Alice of Wonderland in Paris
Encyclopedia
Alice of Wonderland in Paris is a 1966
U.S. animated film directed by Gene Deitch
and produced by William L. Snyder.
and sharing adventures with story book girl, Madeline
. A talking mouse named François rides a bicycle into Alice’s bedroom and wants to conduct a survey about her favorite cheeses. Alice wants to join François in his native Paris, so François uses a magical mushroom to shrink Alice to rodent size. Together, they ride through Paris, where François narrates a series of short stories with a Parisian theme. In the end, when Alice finally meets her, it turns out that Madeline dreams of being Alice in wonderland.
, which won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film
in 1961. The filmmakers were also briefly responsible for producing the Tom and Jerry
and Popeye
animated series.
For this film, Deitch and Snyder reimagined the Lewis Carroll
heroine as an American girl who is obsessed with visiting the French capital. After having a bad experience with her childhood friend who fell into a well and transformed into a puppy. At one point, the film’s Alice remarks, “Getting to Wonderland was easy – all I had to do was fall down the rabbit hole. But let’s face it – it takes money to get to Paris!” Aside from the passing mention of the Carroll book and the use of a magic mushroom to shrink Alice to mouse size, the film has no connection with the original Alice in Wonderland.
The film includes brief adaptations of five short stories: Ludwig Bemelmans
’ Madeline and the Bad Hat and Madeline and the Gypsies, Eve Titus
’ Anatole, Crockett Johnson
’s The Frowning Prince and James Thurber
’s Many Moons. Actors Carl Reiner
, Howard Morris
and Allen Swift
provided the voice performances, and Canadian actress Norma MacMillan
provided the voice of Alice.
Alice of Wonderland in Paris ran 52 minutes, which was somewhat short for a feature film release, and it was presented for its 1966 U.S. theatrical distribution on a bill with the short film White Mane. It was originally distributed in the U.S. theaters by a company called Childhood Productions; Paramount Pictures
re-released it in the 1970s as Alice in a New Wonderland, and White Mane was also part of the bill.
1966 in film
The year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
U.S. animated film directed by Gene Deitch
Gene Deitch
Eugene Merril "Gene" Deitch is an American illustrator, animator and film director. He has been based in Prague, capital of Czechoslovakia and the present-day Czech Republic, since 1959. Since 1968, Deitch has been the leading animation director for the Connecticut organization Weston...
and produced by William L. Snyder.
Plot
Young Alice, having become a celebrity for her adventures in Wonderland, is in her bedroom dreaming about visiting ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and sharing adventures with story book girl, Madeline
Madeline
Madeline is a children's book series written by Ludwig Bemelmans, an Austrian author. The books have been adapted into numerous formats, spawning telefilms, television series and a live action feature film...
. A talking mouse named François rides a bicycle into Alice’s bedroom and wants to conduct a survey about her favorite cheeses. Alice wants to join François in his native Paris, so François uses a magical mushroom to shrink Alice to rodent size. Together, they ride through Paris, where François narrates a series of short stories with a Parisian theme. In the end, when Alice finally meets her, it turns out that Madeline dreams of being Alice in wonderland.
Production
Alice of Wonderland in Paris was created by the team of Gene Deitch and William L. Snyder, who previously collaborated on MunroMunro (film)
Munro is a 1960 animated short film. It was directed by Gene Deitch, written by Jules Feiffer, and produced by William L. Snyder. Munro won an Academy Award for Animated Short Film in 1961, the first short composed outside of the United States to be so honored.The title character is a rebellious...
, which won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film
Academy Award for Animated Short Film
The Academy Award for Animated Short Film is an award which has been given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as part of the Academy Awards every year since the 5th Academy Awards, covering the year 1931-32, to the present....
in 1961. The filmmakers were also briefly responsible for producing the Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
and Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
animated series.
For this film, Deitch and Snyder reimagined the Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
heroine as an American girl who is obsessed with visiting the French capital. After having a bad experience with her childhood friend who fell into a well and transformed into a puppy. At one point, the film’s Alice remarks, “Getting to Wonderland was easy – all I had to do was fall down the rabbit hole. But let’s face it – it takes money to get to Paris!” Aside from the passing mention of the Carroll book and the use of a magic mushroom to shrink Alice to mouse size, the film has no connection with the original Alice in Wonderland.
The film includes brief adaptations of five short stories: Ludwig Bemelmans
Ludwig Bemelmans
Ludwig Bemelmans was an Austrian author, an internationally known gourmet, and a writer and illustrator of children's books. He is most noted today for his Madeline books, six of which were published from 1939-1961...
’ Madeline and the Bad Hat and Madeline and the Gypsies, Eve Titus
Eve Titus
Eve Titus was a children's author most famous for her books featuring anthropomorphic mice.Her most famous characters include Anatole, a heroic and resourceful French mouse and Basil of Baker Street, a Victorian age mouse private detective who emulates Sherlock Holmes...
’ Anatole, Crockett Johnson
Crockett Johnson
Crockett Johnson was the pen name of cartoonist and children's book illustrator David Johnson Leisk...
’s The Frowning Prince and James Thurber
James Thurber
James Grover Thurber was an American author, cartoonist and celebrated wit. Thurber was best known for his cartoons and short stories published in The New Yorker magazine.-Life:...
’s Many Moons. Actors Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
, Howard Morris
Howard Morris
Howard Morris was an American comic actor and director who was best known for his role as Ernest T. Bass on The Andy Griffith Show.- Life and career :...
and Allen Swift
Allen Swift
Ira Stadlen , known professionally as Allen Swift, was an American voice actor, known for playing characters including Simon Bar Sinister and Riff-Raff on the Underdog cartoon show...
provided the voice performances, and Canadian actress Norma MacMillan
Norma MacMillan
Norma MacMillan was a Canadian voice actor.Norma MacMillan was a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was there that she met, worked with and married her producer/manager husband Thor Arngrim. Arngrim had started the now-legendary, but short-lived Totem Theatre company in 1951...
provided the voice of Alice.
Alice of Wonderland in Paris ran 52 minutes, which was somewhat short for a feature film release, and it was presented for its 1966 U.S. theatrical distribution on a bill with the short film White Mane. It was originally distributed in the U.S. theaters by a company called Childhood Productions; Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
re-released it in the 1970s as Alice in a New Wonderland, and White Mane was also part of the bill.