Review of "Alice in Wonderland: An Illustrated Journey Through Time," by Mark Salisbury

Review of

Alice in Wonderland: An Illustrated Journey Through Time, by Mark Salisbury ISBN 9781484737699


Five out of five stars

 This is not a history of the story of what is probably the most well-known fictional character, it is a more targeted history of how she has been portrayed in Disney productions. Using text and images that are both live and animated, the author tells the story of how the original idea of making an animated Alice movie came about and how the portrayals evolved and developed through several iterations.

 The early days of Disney are explained, when times were lean, and it was uncertain whether there would ever be any Alice production at all. It is impossible not to be impressed by the quality of the artwork. The reader also learns some of the specific details of animation, there are images of live characters performing the actions that will eventually be carried out in animation.

 For example, on page 77 there is a picture of a young actress playing large Alice inside the White Rabbit’s home. On page 76 there is an image of two dancers performing live-action reference footage for the Tweedledum and Tweedledee dance sequence.

 This is an excellent book about the history and technical aspects of the production of the Alice movies by the Disney company. Some aspects of it could serve as instructional material for courses in the making of animated movies.