in a Motion Picture or MiniseriesWon
Best Makeup/Hairstyling in a Motion Picture or MiniseriesWon
Best Lighting in a Motion Picture or MiniseriesNominated
Best Music in a Motion Picture or MiniseriesRichard HartleyWon
Best New Theme Song in a Motion Picture or MiniseriesWon
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or MiniseriesGene WilderNominated
Martin ShortNominated
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture or MiniseriesMiranda RichardsonNominated

References

  1. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "Interview w/ Composer Richard Hartley – "Alice in Wonderland" 20th Anniversary – Rattling the Stars". YouTube .
  2. Tuckey, Tammy (September 13, 2019). "Interview w/ Director Nick Willing - 20th Anniversary of "Alice in Wonderland" - Rattling the Stars" (video). YouTube. Tammy Tuckey. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  3. Jake Nicholls (June 17, 2019), Alice in Wonderland (1999) – Behind the Scenes Documentary [RARE], archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved June 19, 2019
  4. Tuckey, Tammy (March 16, 2024). ""Alice in Wonderland" (1999) - 25th Anniversary Reunion - The Tammy Tuckey Show" (video). YouTube. Tammy Tuckey. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  5. "TV Listings for – February 28, 1999". TV Tango. February 28, 1999. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  6. "While Matt's Away, 'today' To Play With Old-Time Anchors". New York Daily News. March 2, 1999. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  7. "Alice in Wonderland: Nielsen Ratings". Adrinot.tripod.com. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  8. "'Alice' comes up big in ratings looking glass". March 2, 1999. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  9. "Alice in Wonderland (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  10. Zurawik, David (February 27, 1999). "Pulling a rabbit out of a hat; Preview: With its whimsy, great story and special effects, 'Alice in Wonderland' will restore your faith in television as entertainment". The Baltimore Sun . Tribune Publishing Company. p. 1E. ProQuest   406394553.
  11. Parkinson, Richard. "Alice in Wonderland". Radio Times . Archived from the original on February 11, 2022.
  12. "Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Movie – 1999". Emmys.com. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  13. "Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special – 1999". Emmys.com. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  14. "Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries or a Movie – 1999". Emmys. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  15. "Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries or a Movie – Dramatic Underscore – 1999". Emmys.com. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  16. "Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Movie – 1999". Emmys.com. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  17. "Outstanding Main Title Design – 1999". Emmys.com. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  18. "1999 Artios Awards". Casting Society of America. Archived from the original on June 21, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  19. "Sound editors mix in TV noms". Variety . Variety Media, LLC. February 16, 2000. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  20. "RTS Craft & Design Awards Winners 2000". Royal Television Society. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  21. "Online Film & Television Association 1999 Awards". IMDb . Retrieved December 22, 2022.