The Lorax (movie) (Based on a Book)

Ted is a boy who likes the girl across the street and they live in a town made of plastic where nothing is natural and the air quality is so horrible people buy bottled air. When the girl, Audrey, says she wants to see a real live tree, Ted seeks out the Once-ler and learns his story and why all the trees have disappeared.

I didn't get a chance to see this in the theater but it's on Netflix now and I've watched it 3 times in the last 4 days thanks to my son. The Lorax was always one of my favorite Seuss stories despite the fact that is kind of sad. And I liked the tv special growing up. So I was definitely interested to see this come up on instant streaming. It expands the story quite a bit but I liked it. I find the animated movies of Seuss stories are better than the live action. This is true of the Lorax. The music is catchy and the animation is well done. It is very round and curvy, keeping in lines with the illustrations. You actually see the Once-ler which you never do in the book or the TV show. I liked the relationship that develops between him and the Lorax. And I enjoyed the backstory they made up with Thneedville and Ted. It was a funny movie and I really didn't mind watching it so many times. I'm sure it will be watched again sometime again this week.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I (Based on a Book)

I actually had the good fortune to see Deathly Hallows on Wednesday night.  This is the first time in my life I've ever had the opportunity to see a movie before it is released and what a great movie for such an opportunity.

Anyway, I loved Deathly Hallows.  When I first heard it was being broken up into two movies, I wasn't sure how I felt about that.  But having seen Part I,  I"m glad they did.  It enabled to keep so much more in line with the books which has always been a problem in the other movies.  So many details tend to lost.  But Deathly Hallows kept quite in line with the book, though some details that got taken out of the other movies were inserted, like Bill and Fleur, to make it make a little more sense.  I think the movie did a great job of building the tension of the book  The sense of waiting and waiting for something to happen was definitely there.  And the bang!  There it was.  The group dynamic was really great between the trio and they did a nice job with the Hermione and Ron relationship. I can't say I'd really change anything about it.  I can't wait for the next movie though!

The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (Based on a Book)

I noticed this movie the other day on Netflix and it had been a long time since I have seen it so I added it to the queue.  Now I've never read the original book or if I have I don't remember, but I remember the movie.  It was very cute and sweet.  Pippi's father is lost at sea and so she returns to their family home named Villa Villekulla to live and wait for me.  There she befriends the two bored next door neighbor children, Tommy and Annika, and they have adventures together.  Pippi is very fun and sensible though she does like to tell stories and is often cheeky to adults, but usually adults who deserve it by treating her like she is dumb.  Anyway, some villains want to buy her house to tear down and make into a development so Pippi thwarts them at every turn.  She also tries to cheer up the orphan children who have a mean caretaker.

This version of Pippi has held up reasonably well and I enjoyed watching it again.  My 3 year old watched it with me and it seemed to enjoy it as well.  He liked when Pippi lifted up the horse and he liked the monkey and when they threw ice cream to the orphans.

Ponyo (Based on a Fairy Tale)

The storyline is a take on "The Little Mermaid" by  Hayao Miyazaki.  Ponyo is a young goldfish who come to love Sōsuke, a five year old boy.  Defying her father, she goes to Sōsuke and tries to stay with him.  But her father, a sorcerer, does not wish for her to be human so he enlists her mother, a sea goddess, to get Ponyo back.

It was such a sweet movie with a nice message about saving sea life.  The animation seemed rougher/sharper in some places like for the sorcerer, but was very fluid and soft for Ponyo and the water scenes.  It was a nice choice since it showed the character of each scene.

I was also impressed with Noah Cyrus (Ponyo) and Frankie Jonas (Sōsuke).  Both did a great job on the voices.  I was afraid because sometimes the voice over actors are awful (Castle in the Sky), but everyone did a fine job.  Other voices include Tina Fey (Sōsuke's mom), Matt Damon (Sōsuke's dad), Liam Nelson (Ponyo's dad), Cate Blanchett (Ponyo's mom) and as the old ladies in the nursing home: Lily Tomlin, Cloris Leachman and Betty White.  It is such an amazing cast!

It has become one of me and my son's favorite movies to watch and I would recommend it to anyone whether they liked anime or not.  Miyazaki is one of the best movie making and I love most if not all of his movies.

Tin Man (mini-series)

Since I read the Wizard of Oz I found this mini-series from 2007 that tied in with it.  It is a alternate retelling of that book mixed with a few elements from the movie.  DG is a waitress living on a farm with her parents when she is whisked away one night during a tornado.  She winds up in the O.Z. (Outer Zone) where she meets Glich, a man with half a brain (Scarecrow), Raw, a lion-like telepath (Lion), and Cain, who was imprisoned in a literal tin man, and is now looking for the man who put him there (Tin Man).  Together they work their way around the O.Z. with DG trying to find her way home and finding a lot more about herself than she knew existed.

This was a darker, more cynical re-imagining.  The characters are heavily flawed and can be downright scary at times.  Zooey Deschanel plays GD and I like her in general.  She has this deadpan way of speaking and she is so pretty.  Alan Cumming plays Glich in a wonderful performance.  The only one that seemed a little over the top was Kathleen Robinson who plays Azkadellia, the evil sorceress.  Or maybe that was just her costumes because some of them bothered me.

But it was good movie, if a little uneven, especially in the visuals department.  Sometimes they had beautiful effects and the other times the special effects were meh.  The story was very cool and I like the whole idea of it.  If you are a Wizard fan or a fan of sci-fi, I would check it out.

Sleuthing Sundays - Nancy Drew movie (2007)

This has become one of my favorite rainy day/nothing to watch movies.  Nancy has benefited from the updates while still retaining her essence.  Emma Roberts does a nice job with Nancy, perfecting that know-it-all-but-still-super-nice thing that Nancy Drew has.  I miss Bess and George and wish that they had been included more.  I was glad to see Ned (sidenote: the kid who plays him looks a lot like the boy who played Ted in the old 1930's movies) and I'm happy that he has a bigger role.  Same old Ned though always showing up to be the muscle and be the sort of boyfriend. 

The wardrobe is amazing.  I covet the clothes that Nancy wears.  So classic and chic.  Very cute.  I wish they would make another one, but one in River Heights and not on location.  Though Nancy goes away a lot in the books so it is not unprecedented. 

Sleuthing Sundays - Nancy Drew movies (1939)

There were two more movies starring Bonita Granville as Nancy Drew from 1939.  I liked the first one, Detective, ok but the rest quickly got on my nerves.  Nancy is an idoit, Carson Drew is overbearing and mean, the police chief is a condescending ass, and there is no Hannah or Bess or George.  Though I really like the Ted Nickerson character for some reason.  The resemblance to the books is negligible.  Normally, I like old movies and can make allowances for certain eccentricities of the time period, but not these.  While not the worst movies ever, I found myself saying Nancy Drew you are an idiot over and over and I'm not happy about that.


Nancy Drew: Troubleshooter
Nancy goes with her father to help out an old friend who has been accused of murder.  She meets up with Ted who is down at the lake with his family.  Of course, she ropes him into helping her solve the mystery and clear her family friend's name.  Of all the movies, this was my least favorite.  Nancy is most annoying and she is mean to Ted and there is the casual racism of this era on display in the character of Apollo, the handyman on the farm.  I hate seeing African-American characters like this.  It is one of the main reason I didn't like this movie.

Nancy Drew: The Hidden Staircase
While you would think that this would have some relation to the book it is titled after, you would be wrong.  There are two sisters named Turnbull and that's about where the similarities end.  Because of some weird stipulation in their father's will, at least one of the sisters has to spend every night in the house for 20 years before they own it.  Nancy sticks her nose where it doesn't belong when a man is murdered at the Turnbull's place.  She blatantly meddles in a police "investigation" when she makes Ted write a suicide note so the sisters will stay in their mansion and not give up their eligibility to outright own it and then give it up for a children's hospital.  She gets Ted in trouble a whole lot and, in the end, he is the one who rescues them both with his cleverness.

Sleuthing Sundays - Nancy Drew movies (1938/1939)

I thought I'd do a little something extra in addition to reading all the original Nancy Drew books and watched some of the movies that were inspired by the girl detective.  First up are the first two movies starring Bonita Granville from 1938/1939.

Nancy Drew: Detective
Based on the Password to Larkspur Lane,  there are significant changes to Nancy's personality and the personality of Ned, now Ted, and her father.  She is given a hard time by all the men, a lot more so than in the books and they treat her like a little girl most of the time.  That bothered me because Mr. Drew always supported Nancy and encouraged her to sleuth, but in the movies he doesn't do that.  Ted is more of a foible and talks back to her and goes along reluctantly.  He is also her next door neighbor.  I know that these movies would have to be based on the orginal text of the books, but I doubt Ted (Ned) would have ever been so mean to Nancy.  He is rather good looking though and they obviously like each other.  Nancy tends to use her feminine wiles and "women's intuition" a lot and it usually backfires, but she would never behave that way in the books.

The plot similar to the book but there is no Bess or George or Helen so Ted is her companion.  Mrs. Eldrigde promised Nancy's school some money and then she disappears so Nancy sets out to find her despite the protests of her father and the police chief.  She, of course, finds out what happened and there is much excitement in the meantime.  It's a fun movie though not the greatest portrayal of Nancy Drew.


Nancy Drew: Reporter

Nancy goes on an internship to a newspaper and goes to court where she hears about a murder case.  An old lady was poisoned by a photography chemical.  A young lady named Eula Denning is accused though she says she didn't do it.  Nancy notices a man with cauliflower ear at the inquest who later hits Nancy's car and drives away.  Nancy chases him down and gets money for repairs, but notices that he is acting suspicious.  She later hunts down the can of poison that would have the real killer's fingerprints on it, but it is stolen from her.  Nancy puts Ted in the boxing ring with the man to find out more and then sets up the man and his girlfriend and so the mystery gets solved.
Same changes as with the above movie, but fun.

Password to Larkspur Lane/Nancy Drew: Detective

I'm combining two separate posts into one because I realized that I could count this for the Read the Book, See the Movie Challenge so excuse me for double posting both these reviews.

Password to Larkspur Lane (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories 10)

"You attract mystery like nectar in a flower attracts a bee, Nancy."

Nancy has a mystery literally fall into her lap when an injured messenger pigeon falls from the sky.  The pigeon is carrying a mysterious message that attracts Nancy's curiosity.  That plus a story from a doctor about an old lady being held captive and her bracelet as a clue involves Nancy in a dangerous mystery.
Also Helen Corning lives!  She's Helen Archer now, but since she and Bess and George cannot live in the same plane of existence she doesn't stick around.  She introduces a mystery to Nancy at her grandparent's house and then leaves the girl detective to solve it.  Honestly, so far, this was my least favorite.  The series of coincidences is this book are almost too much even for a Nancy Drew.  Also it turns out that in the original 1933 version Helen had a bigger role but since she is married in the 1966 revision she obviously cannot go around sleuthing so her part is regulated to Bess and George.  But still it was nice to see her for a few pages.

Nancy Drew: Detective
Based on the Password to Larkspur Lane,  there are significant changes to Nancy's personality and the personality of Ned, now Ted, and her father.  She is given a hard time by all the men, a lot more so than in the books and they treat her like a little girl most of the time.  That bothered me because Mr. Drew always supported Nancy and encouraged her to sleuth, but in the movies he doesn't do that.  Ted is more of a foible and talks back to her and goes along reluctantly.  He is also her next door neighbor.  I know that these movies would have to be based on the orginal text of the books, but I doubt Ted (Ned) would have ever been so mean to Nancy.  He is rather good looking though and they obviously like each other.  Nancy tends to use her feminine wiles and "women's intuition" a lot and it usually backfires, but she would never behave that way in the books.

The plot similar to the book but there is no Bess or George or Helen so Ted is her companion.  Mrs. Eldrigde promised Nancy's school some money and then she disappears so Nancy sets out to find her despite the protests of her father and the police chief.  She, of course, finds out what happened and there is much excitement in the meantime.  It's a fun movie though not the greatest portrayal of Nancy Drew.

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (Based on a Book)

So I went this afternoon and saw Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton.  I must say that I enjoyed it.  The visuals are beautiful and the story is pretty good.  Alice the book is very hard because it isn't really a story, just a girl wandering from one weird situation to another.  But this movie isn't a straight telling of the book.  It is a reimagining where Alice is grown up and is facing a big decision in her life.  I won't go into too much detail about the plot but there is an attempt to make the plot elements more cohesive with the upward time movement of the story.  It works as much as any attempt to make Alice in Wonderland cohesive and it was nice to see more of two of my favorite characters, The Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter.  Johnny Depp does a great job as that character as does Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen.

I would have like a little more back story for a lot of the plot.  I would have like to understand what the Hatter was saying a lot of the time too, but we don't always get what we want.  Anyway, it is a beautiful movie, sweet and moving and the costumes were amazing.  So thumbs up from me.



This completes the Alice in Wonderland challenge for me.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (audio book/movie)

Claudia is tired of living her ordinary life; of having to take care of her brothers and doing her chores.  So she decided to run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art taking her cheapskate (and "rich") brother, Jamie, with her.  The two have a great time living at the museum when they discover a statue reported to have been carved by the great Michelangelo.  Determined to find out the truth about the statue leads Claudia and Jaime to the original owner, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

I read this book a lot when I was a kid.  Like a whole lot.  I was always fascinated by the idea of living in a museum and how awesome that would be.  And of course with the mystery of Angel, the Michelangelo statue.  I thought that was so great and I loved Claudia and Jamie and how clever they were.  I still thought that though I realized how annoying Claudia was and Jamie is so funny.  The money exchange was funny because this was written in 1968 when a dime was big money and a quarter was even bigger.  Nothing really new stood out though from child to adult perspective, but it was nice to revisit an old favorite.  I will definitely be adding this to the little man's shelf.

The narrator of the story is Mrs. Frankweiler and it was read by Jan Miner who did an excellent job of giving everyone voices and adding some humor to the reading.

 I watched the made-for-TV movie with Lauren Bacall as Mrs. Frankweiler, Jean Marie Barnwell as Claudia and Jesse Lee Soffer as Jamie.  I saw this when it originally aired in 1995, but hadn't thought about it much.

This movie gives Claudia more motivation than the book does for running away.  Her parents are very busy and expect her to pick up the slack and her brothers don't seem to do very much.  So the story stays pretty true to the book; the kids run away and live in the Museum and then the Angel statue comes to the museum and Claudia wants to solve the mystery.  Mrs. Frankweiler appears a few more times in the movie and the parents have a bigger part.  I liked the kids they picked for the parts.  They did a good job with their parts and they were age appropriate.  It is a very cute movie and a good example of turning a book into a movie.

A Little Princess (eBook/Movie)

Sweet, rich Sara Crew is sent to boarding school by her father.  When he dies and loses their fortune, she is made to be a servant by the headmistress of the boarding school.  But Sara combats the drudgery and hunger of this new life with her imagination.

While I've read The Secret Garden many time, I've never read A Little Princess before.  I'm not sure why except maybe I never liked it when Sara loses her fortune and everyone is really mean to her.  She is an expectational sweet child, very modest and good and wonderful.  She has a wonderful imagination and I liked that part of the story.  It is so horrible how Miss Minchin treats her and Becky, the scullery maid and Sara puts up with it wonderfully.  She is, admittedly, a little too nice and sometimes I wanted her to lose her temper, but I suppose that would negate the point of the story which is be nice and wonderful things will happen, I guess.

While I had never read the book before, I have seen the Shirley Temple movie many times.  It isn't nearly as sad as the book.  Sara's father is listed as dead in the Boer War and so she is made a servant and she is suppose to be tired and hungry and dirty, but she doesn't look it.  The whole book only happens over a year and Sara is 10 at the end of the movie.  There is a subplot with two of the teachers falling in love and then the man goes away to the war, but for some reason they don't tell that they got married before and that causes problems.  The man next door does help her out and give her nice things but they never explain why.  Shirley Temple is delightful and since she is in this movie there is are two musical numbers, one to cheer up soldiers and one in a fantasy sequence.  She was awfully cute.  And there is a happy ending, after all because what kind of Shirley Temple movie would it be without a very happy ending.

Harriet the Spy (audio book/movie)

Harriet loves to write in her notebook.  She takes notes on anything that she sees and writes down all her thoughts.  But when her notebook is read by her class and they see some of the things she thinks about them, they decided to start a Spycatcher's Club.

I read Harriet the Spy along time ago and, though, I thought it was good, it was never one of my re-reads as a kid.  There are so many elements that made me uncomfortable that I could never bring myself to read it again.  Some of that still hits home as an adult.  When I was a kid, I also felt sorry for Harriet.  Her classmates read something that was private and made her miserable and they turned on her so quickly without giving her a chance to explain.  They played mean tricks on her.  And she is so sad after the loss of her nurse, Ole Golly, which adds to her general misery after being ostracized at school.  So I could never stand to read about her depression.

As an adult, I see all of that and I still feel sorry for Harriet.  Because she really was depressed. But the thing I wonder about are the adults of the story, specifically Harriet's parents and Ole Golly.  I really wonder if they thought Ole Golly could leave and Harriet would just move on.  I'm assuming that Ole Golly did most of the caretaking and so it would be like your mother just one day saying Bye.  Have a nice life.  I mean I know Golly loved her and was sad to go.  I can see more of that now that I'm older.  But Harriet is not the most mature or introspective child and so she couldn't recognize the depression that followed Golly leaving.  And the adults really did nothing to help that.   And then to add to Harriet's misery her friends find her notebook and turn on her.  They really don't do too much to her, but then ignoring her I think is the worst.  Harriet though cannot understand why they are mad and if she would have just ask an adult I think they could have explained it to her.  Also her parents take away her notebook which was the worst decision they could have made.  I was glad when they finally took her to a psychologist because she really should have gone much earlier.

Harriet as a character is funny and insightful and brutally honest but she is also a pain in the neck and shouts too much and is very sassy.  In other words, she is very much like a lot of 11 year olds.  I think she was a good friend to Janie and Sport and out of all of the kids those two should have given her a chance to explain.  But then, I guess, when your best friend says mean things about you, you would take it the hardest.  Though someone needs to explain to the children that we all have uncharitable thoughts about others at one time or another.  Harriet just make the mistake of writing them down.

In 1996, Nickoledeon made a movie starring Michelle Trachtenberg as Harriet and Rosie O'Donnell as Ole Golly.  And I sat down to watch it after listening to the book. This is a fairly accurate and a good represenatation of the book.  There are a few chances here and there, the biggest being that after Harriet's friends start their club and spill paint on her (instead of ink) she gets back at them in various ways like posting an embarrassing picture of Sport and messing up one of Janie's experiments.  She does some mean stuff in the book, but not quite like in the movie.  And Golly comes back instead of just writing to her.  But the tone is right and Michelle Trachtenberg does such an excellent job of protraying Harriet.

Side note: I've heard that Disney is doing a new verison with Jennifer Stone from Wizards of Waverly Place and I just cannot fanthom that.  She is way too old to play Harriet and I think it is going to be awful.

Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging (Based on a Book)

Based on the Georgia Nicholson books by Louise Rennison, specifically Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging and It's OK, I'm Wearing Really Big Knickers (On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God in the U.S., this was an adorable movie.  The girl who plays Georgia (Georgia Groome) is so dead-on and Jaz (Eleanor Tomlinson) is really great too though with no fringe and very skinny, not quite how I pictured her.  But anyway, everyone does a fantastic job.

Georgia is planning her fifteen birthday party with her friends, the Ace Gang.  They are very silly girls who like to randomly dance and have the most awesome slang.  Georgia and Jaz are both taken with the new twins, Robbie and Tom, and set out to get their attention.  Robbie starts dating Georgia's rival, but seems to take an interest in Georgia as well.  So she resorts to trickery to make Robbie jealous and like her, but then it backfires and Georgia must try to fix it.

ATPS (for short) is co-written and directed by Gurinder Chadha. who did Bend It Like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice, two of my favorite movies.  And she does an excellent job with this movie.  It does a great job of tying the two books together and the plot and characters changes are minor, Robbie and Tom are twins instead of just brother, for example.  But the story stays intact.  The only thing was the ending, which was great, but since I've read all the books I really wanted to see a little of that.  But the ending of the movie is similar to the end of the books so I can't really say anything bad about it.  This is definitely going to be one of my go to movies when I need a pick me up.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (Based on a Book)

The Muppets take on Charles Dickens' classic tale "A Christmas Carol" with their own special twist of course.  Starring Michael Caine as Ebeneezer Scrooge and the cast of the Muppets in various role, this is a fun take on the old story. It follows the Dickens story fairly faithfully and most of Scrooge's dialogue is straight on.  The addition of Charles Dickens (Gonzo) as the narrator is funny.

It is a musical as Muppet movies usually are, though the songs are less memorable.  I like particulary "It feels like Christmas," a jauntly little tune.  The special effects are well done for 1992 and the Muppets are so great.  Michael Caine makes an excellent Scrooge and I love Miss Piggy's Mrs. Cratchit.

Gidget (movie) (Based on a Book)

Gidget is irrepressible tomboy who sees no reasons to hunt down boys and go on dates... until the day she is saved by Moondoggie, the gorgeous surfer.  Gidget is determined to learn how to surf and snag Moondoggie while she is at it.  But he only sees her as a little girl so Gidget sets out to change his mind.

First, I'm a HUGE fan of old movies.  I love them.  And Gidget is one of my favorites.  I love Sandra Dee and how cute is she.  I love the clothes they wear and  James Darren is so very good looking.  He is the only one of the original cast to play his character through three movies.  There are two other movies from around this time, Gidget Goes Hawaiian with Deborah Walley (who is in one of my other favorite movies, Summer Magic with Hayley Mills)  and Gidget Goes to Rome with Cindy Carol who is my least favorite Gidget.  Gidget is very excitable and funny and innocent but only annoying in the Rome movie and that has a lot to do with the way Carol plays her. 

Anyway, this was the first movie and one of the first "beach movies."  There are only two songs, both sung by Darren, so it doesn't really count as a musical.  It does always surprise me how much innuendo there is in old movies, but the humor is so clean compared to what we watch now, that it is just funny and cute.  The close ups during surfing scenes are laughable.  But it is a very fun movie.  I recently found out that Gidget is based on a book, one that apparently made a big impact on surf culture so I'm going to have to read that now.

Alice in Wonderland 1985 (Based on a Book)

Once a long time ago, I discovered this little movie series.  It contains both Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and was originally a made for TV movie.  A cohesive element was added to the story, making Alice's goal is to grow up enough to join the adults at teatime.  In the first part, she follows the White Rabbit down the hole and the story precedes as the book goes with Alice learning little lessons from everyone.  It's an all star cast throughout so there are some great performances, but my favorite is Sammy Davis Jr. as the Caterpillar singing "You are Old, Father William."  I love that part.
The second movie is Through the Looking Glass which basically follows the book again, but with Alice being chased by the Jabberwocky who is created by her fears.  It has even more great performances, although I love Carol Channing's White Queen singing "Jam Tomorrow."  And I love the ending with all the Kings and Queens of the story singing together.  If you've never seen it, I recommended it as it is very cute and has some really great songs.

Cast list here.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (movie) (Based on a Book)

So last Sunday, we went to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  It wasn't showing in 3D at our local theater but that was fine.  I liked it.  It was very cute and funny.  If you think it's going to be like the book, then think again.  Flint Lockwood is a failed inventor until he invents a machine that can change water into food.  When his invention is shot in the sky and it starts to rain food, everyone is excited until giant food starts to fall from the sky. The movie does include some of the iconic images from the book including the jello "sunset," pancakes on the school, and the roofless restaurant.  The animation was very curvy and fluid.
The little man seemed to like it especially the giant gummy bears.  And the little kids sitting next to me enjoyed it as well.  There were some very funny parts that made the whole audience laugh and I really liked Sam Sparks, the TV weatherperson sent to cover the phenomenon.

Check out my book review here.

Cross posted with Annie, I think.

Alice Through the Looking Glass (Based on a Book)

A almost-straight adaptation of Through the Looking Glass, this version stars Kate Beckinsale.  One night Alice is reading Through the Looking Glass to her daughter and goes through the mirror and into the Looking Glass world.  There she meets the Red Queen, the White Queen, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, as well as Humpty Dumpty and the White Knight.

This is a trippy movie.  I first saw part of it one day when I was home sick and feverish and I wasn't entirely sure if I dreamed it or not, which is entirely appropriate for this book.  It is a dead-on accurate movie with all the dialogue coming straight from the book.  It is a little odd with Kate Beckinsale claiming to be seven, but then the whole thing is odd.  Alice wanders through the chessboard meeting all the characters and getting poetry recited to her a lot.  Her hair changes on each square and sometimes her clothes.  The costumes are very good and bright.  The only thing missing is Diana, the cat.  It is very rare to have a movie that doesn't change anything from the source material and is acted out with perfect seriousness.

* I watched this to fulfill this part of the Alice in Wonderland Challenge: Watch and review one live action (already released) movie version of Alice in Wonderland.

Alice in Wonderland (Disney 1951) (Based on a Book)

One of my favorite movies growing up, I was happy to revisit Alice in Wonderland for the challenge.  It has held up pretty well.  The songs are lively and it still makes me sad when Alice cries in the forest.  Not a true adaption of Alice in Wonderland, but a combination of elements from both Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. 

*just in case highlight white areas for spoilers

Alice is bored with her tutor and decides that a world of nonsense would be fun.  When she sees the White Rabbit, she follows him and falls down a rabbit hole.  There she encounters the locked door, a cake labeled "Eat Me," and a big problem.  After drinking she grows to a large size and cannot fit through the door. So she cries huge tears and then spies a bottle labeled "Drink Me" and she shrinks right into the bottle!  Alice is carried away through the doorknob and meets many crazy creatures including Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Mad Hatter and March Hare, the Cheshire Cat (my favorite), and the Queen of Hearts.  After almost losing her head to the Queen of Hearts, Alice is awoken by her tutor and goes off to have tea.

Actually a good portion of the movie is from Through the Looking Glass, but Disney picked the parts that are least terrifying.  There's no Jabberwocky in this movie, though the Cheshire Cat sings the Jabberwocky poem.  My favorite parts are the flower garden and the Walrus and the Carpenter.  I always like the white rose since she is so beautiful and I felt sorry for the little oysters even though they are stupid.  So it was nice revisiting Disney's Alice in Wonderland.  I watched it with my little boy, but he was bored by most of it so it's not quite up to 2 year old standards. Maybe one day...

*cross posted with Annie, I think