jarobledo3
Ever since I was three years old, I have loved the tales of "Alice" by Lewis Carroll. For several years, I have made it my sworn duty to "collect" all I can – photographs (from parks, stores, etc.), videos, games, books, etc. – related to these classics. I have never been a fan of the Care Bears: I never saw the first film, and the second film, which I saw at the age of six, bored me at most points, while the villain, Darkheart, managed to make the list as one of the few villains I've ever seen that managed to frighten me. Needless to say, I was not exactly enthusiastic when I decided to view this film...especially after reading a review on this film from "Time Out," which described it as "hemlock to Lewis Carroll fans." But, I felt it was, again, my duty to watch and "collect" it.To say the film was a total disappointment would be untrue: the songs in this whimsical little musical are not bad, with only the opening number, "Rise and Shine," being obnoxious in the slightest. The moral(s) it teaches children are good ones to teach, although the execution of this teaching needs tweaking. I also greatly like Keith Hampshire's performance, as both the Mad Hatter and the Jabberwocky; the former's magical collection of headgear has the power to change the personalities of those who wear them. Needless to say, he needs to adopt a series of different voices, energies, and personas to make this idea work...he even does an impersonation of W.C. Fields! However, I still don't hold this "typically bland kiddy outing" (as Leonard Maltin, I believe, described it) in high regard: first of all, the designs of the characters are only slightly similar to Tenniel's timeless illustrations, and, at times, seem to be ripped off from Disney characters. (The Tweedles remind me of Maleficent's Goons, the Queen of Hearts is somewhat reminiscent of the Fairy Godmother from "Cinderella," and the Hatter looks suspiciously similar to Dopey of the Seven Dwarfs.) These colorful, "cuddly" designs are okay, I guess, and no toddler will dislike them, but it pains my eyes.Secondly, and most importantly, is the "creative" license being taken with the characters: just the names of certain characters really tick me off. The Evil Wizard is a black bishop chess piece. Seriously, since this is based on "Alice," couldn't an Alice-styled name have been used to make things a bit more appropriate? Something like...oh, I don't know...Black Bishop?! They even change established names: Tweedledee and Tweedledum become TweedleDIM and Tweedledum. And worst of all: Stan. This is the name of the Jabberwocky. Are you serious? The most ferocious and frumnious beast in Wonderland is named "Stan?!" I understand that he's not as bad as he seems, but making the character a "good guy," and especially in the way this movie handles that treatment, is a cliché in itself, and giving him a name as plain as "Stan" makes my blood boil.Aside from the names, there are the personalities: I find the Wizard to be a great disappointment as a villain, particularly when compared to Darkheart: there is only one vaguely frightening point in this whole film, and it lasts for a split second (fans of the Nostalgia Critic might know what I'm talking about). I understand this is a children's film, but, still, the Wizard is extremely stereotyped, both in appearance and personality, and his tune – while catchy – is far too silly to make him seem even faintly like a threat, and his plans and the way he executes them seem a bit...loose. His everlasting dependence on Dim and Dumb (who may be the most bungling of all the buffoons in the history of bumbling henchmen) also makes me wonder: just WHY does he keep these two around in the first place? We've all asked this about countless villains countless times, but in this case his use of them as goons is especially questionable, as he isn't all that smart himself, so there's no "smart boss – dumb thug(s)" relationship going on at all. It's more of a "dumb, dumber, and dumber-er" relationship.Not only is the idea of the Cheshire Cat as a rap artist ridiculous, the design and animation of this character is really, very...strange, to say the least, and the husky, raspy voice of the character makes every scene he appears in seem really psychedelic and trippy. (Seriously: it's weirder than a Jefferson Airplane tune!)The ending's confusing...I've already given away too many spoilers, so I won't go into too much detail. Maybe it doesn't confuse people when they (previous viewers of this film know who) switch places, but, too me, it really seems self-destructive towards the moral goal of this story, and also involves plot holes for me. (i.e. Exactly when did the switch occur?) However, the youngest of audiences probably won't notice this problem, so that gives it some leniency.My overall decision: good for Care Bears fans, maybe, but far from great. Personally, if I want to get an "Alice" film for my kids, I'll just stick with Disney's 1951 cartoon. (It may be overrated, but you really can't go wrong there...)
RAMChYLD
Well, let's start with the songs. In particular, the one titled "Have anybody seen this girl?". This song is by far one of the most gosh-darn addictive and memorable song I've ever heard. For some odd reason, though I no longer have the videocassette with me (my mom actually borrowed it from a friend, and have since returned it. We did get a copy of the video for our own, but it went missing shortly after too), and I've not seen the movie for around ages now, I still remember the tune to the song. I also rather remember the other songs on the movie - the one that goes "I'm mad about hats", the opening "Rise and Shine" song, and I do vaguely remember the Grumpy bear rapping end sequence.SPOILER FOLLOWS: Overall story is kinda okay. Story starts with one of the bear's cousin's cousins or something or other appearing - it seems that the princess of Wonderland is lost. So they go search around and somehow ends up with a girl that looks just like the princess, except that the girl's name is Alice. They take her through the mirror, and we learn that the wizard is somewhat of a cog and plans to turn Wonderland into a dull gray place. Also, in a weird twist of plot,the queen turns out to be not nasty at all. She has found out that the evil wizard has kidnapped the real princess and locked her up somewhere, but without proof, she cannot take action against the wizard. So she needs to use Alice as a decoy while the Care Bears go look for the real princess. They managed to find the princess thanks to the Mad Hatter, and on another weird twist, it turns out that the Jabberwocky(think his name was Stan or something alike) was also a good guy - he was just being mean because he has a splinter stuck to his foot(cliché stuff, that). They managed to switch the princess with Alice in time for the most impossible trial of all, and upon completion of the task, the wizard, in a rage of absentmindedness, blurts out his plans for all to hear, and thus ends up getting locked up. Then they go back to Care-a-lot, and Grumpy busts a rap about food or something as the credits start to roll.Verdict: memorable movie, and if I find the DVD or VideoCD or even videocassette on a shelf at a store, I'll no doubt snap it up. The plot itself is just mediocre, but the way the plot was written and executed - brilliant. Lots of humor, the music is darn memorable, and the characters - pleasant voice, captivating and not annoying at all. I didn't really think much of the Care Bear's TV show back in the 80s, but this movie is good stuff. Okay, maybe it's happy-sappy delusion syndrome, but remembering the songs has got to mean something positive, right?
