Alice in Wonderland (VHS)

There are many disputes over the movie 'Alice in Wonderland': was the writer on something, what is it teaching our children, is it good or bad? Is this wholesome or effective entertainment, what can be taken from this movie? Being that my name is Alice, I ve always loved this movie, call it bias, I care not. Aside from the connection and automatic title this has tacked to me; there are things that I learned from this movie, and that I hope others will too. (Also, I love that it frightens my sister, still to this day she can t watch it, hee hee.)


For anyone who is not yet familiar with this classic book made into a movie done by Walt Disney; we start with a young girl, listening to a history lesson on a river bank with her sister. She is having trouble staying focused and drifts off to sleep. She wakes to see a White Rabbit wearing a waist coat, who pulls out a pocket watch, gasps and says "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date. No time to say hello, goodbye. I'm late, I'm late I'm late!!" Then dashes down a hole, and disappears. Anyone would be curious, and Alice being very much so, dashes after, only to find herself falling deep into this hole.


After landing softly on her feet she finds herself in a room with a door at the far end. Being the only way to go, she hurries to, only to find that the door locked, but it talks back too. The door refuses to let her through: one because he s locked and two because she is too big. The solution comes in an unknown bottle that makes her shrink to just the right size to go through the door. But he, the door, is still locked; the key sits on a table just out of reach. The movie continues in this, think before you do sort of thyme as she encounters more obstacles such as; characters that stand in her way, characters that point her in the wrong directions; bottles of unknown substance, treats, and even mushrooms that change her size; from being a "mile high!" to smaller than a butterfly.


Breaking down the main characters that Alice encounters we have; the White Rabbit, the Cheshire cat, and The Queen.

The White Rabbit is the first intriguing character we meet. He is simply in a hurry, but where, and why? That is all Alice is after, she just wants to know where and why the rabbit is in such a hurry. What are we learning here? First of all, it's none of her business where he is going and why in such a hurry; butting her nose in is achieving nothing more then to get her confused, depressed, and lost!

The Cheshire cat: full of logic, options. This striped feline offers as many choices as he can think up; waits to see what Alice will choose, and then question why she did what she did. So who is this cat? He is reason, he asks; what's the point, what and where will that choice get you? He encourages us to question and to know where we are going.

The Queen: this is what happens to a spoiled child, they grow up to be like The Queen of hearts, demanding that things are "Always my way!" The queen demonstrates that it isn't fair if we always get our own way all the time, and that throwing a fit is no more acceptable in the adult world as the one of childhood.


So is this movie good or bad for children? I would have to say that it is good. It encourages them to be curious, but be cautious about it. They learn to question where they are going and why. They also learn that getting their own way all the time is not fun: particularly when it's someone else who is playing the Queen of hearts.