Overview
A surreal journey through a whimsical world where nothing is as it seems.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- eerie
- surreal
- grotesque
- late night viewing
- surreal cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as an astonishing, visually captivating adaptation that preserves Carroll's story while exposing its darker undercurrents through fluid stop-motion animation.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film follows Alice's adventure while replacing familiar whimsy with threatening objects, violent transformations, and grotesque creatures.
Kristýna Kohoutová plays Alice alongside stop-motion figures such as the White Rabbit and the improvised sock-bodied Caterpillar.
Drawers, glass eyes, false teeth, slabs of meat, and other everyday materials acquire disturbing life through Švankmajer's animation.
Švankmajer follows Lewis Carroll's story reasonably faithfully while foregrounding its dark undercurrents and bizarre digressions.
Films like Alice, and why
The Nightmare Before Christmas
surreal stop-motion fantasy, unsettling child perspective, and grotesque transformations
Coraline
darkly whimsical literary fantasy, handmade creatures, and eccentric visual imagination
The Science of Sleep
surreal live-action and animation hybrid centered on a child's strange journey through symbolic worlds
Fantastic Planet
experimental animation, grotesque imagery, and a dreamlike challenge to conventional children's storytelling
Movie Details
- Director
- Jan Švankmajer
- Release Date
- 1988-08-03
- Runtime
- 86 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (371)
Cast
- Kristýna Kohoutová
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- OVID
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Alice about?
- Jan Švankmajer turns Alice's familiar Wonderland journey into a tactile fever dream of stop-motion creatures, animated household debris, and unsettling childlike wonder.
- What is Alice like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Alice as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Alice violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Alice as mild.
- What did critics think of Alice?
- Critics broadly regard the film as an astonishing, visually captivating adaptation that preserves Carroll's story while exposing its darker undercurrents through fluid stop-motion animation.
- Which films are like Alice?
- Films with a similar feel include The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, The Science of Sleep, and Fantastic Planet.
- How long is Alice?
- Alice runs 86 minutes.
- Where can I watch Alice?
- In United States, Alice streams on OVID.
