As a child I enjoyed the 1933 ALICE IN WONDERLAND. As an adult, not. Went back tonight to see which one of me was right. I'm afraid it was the adult. Despite the almost relentless novelty, it's relentlessly tedious; the longest hour and and a quarter you're likely to experience outside of HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS. I think this is because it all feels so perfunctory and forced and phoney and disconnected from any level of emotion.
And here's something that's never been uncovered, that I became certain of tonight: Most of the much-vaunted Hollywood cameo players are NOT EVEN IN THE FILM. W. C. Fields as Humpty Dumpty? It's a voice-over. I know his face. That ain't his face. Allison Skipworth as The Duchess? Same thing -- in fact, I think it's a guy under the make-up. The faces NOT completely buried under make-up, like Gary Cooper and Edna Mae Oliver, are the real deal. The others? I'm not buying it. I wish we could get some real historical research on this that would clear it up.
And here's something that's never been uncovered, that I became certain of tonight: Most of the much-vaunted Hollywood cameo players are NOT EVEN IN THE FILM. W. C. Fields as Humpty Dumpty? It's a voice-over. I know his face. That ain't his face. Allison Skipworth as The Duchess? Same thing -- in fact, I think it's a guy under the make-up. The faces NOT completely buried under make-up, like Gary Cooper and Edna Mae Oliver, are the real deal. The others? I'm not buying it. I wish we could get some real historical research on this that would clear it up.