The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland is a 1987 Canadian animated film and the third film in the Care Bears movie franchise.
Plot[]
| Spoiler Warning: The following contains important plot details of the entire film. |
In Care-a-Lot, the Care Bears are visited by the White Rabbit, the uncle of Swift Heart Rabbit. The White Rabbit gives the Care Bears the task of finding the missing Princess of Heart, who is to be crowned queen in Wonderland, otherwise the villainous Wizard of Wonderland will gain the throne. Tenderheart, Grumpy, Good Luck, Brave Heart, Lotsa Heart, Swift Heart and the White Rabbit search all over the world for the Princess, but to no avail.
Grumpy is pointed to a girl who resembles the Princess, Alice. The Care Bears decide that Alice could act as the Princess until the real one is found. The group is separated by the power of the Wizard, forcing Grumpy, Swift Heart and the White Rabbit to use a rabbit hole to reach Wonderland.
In Wonderland, Tenderheart's group gain directions to Heart Palace from Officer Caterpillar. The Wizard sends his minions Dim and Dum to capture Alice using large battle robots, but the Care Bears defeat them with a Care Bear Stare. Grumpy's group reunite with the others, as the Cheshire Cat appears, portrayed as a rap artist.
The Cheshire Cat splits the group of two, directing Tenderheart, Lotsa Heart, Alice and the White Rabbit to Heart Palace, and Brave Heart, Grumpy, Good Luck and Swift Heart to look for the Mad Hatter, who knows where the Princess is.
The Wizard captures Alice briefly and explains to her that when he rules he will make Wonderland less insane and more controlled. Alice flees and runs into the Queen of Hearts' throne room, where the Queen accepts Alice as her daughter whilst knowing she is not.
Brave Heart's group locate the Mad Hatter who takes them to the lair of the Jabberwocky, where the Princess is. Grumpy rescues the princess, but the Jabberwocky gets a thorn in his foot which is removed by the Care Bears. In gratitude, the Jabberwocky (or "Stan" as he prefers to be called) decides to help them back to Heart Palace.
As the Princess' coronation day arrives, the Wizard decides to expose Alice's identity to the court via the Princess Test, to prove that she is not the princess. Alice climbs a mountain to retrieve some water from a spring, aided secretly by Tenderheart and Lotsa Heart; however, Alice gives the water to an injured unicorn. Angered by this, the Wizard demands that Alice make the flowers in the palace garden bloom magically. The princess secretly steps in and makes the flowers bloom.
The Wizard (who had not been anticipating the Princess' return) suddenly exclaims he had her kidnapped, exposing his crime. The Care Bears, Alice and the Wonderland characters confront the Wizard but the appearance of the Jabberwocky drives the villain insane, and he is arrested.
The princess is crowned the new queen and she helps Alice and the Care Bears return home. At Care-a-Lot, Grumpy raps with the Cheshire Cat, who joins the Care Bears for dinner as the film ends.
Voice-Over Cast[]
- Bob Dermer as Grumpy Bear
- Eva Almos as Swift Heart Rabbit
- Dan Hennessey as Brave Heart Lion/Dum
- Jim Henshaw as Tender Heart Bear
- Marla Lukofsky as Good Luck Bear
- Luba Goy as Lots-a-Heart Elephant
- Keith Knight as White Rabbit
- Tracey Moore as Alice
- Colin Fox as Wizard
- John Stocker as Dim/Cheshire Cat
- Don McManus as Caterpillar
- Elizabeth Hanna as Queen of Wonderland
- Alan Fawcett as Flamingo
- Keith Hampshire as the Mad Hatter/Jabberwocky ("Stan")
- Alyson Court as Princess of Wonderland
Production[]
In early June of 1986, a third feature film based on American Greetings' Care Bears characters was under development at Toronto's Nelvana studio as early as June 1986, a few months after the release of the second instalment, Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation.
Nelvana had also begun production of a Care Bears television series set to air on the ABC network in the U.S., and Global in Canada.
Whereas the other two were co-financed with U.S. companies, Nelvana raised its own money (US$5 million) for the new installment with assistance from Middlefield Entertainment Group.
The movie's production took place at the Toronto company's facilities, and the overseas work was handled by Taiwan's Wang Film Productions.
The director, Raymond Jafelice, was previously involved in the original Care Bears Movie as a storyboard artist. Nelvana's founders: Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith were once again producers.
Jack Chojnacki (the co-president of American Greetings' licensing division Those Characters from Cleveland) served as a creative consultant on this instalment; for the previous ones, he was an executive producer.
In December of 1986, Toronto actor Colin Fox recorded his lines for the film at the Nelvana studios.
Release[]
In February of 1987, Cineplex Odeon Films (the distribution branch of Canadian cinema chain Cineplex Odeon Corporation) acquired the North American rights to the movie.
According to the Long Island newspaper Newsday, Cineplex Odeon chairman Garth Drabinsky "shrugged off [this film] as 'a favour to the Canadian producer.'"
The film tie-ins appeared at department stores as part of the film's promotion. Costumed Care Bears spread the word at daycare centres, hospitals and parades and also through radio.
Reception[]
Box Office[]
The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland opened at #20 at the box office, grossing $1,005,386 during its opening weekend.
Domestically, the film grossed $2,608,000 in the United States and Canada. It became Cineplex Odeon's second-highest grossing release as a film distributor.
Critical Reception[]
Like the first Care Bears movie, The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland received mixed reviews from critics.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film was given a 72% audience score based on 7,706 user ratings and given an average rating of 3.3\5.
Henry Herx in The Family Guide to Movies and Videos deemed it a "vastly superior sequel" to the "failed original", saying:
"[It is] a lively, colourful, complexly designed and orchestrated travelolgue through Wonderland ... Director Raymond Jafelice holds even adult interest with his fast cuts and engaging fantasy characters" while the Bantam Books guide, Movies on TV and Video Cassette gave it two and a half stars out of four and called it "Enjoyable [...] for the tyke set."
The 1988–1989 edition of the Film Review called it "the best of the trio", adding that it "may well please the youngsters" with its "non-stop entertainment"; this view was also shared by Carole Kass of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
John Teerds of Brisbane, Australia's Sunday Mail gave the film a positive review, while another Australian critic, Rob Lowing of Sydney's The Sun-Herald, gave it two and a half stars out of four and noted that there was "nothing original here, although that also means nothing to shock".
Similarly, The Christian Science Monitor wrote that "The animated action holds few surprises for grown-ups, but the cute characters and fetching designs should enthrall young children."
In her New York Times review, Caryn James said, "[The] movie is paced so it won't strain the attention span of a 6-month-old, but there is nothing to spark a child's imagination."
Hal Hinson of The Washington Post said, "Watching [this movie] is like being pelted mercilessly for 75 minutes with Lucky Charms. It's nonfatal (unless you have a sugar problem, in which case you're likely to lapse into a coma), but it's not exactly my idea of fun either."
Rick Groen of Toronto's The Globe and Mail expressed disappointment over the way the villain was handled.
Comparing this installment to its predecessors, Newsday's Joseph Gemlis declared that Wonderland "aspires to be more than a merchandising gimmick. It has a story to tell". However, he criticised the plot and treatment of the fictional land's denizens.
Leonard Maltin called it a "typically bland kiddie outing", giving the movie two stars out of four.
The staff of Halliwell's Film Guide called it "Undemanding and uninteresting whimsy for the under-sixes", while London's Time Out referred to it as "Hemlock to Lewis Carroll fans."
In a 1988 issue, the Video Librarian labelled it a "dud".
Accolades[]
1988 Genie Awards
- Best Music Score: Patricia Cullen (nominated)
- Best Original Song: Maribeth Solomon (nominated)
Young Artist Awards
- Best Motion Picture- Animation (nominated)
Theatrical Trailer[]
The Care Bears Adventure In Wonderland Trailer