Walt Disney was obsessed. That is the only way to describe his relationship with Lewis Carroll’s books. Long before Mickey Mouse was even a sketch, Walt was playing with the idea of a girl lost in a dreamscape. But when the alice and wonderland cartoon movie finally hit theaters in 1951, it didn't just land with a thud—it almost sank the studio’s reputation with critics.
Honestly, the history of this film is a mess of abandoned scripts, rejected art, and a literal war. It took nearly two decades from Walt’s first serious attempt in 1933 to the premiere in London. You’ve probably seen the bright, trippy colors and heard the catchy "Unbirthday Song," but the version we know today almost looked like a dark, sketchy nightmare.
The Nightmare Before the Dream
Walt initially wanted a live-action and animation hybrid. He even looked at Mary Pickford to star as Alice. Then Paramount swooped in with their own live-action version in 1933, and Walt had to shelve the whole thing. He didn't give up, though. By 1939, he had a story reel ready, but the art by David Hall was... well, it was terrifying.
Hall’s drawings were way too close to the original Sir John Tenniel illustrations. Think heavy cross-hatching and a vibe that felt more like a Victorian ghost story than a family flick. Walt hated it. He thought it was too grotesque. Then World War II happened, and the project gathered dust while the studio made training films for the military.
When things finally kicked back into gear in 1946, Walt brought in Mary Blair. She changed everything. Her use of bold, flat colors and modernist shapes gave the alice and wonderland cartoon movie its iconic look. Gone were the creepy shadows; in came the "Golden Afternoon."
👉 See also: Album Hopes and Fears: Why We Obsess Over Music That Doesn't Exist Yet
Cutting the Nonsense
One of the biggest hurdles was the book itself. Lewis Carroll’s writing is basically a collection of puns and logic puzzles. It has no real plot. Walt knew that a 75-minute movie needed some kind of flow, but Carroll fans were furious when they realized how much was cut.
- The Jabberwocky: He was supposed to be a major scene, but it was deemed too scary.
- The White Knight: Walt actually loved this character. He was meant to be the only person truly kind to Alice, but the scene was cut to keep the pace up.
- The Duchess and the Mock Turtle: Both were chopped because they just didn't fit the vibe.
To make up for the lack of a traditional story, the team leaned into music. This movie has more songs than any other Disney feature—over 30 were written, though many only last a few seconds.
The Secret Live-Action Version
Did you know they actually filmed the entire movie in live-action first? Not to release it, but as a reference for the animators. Kathryn Beaumont, who was only 14 at the time, had to act out every single scene on a soundstage with minimal props.
If Alice was shrinking, Kathryn was on a giant set. If she was flying, she was strapped into a harness. The animators used this footage to make sure Alice’s movements felt real, even when the world around her was falling apart. Ed Wynn, who voiced the Mad Hatter, did the same. He was so funny during his live-action filming that the crew kept his ad-libs, even though the sound quality was technically "trash" because of all the background noise on the set.
✨ Don't miss: The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads: Why This Live Album Still Beats the Studio Records
Why the Critics Hated It
When the movie came out, the British press was brutal. They called it "Americanized" and felt Disney had sucked the soul out of a national treasure. Even Walt was kind of disappointed. He later admitted that Alice lacked "heart." He felt she was too cold of a character for audiences to really love.
At the box office? It was a disaster. It cost $3 million to make and barely recouped its budget. It wasn't until the 1960s and 70s that the movie found its "people." The psychedelic movement saw the film’s surreal visuals and weird logic and claimed it as their own. Suddenly, the "failure" from 1951 was a cult classic being screened on college campuses everywhere.
The Weird Connection to Peter Pan
Animation is expensive, so Disney was the king of recycling. If you listen closely to the song "Beyond the Laughing Sky," which was written for Alice but cut because it was too difficult for Kathryn Beaumont to sing at the time, you might recognize the melody.
They kept the music, changed the lyrics, and turned it into "The Second Star to the Right" for Peter Pan. Even the "Lobster Quadrille" melody ended up as "Never Smile at a Crocodile." Nothing went to waste in that studio.
🔗 Read more: Wrong Address: Why This Nigerian Drama Is Still Sparking Conversations
How to Watch It Like an Expert
If you’re going back to watch the alice and wonderland cartoon movie now, don't look for a plot. You won't find one. Instead, look at the backgrounds. Mary Blair’s influence is everywhere—the way the Queen’s garden looks like a geometric maze and the shifting colors of the Cheshire Cat.
Check out the "Walrus and the Carpenter" sequence. It’s a masterclass in dark humor that feels almost separate from the rest of the film. The subtle social commentary on the "upper-class" Walrus and "working-class" Carpenter is a rare moment of bite in an otherwise whimsical movie.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Rewatch:
- Spot the Recycled Voices: Bill Thompson, who voices the White Rabbit, is also Smee in Peter Pan. Verna Felton, the Queen of Hearts, was the Fairy Godmother just a year earlier in Cinderella.
- Look for the Hidden R: In the "Oyster" scene, the calendar shows the month of March with a heavy emphasis on the letter R. This is an old rule that you should only eat oysters in months containing the letter R.
- Appreciate the "Door Knob": This character didn't exist in the books. The writers invented him so Alice would have someone to talk to instead of just thinking out loud for 10 minutes.
- Compare the Art: Search for David Hall’s original 1939 concept art online. Seeing how dark the movie could have been makes the final version feel even more vibrant.
The 1951 version isn't just a kids' movie. It’s a piece of art that survived a mid-life crisis, a world war, and a complete identity shift. It’s arguably the most "experimental" film Walt ever let out of his sight.