Honestly I just picked this comparison because Alice in Wonderland adaptations fascinate me but no one ever talks about the 1972 one. So here's how my whole rabbit hole adventure went down.
Step 1: Digging Up Those Old Films
First I had to actually find both versions. The 1951 Disney cartoon? Easy peasy, it's everywhere. But the 1972 live-action flick? Total nightmare. Ended up rummaging through three different streaming graveyards and finally found it buried under "cult classics." Took me half a Saturday afternoon just to press play on both.
Step 2: Making Notes Like a Mad Hatter
Grabbed my trusty notebook and cheapo pen. Started both films at the same time, pausing every 10 minutes to scribble nonsense. My coffee went cold twice. Noticed five big things straight away:
- The Cheshire Cat in '72 looks legit creepy. Not cute purple stripes like Disney. More like a neon nightmare that crawled out of a bad trip.
- Everyone talks slower in 1951. Felt like watching syrup pour sometimes. 1972 Alice just shouts her lines like she's late for tea.
- Disney cleaned up the caterpillar. 1972 dude blows smoke rings RIGHT IN HER FACE. No way that passes today.
- The Queen of Hearts. Disney made her cartoony loud. 1972 version? Genuinely unhinged. That actress chewed the scenery like it was made of shortbread.
- Color schemes are polar opposites. Disney's all soft pastels. 1972 threw neon pinks and greens at us like paint bombs.
Step 3: The Weird Realization
Around 2AM it hit me - the 1972 version didn't care about kids at all. Like zero percent. That "jabberwocky" poem scene? Pure existential dread with disjointed puppets. Disney at least tries making nightmare logic seem fun. 1972 just dumps madness on you like cold porridge.
Worst part? My 8-year-old nephew wandered in during the 1972 trial scene. Kid just froze, stared at the screaming flamingos and shouted "WHY IS THAT BIRD CRYING?!" before running out. Yeah.
What I Totally Wasn't Expecting
Thought this would be simple "older vs newer" stuff. Nope. Both came from totally different planets. Disney smoothed everything into family adventure shapes. 1972 took the book's weirdness and cranked it to fifteen. Neither got Alice's loneliness right though. Maybe that's why we keep remaking it.
Bottom line? Comparing them felt like eating cake after spicy curry - confusing but weirdly satisfying. Wouldn't make the nephew watch 1972 again though. Kid still eyes our cat suspiciously.
