So yeah...Disney's 1951 Alice in Wonderland animated film on Blu-Ray. I watched that and while it feels wrong to heap a lot of hate on a movie this old and (I guess?) beloved, I didn't like this movie when I was a kid and I still don't like it now. The transfer's probably the best a film this old can look (there isn't a spec of grain, color issues, or compression issues anywhere) and the animation's gorgeous for its time (and the character designs of the main characters are really iconic), but the story is just...bland. This was one of a number of old Disney movies I didn't like as a kid that I wanted to give a second chance with more experienced eyes (other such movies include the Fox & the Hound, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Little Mermaid), and my problems with it haven't changed. The sheer insanity of the books (which I haven't read in ages and may go back and check out now) is toned way down. There are some elements of the original stories that still shine through (I don't care how much Disney tried to downplay it, the Walrus & the Carpenter is still a pretty frickin' dark tale) as well as a few notable set piece moments like the Mad Tea Party, but the movie just meanders through it all. In fact, my biggest sticking point with the movie has always been when the movie hits the 50 minute mark and hits a sheer 6-minute wall of pointlessness with some anthropomorphic objects in a forest.
On the upside, like I said the character designs in this movie are incredibly iconic, and the Cheshire Cat (always my favorite aspect of the books, the games, and the movies) totally steals the show even in his probably total of 5 minutes in the movie. This movie's just too boring to appreciate being its artistic appeal.
Incidentally, I watched the trailer for the Blu-Ray restoration of Bambi and...wow, that movie looks ugly in those trailers. Time has not been kind to those masters, and unless Disney really ups the color saturation time won't be kind to the restoration either.
Well, I'm going to take a bit of a risk here. As I'm playing Alice: Madness Returns (a game about a dark and twisted Alice), I'm in the mood for a suitable movie and I've always loved Tim Burton's aesthetics. I know it's widely-panned as a terrible movie, but I'm going to try watching Tim Burton's 2010 Alice in Wonderland. It'll probably be crap, but will probably at least look fantastic.