I suppose most of you are familiar with the Lewis Carroll story of "Alice in Wonderland." If not, surely you've seen Disney's 1951 animated classic where Alice follows a white rabbit down into a hole and ends up shrinking, growing larger, attending a rather unusual tea party and almost having her head cut off by a rather crazy Queen of Hearts. If not, there is also the possibility you might have caught one of the various versions that have come and gone both on TV and in theatres. And even if you have never read or saw any of these versions, you would have to have spent your life under a rock (or in Texas… same thing) not to at least heard of the story. Much like the "Wizard of Oz," the stories of Alice have been referred to in numerous other works and in many cases directly been the influence of other, more modern stories. There are even those who read deeply into the 'Matrix" series (people with no jobs and too much time on their hands) and believe it is a direct re-telling of the "Alice in Wonderland" saga.

With regards to that theory… yes I can see it a little bit of it what with following the 'white rabbit' and all… but as for a direct re-telling… I don’t remember Alice fighting giant robotic monsters.

But I digress… today I'm here to tell you a little about a brand new DVD release of an older version of "Alice in Wonderland." It is one that was produced back in 1985 as a 2-part mini-series produced by (of all people) Irwin Allen. That's right, the master of the disaster film opted to create a live action version of "Alice in Wonderland" for TV. And like his big budget disaster films, this film was richly produced and boasted a huge cast of famous actors of the day. Where else could you possibly see Telly Savalas as the Cheshire Cat? Or Roddy McDowell as the March Hare? Ringo Starr as the Mock Turtle? Nowhere but here, my friend.

I remember watching this star-studded extravaganza back when it originally aired and even though I was in my 20's, thoroughly enjoyed the whole garish affair. I was even more pleased when I realized that it was to be a two part series, with the second part focusing on Alice's adventures through the looking glass. This story is often overlooked, and by many people… forgotten. And again Allen was able to pull together a terrific cast composed in part by Ernest Borgnine, Lloyd and Beau Bridges, Harvey Korman, Karl Malden and Jonathan Winters. (For a full cast list, look in the credits below.)

This production was lavish in every way. The sets and costumes were incredible (for the time) and an unbelievable amount of detail was put into every scene. Keeping in mind that there was no CGI to work with back then, everything was created by hand. But keeping this in mind, there are two points I should make about the production. It was made in the 80's, so many of today's older audiences might not be as impressed by the 'effects' work and it was also made for a audience of children. Some older folk might think the costumes look a little silly, but for the most part, these are useless human beings with no imagination and their opinions matter to nobody anyway. Personally, I'm looking forward to watching it with my 3 year old daughter just so I can watch the amazement on her face as she watches all the proceedings.

Sony / Columbia Tristar is releasing this little gem from the past on DVD this month, and while it sadly doesn’t have any special features, the production itself is well worth watching.

Directed by: Harry Harris
Starring: Natalie Gregory, Red Buttons, Jayne Meadows, Scott Baio, Sid Caesar, Sammy Davis Jr, Sherman Hemsley, Arte Johnson, Roddy McDowall, Robert Morley, Anthony Newley, Donald O'Connor, Martha Raye, Telly Savalas, Ringo Starr, Shelly Winters, Steve Allen, Ernest Borgnine, Beau Bridges, Lloyd Bridges, Carol Channing, Patrick Duffy, George Gobel, Eydie Gorme, Merv Griffin, Ann Jillian, Harvey Korman, Steve Lawrence, Karl Malden, Donna Mills, Pat Morita, Louis Nye, John Stamos, Sally Struthers, Jack Warden, Jonathon Winters
Extras: None
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 8/1/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Alice in Wonderland a B.