Alice’s Wonderland (1923)

Alice’s Wonderland (1923) was started by Walt and his staff at the Laugh-O-gram Films Inc. studio in Kansas City, Missouri. When the studio failed and he had to file bankruptcy, Walt left Kansas City and headed to Los Angeles, California with the unfinished film with him. In Los Angeles, he teamed up with his older brother Roy O. Disney and they used Alice’s Wonderland as a pilot to secure a distribution deal with Margaret Winkler and M.J. Winkler Productions. The date the deal was signed, October 16, 1923, is acknowledged as the release date of the film as well as the beginning of the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, know today as The Walt Disney Company.

In Alice’s Wonderland, Alice (Virginia Davis) visits a cartoon studio where she watches cartoon characters appear to come to life. That night, Alice dreams she visits Cartoonland. There she interacts with many cartoon animal characters before being chased by a pack of lions and escaping by jumping off a cliff. She is awakened from her dream by her mother (Louise A. Wright). 

Cast and Crew: Director: Walt Disney, Hugh Harman (uncredited), Carman Maxwell (uncredited). Producer: Walt Disney (uncredited). Writer: Walt Disney. Cinematographer: Rudolf Ising (as Rudolph Ising), Ub Iwerks (as Ubbe Iwwerks). Visual Effects: George Lowerre (Cameraman, uncredited). Animation Department: Hugh Harman (Animator, uncredited), Rudolf Ising (Animator, uncredited), Ub Iwerks (Animator, uncredited), Carman Maxwell (Animator, uncredited); Additional Crew: Hugh Harman (Technical Director), Carman Maxwell (Technical Director). Cast: Virginia Davis (Alice), Walt Disney (himself, uncredited), Hugh Harman (himself, uncredited), Rudolf Ising (himself, uncredited), Ub Iwerks (himself, uncredited), Louise A. Wright (Alice’s mother, uncredited).

Technical Specifications: Running Time: 12:29. Animation Type: Combination live-action and standard animation. Sound Mix: Silent. Color: Black and White. Aspect Ratio: 1.33 : 1. Negative Format: 35mm. Printed Film Format: 35mm. Cinematographic Process: Spherical.

Sources

Alice’s Wonderland (Short 1923) ⭐ 6.4 | Animation, comedy, short. (1923, October 16). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0013823/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Merritt, R., & Kaufman, J.B. (2000). Walt in wonderland: The silent films of Walt Disney. Johns Hopkins University Press. 

Vagnini, S., & Smith, D. (2023). Disney A to Z: The Official Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Disney Editions Deluxe.