With his marvelous sense of the absurd, Lewis Carroll’s whimsical, fantastical tale delighted children and adults when it was first published in 1865 and has since become a treasured classic of literature.
With his marvelous sense of the absurd, Lewis Carroll’s whimsical, fantastical tale delighted children and adults when it was first published in 1865 and has since become a treasured classic of literature.
Critiques-
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Forget the cartoon version! Dale's expert handling of the characters in Carroll's classic banishes any preconceived voice characterizations from the listener's mind. The old favorites are all here: Alice, the Queen, the Caterpillar, and so on. However, there's more to it than just those few. Carroll's absurd landscape is populated with equally absurd characters, many of them with only a line or two. Dale takes these bit parts and gives them true personalities that might have been ignored in other productions. Moreover, Dale's approach to the story narration bears the kindly, slightly amused tone that one imagines Carroll himself had as he penned his much-loved tale. In a Disneyfied world, one forgets how quirky and delightfully peculiar this story really is--but now Jim Dale has brought us back to Wonderland. A.A. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
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March 1, 2002
An edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll contains all of Arthur Rackham's original artwork from the 1907 edition (published after Sir John Tenniel's illustrations). Pen-and-inks dot the text; full-page paintings, such as one sepia-toned frame showing Alice, in a delicate rose-patterned dress, addressing the hookah-smoking Caterpillar, plus a sewn-in satin bookmark make this an elegant gift choice. -
The time-honored puns, delightful logic, and surreal scenes in ALICE weave in and out of contemporary animations, commercials, rock videos and, most recently, computer games. To narrate the work is to take on the daunting task of performing a well-known classic. Narrator David Horovitch and a host of London-based voice talents read their parts with almost too much reverence. They know it is a classic and deliver it as such, making these fine performances sound slightly rote. The Queen sounds angry. The caterpillar--sleepy. Alice--very Victorian. It all has the nineteenth-century feel of adults presenting children's literature to children. Somewhere out there Lewis Carroll may be responding with a Cheshire smile. B.P. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
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This freewheeling version of the classic tale of the little girl who fell down a rabbit hole is as much fun as a hallucinogenic tea party. Narrator Harry Shearer soberly guides us along, while the star-studded ensemble cast meanders its way good-heartedly down the well-worn paths of the story. The original music is delightful; the production values high in clarity and creativity, as one would expect. There's a bit of a mismatch in casting Alice as a plainspoken all-American girl, but actress Vanessa Shaw brings a pleasing wide-eyed innocence to the role. Whether it's your first time in Wonderland or you're a frequent flyer, you can't have any more fun than this. D.J.B. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine
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When reading Alice on one's own, it's easy to have one's attention seized by Carroll's many fanciful characters--the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, and so on. Listening to Shelly Frasier read it reminds one of a crucial aspect to this story: It's a little girl who's experiencing these adventures, and, as Frasier's subtly inflected voice reminds us, Alice can go from excited to terrified in an instant. In addition to getting her voice just right, Frasier masters all of Carroll's other verbal gymnastics, from the Dormouse's snores to the dreamy illogic of the Caterpillar, and, of course, the nonsensical verse. This is a great pleasure. G.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine
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Cindy Hardin's reading of Alice is adequate but uninspired. The many delightful creatures in Carroll's classic are imaginatively voiced, but the reading is mechanically paced. Hardin's wooden reading of this sprightly tale becomes tiresome and frustrating. There are many Alice's to pick from; choose carefully. P.E.F. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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Ralph Cosham reads this story in a droll, low-key style. Although he makes little attempt at dialects, voices and characterizations, his tone is perfectly suited to both the curious events and to Alice's matter-of-fact responses. Since it was originally created as a "read aloud," Alice lends itself beautifully to audio: unabridged, it's the right length, and the various characters appear one at a time and don't overwhelm the listener. One of the first books ever written for children, this pointed Victorian nonsense will charm them. Adults will be delighted to rediscover it. A.M. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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Academy Award winner Sally Field revisits Dr. Hodgson's 1865 novel about Alice's misadventures down a rabbit hole. Field gives a performance adequately expressive to hold the attention of listeners. But her production rings flat, missing the sense of glee and fancy inherent in Carroll's words and Tenniel's illustrations. Although sound effects and musical accompaniment are sometimes an overused extravagance, they might have added a little life to this otherwise flat and undistinguished production. Perhaps Carroll's tale is best told in a British voice. Or perhaps by someone who, like Alice, is prepubescent. Field's reading is not insincere, but her rather straight interpretation comes across as uninspired. S.E.S. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine
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The BBC's dramatization of Carroll's children's classic will transport listeners of all ages to the nonsensical world of Wonderland. Sarah-Jane Holm, as Alice, gives a stellar performance, often rendering her urgency as she tries to communicate with all the imaginative characters she encounters. Roy Hudd performs the role the Mad Hatter, and David Bamber is the frantic White Rabbitt. The use of sound effects--from chirping birds to echoes and the opening and closing of cupboard doors--contributes to the delightful experience. At just two hours, this will be a perfect selection for family listening during vacation travels. K.M.D. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
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What a delight to hear Michael York's rendition of this classic. His distress at Alice's predicaments humanizes a character who has become a near stereotype over the decades. Listeners experience Alice's surprise as she tumbles down a near-endless hole, nibbles and drinks tidbits that make her grow and shrink, and meets one absurd personage after another. York's elegant accents highlight Carroll's wordplay and the tangles it makes of Alice's distorted reality. His cameos of the hurried White Rabbit and dreamy-voiced, hookah-smoking Caterpillar are sound. Especially riveting is the Queen of Hearts, with her imperious shout--"Off with their heads!" As Alice explores Wonderland, York is a superb guide. S.W. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
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After falling asleep, seeing the White Rabbit, and falling down the rabbit hole to Wonderland, Alice meets the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, the Queen, and all the rest. Throw away the stereotypes. Scarlett Johansson's American accent brings an entirely new experience to Carroll's surreal landscape and zany characters. This has its good and not-so-good points. On the positive side, Johansson, a fine actress, completely enters the scene when she's a character, then seamlessly slips back as the storyteller. Her voice is filled with husky squeaks that are charming, but limiting. As a result, she never quite sounds like an 11-year-old girl. The American accent is a not-so-good choice. Some of the wit and Carroll's clever puns are lost in contemporary American diction. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
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October 1, 2001
DeLoss McGraw's illustrations bring the magic of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to a younger audience, with abstract splashes of color that render the Caterpillar a bit less eerie and the Queen less terrifying than Sir John Tenniel's interpretation. One hallucinogenic image captures Alice awash in deep blue watercolor, her long legs rising in an ethereal haze as her head reaches the ceiling. A small green window and miniaturized chair accentuate her rapid growth. -
September 1, 1988
A clock-face grows like the daisies around it as the White Rabbit hurries by; in the opening pages of the story, Browne hints at his interpretive presence in Carroll's world. A burning key, a fish swimming through space, a green thread winding its way through a cabinetful of strange objects, and the artist makes it clear that this will be no ordinary Alice. Thimbles and umbrellas bloom atop green stalks, Willy the chimp races by, another thimble casts the shadow of a trophy, the Caterpillar wears a smoking jacket covered with butterflies. The Mad Hatter has a stack of his wares on his head, and wears a terrible grimace; the tea party at which he resides displays a table full of toylike objects and sweets, among which are many surprising juxapositions. In short, the volume is so consumed by the unexpected that readers may well find their eyes leaving the text to pore over the pictures, replete with jaunty details and stunning surreal images that grandly point back in the direction of the written word. All ages. -
February 3, 2003
"An Alice accessible to all ages," wrote PW
in a starred review. "The villains here are more stoogelike than menacing, and the volume brims with the fun and frights of a visit to an amusement park. An ideal introduction to a lifelong favorite read." Ages 8-up. -
Starred review from October 4, 1999
If Zwerger's Alice (reviewed above) is deliciously cryptic, Oxenbury's (Tom and Pippo books) brims with the fun and frights of a visit to an amusement park. In perhaps her most ambitious work to date, Oxenbury applies her finely honed instinct for a child's perspective to create an Alice accessible to all ages. With the opening scene of a tomboyish heroine slumped against her sister who is reading under a tree, the artist seems to answer Alice's first line: "What is the use of a book... without pictures or conversations?" Nearly every spread contains either a spot-line drawing or full-bleed full-color painting. The artist nods to Tenniel with her hilarious portrait of the waistcoated White Rabbit and even extends the metaphor of the "grin without a cat" with a quartet of watercolors as the Cheshire Cat begins to disappear--until only his grin remains. The villains here are more stoogelike than menacing, including the baby-throwing Duchess and the Queen of Hearts, and Oxenbury makes the most of such comic opportunities as the entangled powdered wigs of the Frog-Footman and Fish-Footman. A series of cleverly choreographed closing scenes shows Alice in the Queen's courtroom, pelted by the playing cards that, on the next spread, seem to have transformed into the falling leaves of the tree where Alice awakens and her sister gives her a kiss; a poignant parting shot of Alice's sister silhouetted at dusk under the tree, with sheep grazing in the field, acknowledges the shift in tone of Carroll's conclusion. An ideal first introduction to a lifelong favorite read. Ages 8-up. -
December 1, 2003
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland gets another makeover in a new edition illustrated by Iassen Ghiuselev. Beginning with a gouache painting that combines elements from the entire story into one fantastical scene, Ghiuselev's illustrations continue by alternating seemingly gilded paintings of Alice interacting realistically with Mouse and Duck and Dodo, and burgundy-hued pencil drawings, all of which emphasize the dreamlike qualities of the text. This large-trim (9" x 13"), limited edition includes a bookmark. -
Starred review from September 22, 2003
Readers will be astonished by every tableau in this pop-up extravaganza. The initial spread explodes into a surprisingly tall green forest, topped by billowing leafy shapes that resemble the Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter and Queen of Hearts. On the lawn below, in papery 3D, Alice scurries about while the White Rabbit checks his pocket watch. Along the left-hand border of the book, a series of narrow flaps present an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's text. These pages-within-pages feature pop-ups of a green bottle ("Drink me") that shrinks Alice, a cake that makes her a giant and Alice swimming in "the pool of tears that she had wept when she was nine feet high." Finally, an accordion-pleated square in the lower right corner expands into a long, vertical rabbit hole; through its circular window, Alice can be seen falling, as if into a well. And that's only the beginning. Subsequent stages of this moveable feast include a wiggly Alice grown too large for the White Rabbit's house; a Mad Tea Party with shining silver-foil tea service (the March Hare and Mad Hatter dunk the Dormouse in a teapot); and Alice waving her arms as the Queen and her court, transformed to a "pack of cards," arch over her head like a rainbow. Those who know the story can best negotiate this wonderland, for the narrative gets a bit lost in the visual dimensions. Sabuda, who also has adapted The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, borrows from the Tenniel illustrations, but pares them down and drenches them with violet, fuschia, gold and green hues. His paper engineering snaps solidly into place, and elements like the Cheshire Cat's unfolding face are both startling and beautiful; and the pack of cards rising up into the air will have the audience studying how Sabuda created the effect of scattering and tumbling. A Jabberwocky cheer of "O frabjous day! Calloo, callay!" seems appropriate for this salute to Carroll's classic. All ages. -
February 29, 2016
Reader Reynolds buoyantly leads listeners down the rabbit hole and into the topsy-turvy world of Carroll’s Wonderland. When the young Alice follows a waistcoat-wearing rabbit holding a pocket watch, she finds herself in a fantastical world of talking mice, disappearing cats, hookah-smoking caterpillars, fish-headed footmen, and babies who turn into pigs. She shrinks smaller than a mouse and grows tall as a tree, participates in a mad tea party, plays croquet using flamingos for mallets, and runs afoul of the ill-tempered Queen of Hearts, whose cry of “Off with their heads!” seems to be the answer to most anything. It is a madcap, nonsensical entertainment, and Reynolds leaps into this tale’s telling with enthusiastic aplomb. Fully embracing the material, Reynolds delivers the author’s whimsical prose, poetry, and quirky characters with just the right touch of theatricality: bigger than life, but not completely over-the-top. It is a fine-tuned, enjoyable performance that allows the wonder of Wonderland to shine. -
February 22, 2010
The classic and an equally transporting imagining of the life of Alice Liddell Hargreaves.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll
, read by a full cast. BBC Audio
, two CDs, 2 hrs., $14.95 ISBN 978-1-60283-660-0
With strong performances from a stellar full cast, this dramatization of the beloved novel sends listeners tumbling down the rabbit hole and into a world of magic, mushrooms, anthropomorphic animals and adventure. Chasing the White Rabbit, growing and shrinking in size, and meeting a menagerie of oddballs—the dotty Mad Hatter, the lugubrious Mock Turtle, and the homicidal Queen of Hearts—Alice attempts to navigate the strange world without losing her head—literally and figuratively. With Sarah-Jane Holm as Alice, Roy Hudd as the Mad Hatter, and David Bamber as the White Rabbit—all of whom sound as if they're thoroughly enjoying themselves—the cast transports the listener into an alternative universe with perfectly scored incidental music and fantastic sound effects. An energetic and delightfully zany rendition of the classic. -
October 1, 1989
What the publisher calls the ``ultimate'' edition is in reality simply another look at Carroll's story in a beautifully produced volume--with an unusual twist. Edens has compiled various illustrations to the text that were made between 1865 and 1933. He presents the work of more than 25 artists, including John Tenniel, Arthur Rackham, Peter Newell, Willy Pogany, Gertrude Kay and Margaret Tarrant. But the result is a disjointed book that is disorienting to read. Illustrations by different artists, in color and black-and-white, are juxtaposed more to the text than to each other, and their varying styles create an effect that is more chaotic than instructional. Artistic comparisons would have been facilitated by captioning the illustrations with the date and artist's name, but unfortunately these details are provided only as a listing at the end of the book. To Eden's credit, many of the illustrations have been long out of print and are a joy to behold. The book appears to be more of a commercial exercise than a new look at Alice. All ages. -
January 1, 1996
wonderland revisited Spanish illustrator Angel Dominguez fills an unabridged edition of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with 75 watercolors, most of them closely packed with lush oversized flowers, strange creatures and winding vines reminiscent of Art Nouveau-often against bizarrely serene pastoral backgrounds. Exotic birds and animals, such as peacocks and zebras, wander through the picture frame. While the illustrations bring out the text's absurdity, pretty-in-pink Alice provides a counterpoint not of normalcy but of sentimentality.
