Rating of
3.5/4
A Nightmarish Wonderland
cacb3995 - wrote on 06/05/18
We all know the tale of “Alice in Wonderland”, Lewis Carroll’s inmortal story about a girl who stumbles upon a magic land full of colourful characters. We’ve all seen Disney’s version of the tale, released way back in 1951, and Tim Burton’s kind of psychedelic treatment from 2010. Nevertheless, few people know or have seen the 1988 version directed by czech surrealist animator Jan Svankmajer. I’ve been a fan of Svankmajer’s work for some time, and recently we had the chance to watch and discuss this, his first feature, at the university.
Like I said, we all know the story: Alice, a very young girl, follows a white rabbit with very human characteristics down a rabbit hole, and she comes out on the other end in a place full of wonder, magic and unconventional creatures. Very much like the two Disney versions of the book. However, there’s where the similarities stop. While Disney’s movie is glee and colourful, Svankmajer’s film is creepy and disturbing. Employing stop-motion animation, the creatures are stuffed animals and/or marionettes that seem to be falling apart, shot through close ups that create a sense of closeness towards them that makes it all the more disturbing. The white rabbit, the march hare and the mad hatter aren’t the cheerful caricatures of Disney’s film, but worn out dolls and taxidermic material, whose mere sight makes it clear that this isn’t aimed for children. And in a twist that I found quite clever, the king and queen of hearts are cut out of playing cards.
Full review at: https://breakingthefourthwallsite.wordpress.com/2018/06/05/svankmajers-alice-a-nightmarish-wonderland/
