One pill makes you larger, one pill makes you small...

Alice in Wonderland is one of the classic Disney films. It fits alongside Cinderella and Snow White in terms of age, and perhaps popularity. Although it has gained plenty of popularity other ways as well, chiefly due to spectulation about whether or not it has anything to do with drugs. But more on that in a bit. First, AIW's merits and annoyances as a film.

In case you are unfamiliar, Alice in Wonderland is about a girl who chases a white rabbit through another dimension, where she meets all sorts of interesting characters and encounters various perplexing situations. It begins with her outside on a beautiful sunny day, perched on a tree branch with her cat and trying to pay attention to her history lesson. I assume Alice is probably a preteen, as she is certainly not a young child. However her dress and perpetual wide eyed wonder suggest she is definately not a teenager as of yet.

Anyway, the white rabbit of "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date" fame catches her eye and she follows him through a tree stump (literally) falling into a different dimension. Her adventures lead her to the Mad Hatter's tea party, the flower garden, the mischevious cheshire cat, the hookah smoking centipede, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, the walrus, and the Queen's castle. At the castle, Alice meets the cards, whom work for the queen and are painting the roses red because they screwed up and planted white ones by mistake. When they run away, Alice is somehow left holding the paintbrush and the queen, who is on a complete power trip from the start, sends her to trial. But fear not- Alice finds her way home and all ends well when she wakes up and realizes it was all a dream.

Some of the songs in this movie are among the most memorable Disney songs ever written. They include The Unbirthday Song, and the rabbit's little jingle. Some of the songs however are just as easily forgotten. I lost interest whenever Alice sang. I found those songs to be in a pitch that wasn't pleasing. They dragged and dragged and dragged as well, usually leaving poor Alice either crying or sitting there all depressed.

As far as I can see there are three interpretations of what this movie means exactly. Number one is that it is a whimsical children's cartoon, nothing more nothing less. Number two is that it's a story about fitting in. And number three is that it deals with American society in relation to drug use. I personally tend to think that it just depends on what you want to believe. I myself go for a healthy mixture of all three.

When I was younger, this movie was nothing more than a simple yet entertaining story. It was no different than any other cartoon I watched and that was that. Of course a little later on I started reading into things a little and realized that you could get a whole little meaning out of the story. The whole "be a leader and not a follower" theme is followed pretty closely throughout the entire movie, as Alice strives to meet the white rabbit but finds herself increasingly further away from home. And of course the further she goes, the less she fits in.

And of course there's the drug theory. Some will agree completely with me, with others will defend poor Alice to their deathbeds. I don't know about you, but there are just a few too many references to not suspect anything. Alice takes pills and eats mushrooms to grow larger and smaller than her surroundings. The centipede smokes a hookah and is found sitting on what else but- a big old mushroom. The storyline fits too, in terms of Alice chasing the white rabbit, who some think represents a drug dealer or a mysterious guy who does drugs which Alice wants to try. The queen and her cards represent "the establishment" or the law.

Despite your personal theories however, Alice in Wonderland will not plant seeds of curiousity into your child's mind that will lead them to a life of drug addiction. Plenty of cartoons include social commentary, even those that seem the most innocent. There are some scenes in AIW which can be pretty disturbing. The trial has a nightmarish feel, which only gets worse as Alice is chased around the hedge maze by the queen's deck of cards. Tweedle Dum and Dee perform a song about a walrus who lures baby clams into his home and then eats them, bonnets and all. Despite the possible meanings, Alice in Wonderland deserves a spot in Disney's classic collection. It is a fun film for all ages, and is one of the more unique movies they've put out, in addition to being timeless.