Lewis Carroll's episodic fantasy stories have been translated on to screen more than 20 times, but Disney's animated version arguably remains the best, perhaps because a cartoon is the ideal way to bring such quirky characters to life.
Uncle Walt had a mind to adapt Carroll as far back as 1933, envisioning silent star Mary Pickford in the role of a live-action feature, but didn't commence production until after the war. Having undergone a drafted screenplay by Brave New World author Aldous Huxley, whose script Walt rejected because he could only understand "every second word", Disney's Alice opened in 1951 to almost universally bad reviews.
Fifty years on the movie is clearly due a reappraisal. It's colourful, fun and as surreal as Disney is ever likely to get, this isn't as good as the books, but works as a cute introduction to them.
