ALICE IN WONDERLAND {TINA MAJORINO, MARTIN SHORT} (TV)
Summary
This made-for-television movie is based on Lewis Carroll's children's books about Alice, a little girl who falls down a rabbit hole and finds herself in a magical place called Wonderland. The program begins as Alice nervously prepares to sing for her parents' tea party guests. Overcome with stage fright, Alice hides under an apple tree in the yard. There, she sees a peculiar White Rabbit. Following him, Alice accidentally falls down his rabbit hole and finds herself in a strange place. She follows a long hallway to a room with a miniature door through which she can see a lush green garden. Alice takes a chance on a bottle labeled "Drink Me," and it makes her shrink so she can fit through the door. But her tiny size leaves her unable to reach the door's key, now on a table far out of her reach. Alice eats a cookie marked "Eat Me," and ends up gigantic, wedged between the ceiling and the floor. With no way to free herself, Alice starts to cry, and suddenly finds herself swimming in a river. She runs into Mr. Mouse, who invites her to a lecture in his library. When the "dry" lecture fails to dry the soaking-wet Alice, Mr. Mouse and his friends play an absurd game they call a caucus race. The White Rabbit appears, exclaiming that he needs his white gloves and fan -- so Alice jumps into a book called "Frederick Rabbit's House" and fetches the items. While in the house, she drinks a potion and becomes gigantic again. A bite of a magic cupcake makes her tiny, and she goes wandering through the woods, desperate to get back to normal size. Major Caterpillar gives her a riddle that helps her out of her predicament. Next, she visits the Duchess's house, where the Duchess is fighting with her cook. Alice rescues a baby from the Duchess, which promptly turns into a pig and runs away. Back in the forest, Alice gets directions from the Cheshire Cat. Then she arrives at a Mad Tea Party with the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the Dormouse. The Hatter explains that since time stopped working it has always been tea time. Alice finds the scene at the table odd, to say the least. Her hosts try to get her to sing with them, but she explains that she has stage fright, and finally leaves.
Alice soon finds herself back in the room with the garden door -- and she is the right size to walk through it. The first people she meets in the garden are three playing cards. They are painting white rose bushes red -- lest the Queen of Hearts discover they planted white roses by mistake. The Queen arrives with her entourage and invites Alice to join her for croquet. After struggling with a live croquet mallet, Alice finds herself in a maze, where she meets the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle. Both characters tell eccentric stories, and the Turtle sings a song about soup, encouraging Alice to join in. Instead, she steps into a forest where two knights on horseback fight over her. Looking for a way out, Alice asks some talking flowers, but they offer little help. She runs into Tweedledum and Tweedledee, who present a strange story about eating oysters which is acted out on a tiny stage. Then Alice is summoned to appear at the trial of Sir Jack, the Knave of Hearts, who is charged with stealing the Queen's tarts. When Alice is called to the stand, she eats part of a mushroom she got in the forest, and it makes her grow very large. From this intimidating size, Alice points out that the trial is a joke, for no crime has been committed. When Alice confides to the Rabbit that she feels confident about herself, he tells her she doesn't need them anymore. Suddenly, Alice is back home under the apple tree: she returns to her parents' tea party where she sings with confidence. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: February 28, 1999 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 2:13:32
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:56405
- GENRE: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV, 1999
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Robert Halmi … Executive Producer
- Robert Halmi … Executive Producer
- Dyson Lovell … Producer
- Nick Willing … Director
- Peter Barnes … Writer
- Lewis Carroll … Based on the Book by
- Richard Hartley … Music by
- Pat Garrett … Choreographer
- Robbie Coltrane … Cast, Tweedledum
- Whoopi Goldberg … Cast, Cheshire Cat
- Ben Kingsley … Cast, Major Caterpillar
- Christopher Lloyd … Cast, White Knight
- Pete Postlethwaite … Cast, Carpenter
- Miranda Richardson … Cast, Queen of Hearts
- Martin Short … Cast, Mad Hatter
- Peter Ustinov … Cast, Walrus
- George Wendt … Cast, Tweedledee
- Gene Wilder … Cast, Mock Turtle
- Tina Majorino … Cast, Alice
- Ken Dodd … Cast, Mr. Mouse
- Jason Flemyng … Cast, Sir Jack
- Sheila Hancock … Cast, Cook
- Simon Russell Beale … Cast, King of Hearts
- Liz Smith … Cast, Miss Lory
- Elizabeth Spriggs … Cast, Duchess
- Donald Sinden … Cast, The Gryphon, Voice
- Joanna Lumley … Cast, Tiger Lily, Voice
- Richard Coombs … Cast, The White Rabbit
- Kiran Shah … Cast, The White Rabbit
- Francis Wright … Cast, The March Hare
- Adrian Getley … Cast, The March Hare, The Gryphon
- Robert Tygner … Cast, The March Hare, The Gryphon
- Nigel Plaskitt … Cast, The Dormouse
- Dave Barclay … Cast, The Dormouse, The Gryphon
- Peter Bayliss … Cast, Mr. Dodo
- Heathcote Williams … Cast, Mr. Eaglet
- Ken Campbell … Cast, Mr. Duck
- Jason Byrne … Cast, Pat the Gardener
- Paddy Joyce … Cast, Bill the Gardener
- Murray Melvin … Cast, Chief Executioner
- Janine Eser … Cast, Mother
- Jeremy Brudenell … Cast, Father
- Mary Healey … Cast, Nanny
- Dilys Laye … Cast, Governess
- Tim Potter … Cast, Three of Hearts
- Angus Barnett … Cast, Four of Hearts
- Richard Strange … Cast, Six of Hearts
- Toby Ross-Bryant … Cast, Eight of Hearts
- Jonathan Broadbent … Cast, Royal Gardener #1
- Matthew Sim … Cast, Royal Gardener #2
- Chris Ryan … Cast, Royal Gardener #3
- Peter Eyre … Cast, Frogface Footman
- Hugh Lloyd … Cast , Fishface Footman
- John Owens … Cast, Red Bishop
- Christopher Greet … Cast, White Castle
- Gerard Naprous … Cast, Red Knight