Alice in Wonderland (1951) 4K UHD Review

Alice isn’t in any apparent hurry to leave Wonderland, but the movie is. At 75-minutes, Alice in Wonderland is a breathlessly animated adaptation, where going any longer than a minute without a joke or weird happening is unusual. Produced over five years and sent to theaters in 1951, it’s if Alice in Wonderland were pre-designed for the modern generation’s attention spans.

In terms of color, surrealism, and general weirdness, only Fantasia can challenge the weird whimsy of Alice in Wonderland within the classic Disney catalog. Used to animating talking animals by this time, the Disney animation team found themselves not only with human-esque animals, but living cards, flowers, and bizarre birds with shovels or mirrors for heads. They handled the assignment with absolute precision, revealing their discipline and style with each character.

It’s easy to see why this took so long to produce by watching the finished film. The delicate complexities of an animated card deck, one that dances and sings too, is unbelievable. Given life, flowers take on distinct personalities by sight alone, and their anthropomorphic designs develop their characters before a word is even spoken. Generous work elsewhere brings the Mad Hatter to chaotic life, and the variety of rodents are at their most recognizable. The complexity – with hundreds of characters on screen and splashing water/paint – is among the most notable in the studio’s library.

Disney’s designs for nearly all of these iconic Lewis Carroll creations are near definitive, certainly equal to Universal’s Frankenstein in terms of establishing the forever look associated with them. As a story, Alice in Wonderland isn’t as engaging as Disney’s other golden era works, but the core tenants of the original fairy tale are accounted for. Alice in Wonderland is too frantic, wild, and energetic to ever notice anyway, bouncing from one encounter to the next with no downtime. In this pacing environment, Alice in Wonderland can flourish. So it does.

Disney/Fox/Sony delivers a gorgeous 4K restoration for Alice in Wonderland, albeit it only a mild bettering of the Blu-ray. Color is the significant upgrade. It’s not just Alice’s blue dress or the forests, but all of Wonderland’s denizens and environments. It’s dense, solid color, not exaggerated or glowing, and respectful to the original paint work.

And speaking of that paint work, brush strokes are clearly visible. Where Disney previously applied DNR to their animated classics, that isn’t the case here – or just not to any noticeable degree; grain is still visible, minor and handled with care. A smudge and/or a fingerprint is visible on Alice’s apron sometimes, completely untouched within the source and preserved properly. Line work is exceptionally sharp, with a subtle edginess/ringing barely evident with most complex animation. Few will notice or care given how marvelous the rest is.

Color density is the best part of the Dolby Vision pass, which doesn’t do much for overall contrast or peak brightness. Alice in Wonderland stays respectful to the material. A small punch up to the whitest whites aside, in this regard, the UHD differs little from the Blu-ray. Overall though, it’s a winner, and with a more natural aesthetic along with bolder color.

Rich 5.1 in DTS-HD does wonders for the score. Note this isn’t an upgrade, but the same track as the Blu-ray.

While the age is present in terms of range, the track is free from any distortion or static. Clarity is sublime here too (aside from the Mad Hatter whose lines were recording in less than ideal conditions). Songs feature a richness, aided by a brilliant surround bleed that sounds like it was always part of the audio. There are no overly extravagant uses of the stereo channels or surrounds. Dialogue stays put, and the stereos pull the heaviest weight for the music.

The subwoofer is home to limited use, most of the songs too light and the action too passe to require any thumps. It serves only the Red Queen as she falls down, producing an exaggerated, somewhat loose bump to make her girth notable.

Disney brings over their Blu-ray features, and keeps them there (the 4K has no bonuses on the disc). A pop-up feature titled Through the Keyhole is loaded with interviews and is the highlight of the extras, far better than any typical commentary. Some brief reference footage and a pencil test barely run more than a minute combined, with the exception of the Kathryn Beaumont introductions. A Walt Disney intro to what must have been a TV showing of the film is included too. A game for the kids deals with painting the roses. The film can also be watched with art on the sides of the 4×3 frame to fill in the negative space, and while the art itself is superb, it’s more of a distraction.

Eleven additional features are pulled from the DVD, ranging from featurettes, Mickey Mouse shorts, trailers, and an hour long TV special. All relate to Alice in Wonderland in some way