Neco z Alenky (Alice) (1988)

After being both fascinated and freaked out by Czech director Jan Svankmajer's Otesánek, I sought out his other forays into the creepy, absurdist world of experimental stop-motion animation blended with live-action and landed upon Neco z Alenky. This re-imagining of Lewis Carroll's classic story Alice in Wonderland is both beautiful and disturbing. The action of the story has been moved to a decaying, empty house; Alice is played by a real live girl, with every other character embodied by some sort of taxidermied animal or anthropomorphic item. She navigates the house through doors of various sizes and mysterious drawers, desperately following the White Rabbit as he hops around leaking sawdust. The Caterpillar plays host to myriad slithering socks, while the wooden string puppet Mad Hatter periodically demands to switch seats. Shadowy duels are fought for the cut-paper King and Queen before our heroine is put on trial. Alice's size changes multiple times, turning her into a doll when she is miniaturized. There is very little dialogue, except sparse narration from Alice herself, and no music, giving the entire film an eerie stillness. There is noticeable attention to sound effects. It appears there is only a dubbed version for the American DVD, as a side note to future renters.

As this is a reinterpretation, a lot of the story is adjusted or simplified. What's important is the visual imagery of Alice's plight. The use of stop-motion animation for all of the other characters is remarkable and refined. Seeing it next to a living person has an unsettling effect that I can compare to nothing else. The sheer unnaturalness of their movements is extremely heightened when related to Alice. It adds a refreshing level of creepiness to the whole tale. Overall it's an incredibly interesting, visually arresting film, with an imaginative take on a familiar subject. It's hard to describe in words so below are some clips.

4/5


The White Rabbit is introduced.


The Caterpillar scene.


Swordfight, Queen of Hearts

Packaged with the DVD was one of Svankmajer's short films, Tma/Svetlo/Tma (Darkness/Light/Darkness), in which a clay body assembles itself in a small empty room. Another gorgeous piece of animation from a truly innovative artist. Watch it in its entirety below.