I wouldn't recommend this version, but I wouldn't say I hate it either. I guess it was just mediocre. I guess the good technically outweighed the bad. The reason I saw this was because it was the longest film version of "Alice In Wonderland". It was weird, because I was expecting this big epic movie. Of course, the Tim Burton movie version and its sequel didn't do it very well. I think this is probably better than those. It seems to capture the spirit of the book more. I really should get around to reading the book.I believe I've seen every movie version of it now and I can easily say the Disney version is the best one. One fault with this movie was how it was, well, too long. It's not a complicated story and it just seems to go on too long. I guess that might be justified in adapting a book, but other versions have done it better. The puppets are pretty good. I am really freaked out by Whoopi Goldberg as the Cheshire cat. She looks really scary looking and that's actually probably the worst thing about the movie! Still, it's great to see such a cast of talented actors. I found out this was Gene Wilder's last movie and may he rest in peace. **1/2

This may be one of the great unknown or under-appreciated films. I am a big fan of Lewis Carrol's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There", and for near perfect translation of the former, this is the only live-action film to compete with Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" and to do so more faithfully to the book without glaring omissions and amalgamations between the two works. The cast is marvelous featuring Tina Majorino as the titular character (you may know her most famously from Napoleon Dynamite) with perhaps the film's best performance from a perfect Mad Hatter played by Martin Short. The special effects are impressive for a 1999 TV movie and the imaginative sets and costumes are clearly inspired by the original Sir John Tenniel sketches, going as far as including the heads-to-large-for-their-bodies proportions. I would be remiss to neglect mentioning the astounding work of Jim Henson's Puppet Studio to masterfully bring Carrol's creatures to life, from the White Rabbit to the Gryphon. I give a ten without a hint of hyperbole, for as far as a live action film adaption of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland goes, I eagerly await Tim Burton's attempt to see if this can be topped.

My Take: A visually-entertaining made-for-TV effort.When I watched this movie when I was a kid, I really loved it. And it didn't differ when I grew up. I still love this movie. It's so abundant in ideas and imaginative wonder, also sharing the imagery of Lewis Carroll's classic story. It stars a very familiar cast. Their's Miranda Richardson (Queen of Hearts), Christopher Lloyd (White Knight), Ben Kingsley (Sgt. Caterpillar), Robbie Coltrane (Ned Tweddledum), Martin Short (Mad Hatter), Gene Wilder (Mock Turtle), Pete Postletwaite (Carpenter), Peter Ustinov (Walrus) and of course, Whoopi Goldberg as the mysterious Cheshire Cat. Tina Majorino is perfect as Alice, with a fine British accent to fit her role. I remember seeing her younger in Kevin Costner's "Waterworld", but she was quite memorable, for me, in this film. The strange creatures and make-up effects are great too, as supplied by the artists at Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Not the best in a long line of 'Alice' adaptations, but it's curious settings and trippy characters is faithful to the pages of Carroll's classic story. TV movie rating: ***1/2 out of 5.

What could have been a magic Alice using the formula of top Stars in the cameo roles as in the 1933 version, is dulled by excessive length and an unnecessary sub plot, concerning Alice's shyness in performing a song for a family gathering.Also combining scenes from Through the Looking Glass while pleasant in themselves, extends the running time, and the pedestrian pace of the film. Sure there are some magic moments, and fortunately the designers have called upon Sir John Tenniel's illustrations for their characters, and the dialog when it is from Lewis Carroll's text is happily nonsense. It is bits that are not by Carroll that detract sadly.It could have been much better, and even Tina Majorino doesn't make an especially attractive Alice. Perhaps re-editing it down to about 90 minutes would make it a winner, but we'll never know. A pity because some of the segments are very good indeed, with guests like Whoopy Goldberg, Martin Short, Ben Kingsley, Miranda Richardson, Peter Ustinov, and Pete Postlethwaite enjoying themselves immensely