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Thursday, May 13, 2010

Robert's Movie Review of the Week: "Alice in Wonderland or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This? by Robert Steven Mack

I read about it on Wikipedia, and I finally watched it at the Paley Media Center in Los Angeles: Alice in Wonderland or What’s a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This is a colorful and enchanting one-hour Hanna-Barbara animated TV Special which originally aired in 1966.

Although an important addition to television history, this piece has unfortunately not been released on DVD, and perhaps one of the only places where you can enjoy this classic might be at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles. This Alice television special is a valuable addition to the frolicking series of films based on the classic children’s novel Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll about a young girl that goes on one of the most curious adventures in the history of literature.

The story had been altered slightly and instead of Alice falling down the classic rabbit hole she falls through a television set which is most fitting for the times. Nowadays, it would have been video games! Also, Alice’s tender mice-eating cat Dana was replaced by a yappy playful pup named Fuffy. Perhaps one of the biggest surprises in the film would be the appearance of Fred Fintstone and Barney Rumpoble from the The Flintstones, voiced by Alan Reed and Mel Blanc, as the two-headed caterpillar. Most peculiarly, an introduction of yet a new character, Hedda Hatter, is voiced by Helda Hooper.

It stars the voices of Janet Waldo as Alice (the voice of Judy Jetson in Hanna-Barbara’s the Jetsons), Pentolope Pitson from the classic Hanna-Barbara animated series Wacky Races and it’s spin-off The Perils of Pentolope Pitson, and Judie McCoy from Judie and the Pussie Cats, yet another addition to the Hanna-Barbara’s legacy. Howard Morris is stars as the playful White Rabbit, writer Bill Dana as the clumsy White Knight, and Sammy Davis Jr. is singing the title song “What’s a nice kid like you doing in place like this?”

It is unfortunate that the Hanna Barbara Special has not been more popular in recent years for it is a truly enjoyable tele-film and would be a real treat for any Hanna Barbara fan or something to just watch for fun by anyone! In any event, I was thrilled to see be able to see this tele-film for I can consider it to be a real television classic.

Copyright 2010 by Robert Steven Mack (all rights reserved

1 comment:

  1. Dear Robert,
    You make me think in new ways! Thank you for your meandering through the wonderous lands of Alice. I cannot wait for your review of Disney's new "Alice in Wonderland." Hurry!!! :)

    ReplyDelete

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