Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Fushigi no Kuni no Alicenote ) is a 1983 anime that loosely adapts the Lewis Carroll novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass into a children's TV series. It was created via a collaboration between the Japanese studio Nippon Animation and the German firm Apollo Films.
Despite not making much of a splash in Japan or in the USA (both the English and French dubs made it to Canadian TV and the English dub, of South African origin, was also popular in India), the series did prove quite popular in several countries — enough so that the second half of the series was created primarily for those markets. Ultimately only 24 of the 52 episodes aired in Japan.
Many of the same creative team would go on to make The Noozles the following year, another series about a girl and her adventures with a magical animal companion.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland provides examples of:
- Abusive Parents: The Duchess (and the Cook's?) piglet endures much abuse, being thrown about willy nilly and is subject to living in a household where pots and pans are thrown about.
- Adapted Out: Bandersnatch and Jubjub Bird are not seen, or even mentioned. The Red Queen is mentioned (when her nephew who seems to be the "Beamish Boy" from the Jabberwocky poem takes off after a fleeing Jabberwock), but not seen.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Alice has been portrayed as a blonde and a brunette in the original illustrations. This adaptation opts to make her a redhead.
- Alliterative Name: Benny Bunny, Alice's pet rabbit who was invented for this series.
- Alternative Foreign Theme Song: The 1985 English dub has a different theme song (which sounds VERY '80s and was used for both opening and closing) from the original Japanese.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Alice's overactive imagination, sassy tongue and love of animals make her this for Celia, who is striving to become a Proper Lady. For her part, Alice sees Celia as bossy and overbearing.
- Big Fancy Castle: The Queen of Hearts' castle is so big, it has passageways to other countries as seen in a filler episode in which Alice visits Australia.
- Butt-Monkey: Little Bill. If there is a problem that needs to be solved, just call him. Even if you have to drag him kicking and screaming to it.
- Cain and Abel: The Queen of Hearts and her sister, the Queen of Spades. One episode reveals that the Queen of Spades threatened to invade Wonderland if it ever snowed during the summer. Which she does when Alice accidentally breaks a weather house controlling Wonderland's weather.
- Canon Foreigner: Again, Benny Bunny.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Little Bill's lady lizard friend in "Little Bill in Love" only appears once, so nobody knows how that relationship lasted. The Gryphon also only made a singular episode in "Lobster Quadrille", along with the crab who was among those in the Caucus Race.
- Cloudcuckoolander: In a realm full of them, the croquet-obsessed White Queen is often the most blatantly out there.
- Deadpan Snarker: Alice has traits of this in this adaptation. In episode one, after being told by her mother to curtsy in front of the croquet players when she is introduced, she's unimpressed when the guests gush about how sweet and sensible her sister Celia is and remarks that in that case, Celia can curtsy for her, since she injured her knee playing the day before.
- Didn't Think This Through: Alice's curiosity leads her into all sorts of predicaments.
- Down the Rabbit Hole: Only during the first episode and a few after it. The rest of the series has Alice primarily fading out our world and into Wonderland in the blink of an eye.
- Fantastic Racism: Speciesism crops up now and then, in particular with the cold blooded and other not so warm and fuzzy type creatures (crows, sometimes rodents and insects).
- Filler: In this case, it was necessary due to the episodic nature of this version of the storynote . That, and the fact that it was going for two 26-episode story arcs.
- The Hermit: Jabberwock might fit this bill, living in a huge castle behind the woods, at the end of a craggy pathway. He will come out now and then though, to chase other Wonderlanders (who steal his blue flowers or when craving rabbit stew), show up at the odd social event (whilst unintentionally scaring everyone), and sometimes, to help Alice. Otherwise he's a bit of an introvert, content to stay home and cook (whilst badly singing) or try to sleep.
- Jerkass: The Wonderlanders' treatment of Humpty Dumpty as he's hanging by his bowtie from a tree, actively placing bets on whether he'll fall or not, does seem rather cruel.
- Kangaroo Pouch Ride: In the Down Under part of Wonderland Alice and Benny meet a gigantic kangaroo who offers them and the Queen rides to feel wanted, as the rest of the marsupials have ostracized her baby and her for their abnormally large sizes.
- Large and in Charge: The Queen of Hearts naturally.
- Leitmotif: Mysterious music is played whenever something remotely dangerous, mysterious or anticipating in an action; a bouncy theme is played for comedic moments even, and especially for, the expense of other characters.
- Literal-Minded: Alice embarrasses her mother in episode one by asking if the family's grandfather clock is still working since her mother had mentioned that Lady Rose had an ugly enough face to stop a clock. Fortunately Lady Rose, being hard of hearing, doesn't hear this.
- Loyal Animal Companion: Benny Bunny, the nephew of the White Rabbit, follows Alice around everywhere trying to keep her out of trouble.
- Mood-Swinger: Jabberwock is notoriously moody (he is sometimes the Big Bad, other times he helps Alice), and The Queen of Hearts may count.
- Named by the Adaptation: Alice's sister is named Celia.
- No Antagonist: Outside the occasional tertiary villain, villains do not generally call Wonderland home. If there is a character acting as a Big Bad for one episode, they might help out in another.
- Only Sane Man: Often Alice, but she just as often jumps right into the madness. Uncharacteristically, the Queen of Hearts also often fulfills this role.
- Pepper Sneeze: Thanks to The Cook's affinity for overusing it in her dishes.
- Proper Lady: Alice's mother is trying to bring up her daughters to be Proper Ladies. It's working with Celia; not so much with Alice.
- Rabbit Magician: Benny Bunny was a magician's assistant before the late-man's hat came into Alice's possession.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Arguably, the King and Queen of Hearts. The King leads the charge to try and save his old friend Humpty Dumpty from a gruesome end, and the Queen of Hearts actively participates in the daily goings-on of the Wonderlanders (whether the Wonderlanders like it or not is another story, though).
- Scooby-Dooby Doors: There was a hilarious scene that lasted a whole minute during the second episode in the hall of doors, which involved the White Rabbit tricking Alice into going through one door while he exits through another, and the two of them running into each other and twirling around, arms linked, unable to stop themselves.
- Series Continuity Error: Occasionally characters are introduced to another they may have met in a previous episode.
- Sudden Name Change: The Tove, a badger-type creature that burrows itself underground with a corkscrew shaped nose are called "Screw Mice" here.
- Ugly All Along: One episode is centered around a competition for the hand of a supposedly beautiful princess, whose face is invisible from all the diamonds she is wearing. Then the winner knight asks her to remove these diamonds, and it turns out her beauty is very much exaggerated. Fortunately, once he removes his helmet in return, they turn out to look similar enough that Love at First Sight follows for both of them.
- Your Mind Makes It Real: As Benny explains to Alice, the White Rabbit's tunnel isn't the only portal to Wonderland, the girl can come and go, as she pleases, anywhere and anytime, so long as she has imagination.
