Fourth Estate Newspaper

Issue date: 3/11/10 Section: Center

As if the original "Alice in Wonderland" wasn't strange and trippy enough, Disney proved in the 1990s that adding some overalls, live actors, and a rabbit in rollerblades to the mix could take something awesomely weird and make it just plain ridiculous.
"Adventures in Wonderland" was the story of Alice, your typical all-American girl, and her trips to Wonderland via her bedroom's full-length mirror. It didn't look like a special mirror or anything, but nonetheless, she could walk through it into a magical world.
In this Wonderland, Alice skips the drugs in favor of revealing important life lessons through cheesy songs and accompanying choreography. Much like Saved by the Bell, "Adventures in Wonderland" was more like a public service announcement than an actual show.
Her friends the March Hare and the Mad Hatter also sing and participate in the random, choreographed dance scenes. Instead of the two creating an atmosphere of madness and chaos, they deliver lame one-liners worthy of a joke roll every time. The best part of the show, though, may have been Disney's re-imagining of Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, who were portrayed as the twin version of MC Hammer - yes, Hammer pants and all.
The most glaring departure from the original plot in "Alice in Wonderland" is the lack of a violent, hot-headed queen. Instead, this version's queen has constant parties and her only demands are that everyone gets along with one another and has fun all the time.
Disney did manage to keep one creepy character from the original Wonderland in this series, though. That, of course, was the Cheshire Cat - in puppet form.

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