ALICE IN WONDERLAND

RICHARD HARTLEY

Rating:

Original Review: Lewis Carroll's classic story of Alice in Wonderland has been told and re-told so many times that one would think there were no new ways of putting the cautionary children's tale of substance abuse-induced hallucinations across. There was the Disney animated film in 1951, which everyone looks back on fondly, and no less than three big-screen versions in 1933, 1950 and 1972, none of which were enthusiastically received by the public. So, in an attempt to breathe new life into the proceedings, the producers of this re-telling, which is part of the Hallmark Entertainment series on American TV, decided to up the star factor and put dozens of Hollywood star names in the famous roles.

Top child actress Tina Majorino gets the lead role of Alice, Miranda Richardson applies the wig and makeup as The Queen of Hearts, Martin Short plays The Mad Hatter, Gene Wilder plays The Mock Turtle, Ben Kingsley is Major Caterpillar, Christopher Lloyd dons the armour as the White Knight, Robbie Coltrane and George Wendt pile on the pounds as Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Peter Ustinov grows a large moustache as the Walrus, and Whoopi Goldberg shows off her pearly whites as the perennially grinning Cheshire Cat. We even get British funnyman Ken Dodd, last seen as Yorick in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet, who makes an appearance as Mr. Mouse. Then composer Richard Hartley gets them all to sing. Yes, Ken Dodd and Gene Wilder sing! But, surprising as it may sound, it's really quite enjoyable, in a light-hearted, carefree kind of way.

Hartley's score forms the vast majority of this lengthy album from Varèse Sarabande, and the whole thing exudes the sense of wonder, magic and child-like innocence that one would expect. Many of the cues are quite short, and there is very little thematic development going on in the score, but such is the nature of the music that it doesn't really matter. This is ear candy of the highest order, a score which is simply there to be enjoyed and experienced rather than picked over and analysed. Hartley's 'Main Title' is certainly attractive and has a pseudo-classical overtone, with a harpsichord singing brightly alongside a mock baroque scherzo for strings and clarinet. Twinkly xylophones and flighty brasses are present in cues ('Rabbit Hole', 'Meet Hatter and Hare', 'Croquet Match'), occasionally in a manner highly reminiscent of James Horner's score for Casper, while magical chimes and a haunting female choir crop up in others ('Round House', 'You're Old Father William'). Occasionally, the music turns a little more dramatic, with ominous brass chords towards the end of 'Mr. Rabbit's House' and 'Tiny Cakes', and an unexpectedly powerful action theme in 'Into The Book'. In addition, there is a wonderfully vibrant Irish pennywhistle tune in 'Bill', some distinctly Indian influences to 'Caterpillar', a superbly romantic full-orchestra cue in 'The White Knight', and a fantastic piece of British brass band patriotism in 'Queens March', which contains just a hint of London Bridge Is Falling Down. It has all the right amount of charm and good humour that Lewis Carroll's fairytale dictates, but it makes for surprisingly engrossing and fulfilling listening as well.

The songs are all complete nonsense, of course, but it is quite gratifying to hear some of the movie business' top names singing lyrics such as "Twinkle twinkle little gnat, how I wonder what you're at, up above the world you fly, like a tea tray in the sky". 'Will You Won't You Join The Dance' is a catchy little ditty performed by both Wilder and Majorino, but 'Wow Wow Wow' is a rather off-putting addition, as it seemingly advocates institutionalised child abuse, while 'Auntie's Wooden Leg' is a bizarre piece of honky-tonk jazz. It just shows what can happen when a composer takes Carroll's advice and actually does "Eat me" and "Drink me" just before putting pen to paper. You never know what kind of mysterious liquids come in bottles like that. Joking aside, Alice in Wonderland is an entertaining enjoyable piece of fluff which, for all his serious and weighty credits (Victory, A Thousand Acres, The Van, Stealing Beauty), proves that Richard Hartley has a knack for musical whimsy and knockabout fun. I really don't know why I like this score so much. Perhaps it's got something to do with those magic mushrooms after all...

Track Listing: Running Time: 71 minutes 07 seconds

Varèse Sarabande VSD-6021 (1999)

Music composed and conducted by Richard Hartley. Orchestrations by Arthur Kempel, John Bell and Richard Hartley. Recorded and mixed by Chris Dibble. Edited by Andy Glen. Album produced by Richard Hartley.

Cinemusic Online: Review by Helen San (***)
Filmtracks
Movie Wave: Review by James Southall (***1/2)
Score!
Scorelogue


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