Alice’s Wonderland (1923)

If you are a fan of Walt Disney it’s very likely you have heard the quote, “I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing, that it was all started by a mouse,” it is one of the more famous quotes of his, talking about his creation, Mickey Mouse. Things really started to come together for the company Walt Disney started when Mickey came on the scene in 1928.  But if you go back before Mickey, there was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Julius the Cat from the Alice Comedies, and the star of those comedies, Alice who was originally played by a young Virginia Davis. So, some may argue that it was all started by a little girl. 

Alice’s Wonderland was started by Walt Disney and his staff at Laugh-O-gram Films Inc. studio in Kansas City, Missouri, in the spring of 1923. When the studio failed and had to file for bankruptcy, Walt left Kansas City in the summer of 1923 and headed to Los Angeles, California, with the unfinished film. In Los Angeles, he teamed up with his older brother Roy O. Disney, and they used Alice’s Wonderlandas a pilot in attempts to secure a distribution deal for the live-action / animated film series. A deal was finally secured with Margaret Winkler and M.J. Winkler Pictures. The date the contract 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, known today as The Walt Disney  Company. The film was never released theatrically.

In Alice’s Wonderland, a young girl named Alice (Virginia Davis) visits an animation studio and observes cartoons being created. Later, she falls asleep and dreams of entering “Cartoonland,” a whimsical world where she interacts with animated characters. The dream takes a dramatic turn when she is chased by lions, before she wakes up. 

Alice's Wonderland was released on home media on December 6, 2005, on Walt Disney Treasures: Disney Rarities - Celebrated Shorts: 1920s-1960s. It was also included as a bonus feature in Alice in Wonderland's special "Un-Anniversary Edition."

Cast & Crew

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

Technical Specifications

MPAA Rating: N/A. Running Time: 12:29. Animation Type: Combination live-action and standard animation. Sound Mix: Silent. Color: Black and White. Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1.

Have you seen Alice’s Wonderland? Share your thoughts and comments below. 

Source(s)

Internet Movie Database. IMDb. Retrieved May 30, 2025, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0013823/.

Merritt, R., & Kaufman, J. (2000). Walt in Wonderland: The Silent Films of Walt Disney. The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Smith, D., & Vagnini, S. (2023). Disney A to Z: The Official Encyclopedia (6th ed., p. 23). Disney Editions.

Great care has been taken to be as accurate as possible when it comes to details in each entry I post. As with anything, mistakes can happen, dates can be wrong, information not readily available, etc. If you see a mistake, information that is wrong, inaccurate or missing information please contact me at disneymovieandfilmencyclopedia@gmail.com so I can make corrections.