Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Trying to make a coherent film out of a story that is in itself rather incoherent is no mean feat. A good thing then that Disney decided back in the day not to even attempt such an undertaking and just went for snippets out of both books by Lewis Carroll. But do snippets a convincing film make?

Well, yes. In a bizarre sort of way.

Like almost everyone knows by now, 'Alice in Wonderland' is not your most run-of-the-mill narrative. Alice follows a white rabbit into a hole and then discovers a bizarre universe where nothing and everything makes sense. Or not, as the case may be. Yes, I know it has often been cited as either a fever dream, hallucination or drug-induced madness, but there are quite a lot of clever things hidden in all of the colourful and wondrous things happening.

It's no real surprise that Disney tried to give this an animated feature and for all intents and purposed, they managed to cobble something together that has a semblance of a storyline, if barely. But in truth: that does not really matter, because the images and characters on display here are so bloody memorable, you'll instantly think of them when someone mentions this version.

The Red Queen? Check. Cheshire Cat? Check. The White Rabbit? Check.

I could go on and on, but that would make this a more redundant list than one about the essential features of a pair of trousers. We all know what they are and they don't necessarily need repetition.

Is it weird and wonderful? Yes, and you will be scratching your head a little more than Alice, who takes most of this all in her stride. But something that does shine through more and more on repeated viewings is how much Wonderland is comprised of total and utter bastards. Seriously, no one present is actually nice. The White Rabbit is a neurotic nincompoop, Tweedledee and Tweedledum are self-absorbed, the Cheshire Cat is downright creepy at times, the Red Queen is a total you-know-what... Don't even get me started on the discriminating flowers or the arrogant Caterpillar. Really, there isn't a single Wonderland character that is kind or nice. It's a surprise Alice doesn't lose her temper more often.

But still, you can't help but be mesmerized by all the imaginative designs and otherworldy atmosphere the film as a whole has. And that is a testament to the creative genius at Disney. This story isn't meant to make sense, or have a straightforward narrative. It just goes from setpiece to setpiece and you know what?

Sometimes, that is exactly what you need.