Just like the rest of the movie, Disney couldn't seem to settle on songs. One tune, “Beyond the Laughing Sky,” was later repurposed in Peter Pan as “The Second Star to the Right," but others were outright abandoned. The long list of scrapped songs includes one based on Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” poem, and another called “I’m Odd” that would have been formed by the Cheshire Cat. AT LEAST 30 SONGS WERE WRITTEN FOR THE FILM-AND THEN DISCARDED. Check out Ed Wynn, Kathryn Beaumont, and Jerry Colonna acting out the Mad Hatter’s tea party scene, followed by Beaumont having a chat with the talking doorknob, below: 6. THE ACTORS PERFORMED SCENES LIVE FOR THE ANIMATORS.ĭisney artists often had the voiceover artists perform scenes live in order to better capture their movements and quirks, and Alice in Wonderland was no exception.
Huxley was paid $7500 for his trouble, but ultimately, Walt rejected the script, deeming it “too literary,” which was a shame Huxley’s wife later said it was the only script her husband had ever enjoyed working on. The resulting script was a live-action/animation combo that dealt largely with Charles Dodgson’s (Carroll’s real name) friendship with Alice. Disney believed that Huxley, being such a Lewis Carroll fan, would write something that stuck closer to Carroll’s original work than previous attempts had. In the fall of 1945, writer Aldous Huxley-whom Disney described as an ” Alice in Wonderland fiend”-was brought in to help develop a new script. Though other plans for Alice movies had fallen through, Disney wasn’t ready to give up on it yet. That’s the way it works for me.” 4. ALDOUS HUXLEY TOOK A STAB AT A SCRIPT. You’ll look at it again and maybe have another idea on it. Afterward, Walt decided to put the whole thing on hold, calling it stale: “I don’t think there would be any harm in letting this thing sit for a while. In 1939, British artist David Hall created 400 paintings (pictured) the Disney Studio developed a reel that put the paintings to music to test the movie’s flow. There are at least 11 documented meetings on record where Walt was discussing Alice possibilities with his staff. THEY WERE STILL TRYING TO MAKE SOMETHING WORK IN 1939.
He scrapped the idea when Paramount beat him to the punch Pickford retired from acting later that year.
In 1933, Disney had Pickford screen-test for the role of Alice, even outfitting her in full Alice regalia. MARY PICKFORD ALMOST STARRED IN A LIVE-ACTION VERSION. They were a hit, and Disney produced 56 of the animated adventures. In 1923, Disney combined live action with animation and created the short Alice’s Wonderland, a comedy about a little girl who dreams herself into Cartoonland. In fact, Walt’s first Hollywood success was thanks to Carroll’s concepts.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND WASN’T WALT DISNEY’S FIRST FIRST FORAY INTO LEWIS CARROLL’S WORK. Here's what you need to know about the 1951 animated version of Alice in Wonderland. But long before Mia Wasikowska stepped into Alice's Mary Janes, Walt Disney struggled to bring Lewis Carroll's story to life on the big screen. With Alice Through the Looking Glass coming out in May, everyone's favorite Wonderland tourist has been in the news again lately.