My Experience With.... Alice in Wonderland (Part 1). It's not what you think!

It's September now, and I feel like doing a series. Since most of us are either going back to school or back in school, how about something related to literature?

Some of you may recognize this title screen, and to help you with what sound is supposed to go with this barely nostalgic classic, here you go:

You may recall the first time I'd seen this classic story in theatrical form (if you've read my first year's blog posts), but this version is the absolute first time I've ever encountered this tale.

Looking back on it now, it looks like someone's final project they barely got a B- on, but back then, it really seemed to capture the essence of Alice in Wonderland that was palatable for my 3-year-old self. My mom was not the biggest fan of Disney interpretations of classic stories (you'll find out how I encountered that later!), plus I think this might've been just a good thrifty deal at some obscure video store. You really can't underestimate a good deal!

The story starts off with Alice studying Calculus.

Okay, she's not even a teenager.

We really need to beef up our education, America.

She seems bored with Calculus after studying it. I don't know why, Calculus is really fun. But, I guess even I would get sick of it after several hours. In Alice's case, she's so bored that chasing a rabbit seems to be sweet relief for her. As per the popular story, the rabbit has a waistcoat, and a pocket watch, and is late for some appointment. Instead of singing it, he simply goes into a mini panic attack. Alice marvels at this sight and continues her pursuit when he takes off. She falls slowly down a slightly trippy hole, attempts to drink some marmalade, and inevitably falls on her bum.

Alice then walks down a hall of doors, all of which are locked, except one tiny door, which reveals a beautiful garden -- Alice's obsession for a good part of the movie -- and a weird little filler scene involving a race of different woodland creatures, including a snail who somehow wins.

This is not in any other version

I've encountered, and I thought for

sure it was canon for YEARS.

Come to think of it, that was slightly

trippy. In fact, the whole thing was trippy.

Alice wants to go through the door really badly, and eventually comes across the drink me / eat me goodies (back then even I knew that was crazy) that materialize out of nowhere. She shrinks too small to get the key, grows too big to fit through the door (she should've conserved some of the stuff, just in case she needed evidence or experimentation), and cries a literal ocean. The white rabbit comes in and freaks out at Giant Alice, and takes off, leaving his gloves... which somehow end up shrinking Alice.

Why use words when gifs exist?

She swims, along with a field mouse, ashore (again, how)? And they meet up with a dodo and a duck, and they all have a race.

I was going to keep going and explain this, but it's getting harder and harder to understand as I write. You will definitely need to watch this though. That's right. I'm not recommending that you don't watch it.

Like many other movies of my youth, certain scenes and lines hold dear memories to my and my mother. Another reason I liked this movie so much was that it was the perfect essence of a cinematic translation of Lewis Carroll's literary work. It may not necessarily be as wacky or dynamic, or even as saturated in color, like Disney's version (THE CARTOON), but I think that's what makes this so special. Children's media in the 80s had a certain charm about it. It could've been the residuals of the 60s and 70s, but it seemed like everything had a wonderful dreamlike daze about it. This version of Alice in Wonderland is no exception. Its atmosphere does its best to mimic the most realistic of nonsense dreams, and I think Carroll would've been flattered by it.

Now that you've read about the original play and the 1988 VHS, you can get ready to read next week's report of the books I've read!

Me? I'm gonna go ahead and find that tape.

I know I have it somewhere. It's one of my

Mom's best purchases, and I'm sure as heck

not letting it go anytime soon!

Plugging time! YouTube Page.

Enjoy the cartoons below!

Happy Labor Day!

Tell me about your #LaborDabor2017!