Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Lewis Carroll’s 1865 novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking Glass, is quite possibly one of the best-known works of English literature, having received a number of adaptations and reinterpretations in the centuries to follow. Perhaps one of the better-known versions of the story is the animated 1951 Alice in Wonderland film from Walt Disney Productions, likely being one of the first things people might think of if they haven’t read the books, if not two live-action films from the same company. While the movie was critically-panned upon release, it has since been regarded as a Disney classic, and is one of my personal favorites from the Animated Canon. After revisiting it again in light of other, more recent reinterpretations of Alice in Wonderland, including two from Disney themselves, I would say that the film still holds up and is well deserving of its “classic” status.

101 Dalmations (1961)

Note: This review contains spoilers for 101 Dalmatians (1961).

While not as well-represented as some of Disney's other franchises based on books, 101 Dalmatians (1961) (officially rendered as One Hundred and One Dalmatians in the title sequence), adapted from the Dodie Smith novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, was popular enough to spawn a veritable franchise of its own, including two different animated series continuations and two sets of live-action adaptations. Though I had seen the original movie before, I hadn't really explored the greater franchise any further, aside from some vague memory of the first TV series when it was on and maybe at least one of the older live-action films. After being convinced to give more of the franchise a chance, I thought it only fair to rewatch the original film again for context since it had been several years since my previous viewing, and found that the original 101 Dalmatians still holds up very nicely.