AllTop Viral!

Most of us are familiar with the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland, released in 1951, which may seem ancient by today’s animation standards, but did you know the first film of Lewis Carroll’s classic children’s story was released all the way back in 1903?

One copy survived and was restored by the BFI National Archive. At the time of release, it was the longest English film ever made, clocking in at twelve minutes.

According to the YouTube description:

Made just 37 years after Lewis Carroll wrote his novel and eight years after the birth of cinema, the adaptation was directed by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow, and was based on Sir John Tenniel’s original illustrations. In an act that was to echo more than 100 years later, Hepworth cast his wife as the Red Queen, and he himself appears as the Frog Footman. Even the Cheshire cat is played by a family pet.

Now, thanks to the Internet, we can all see this priceless original.

Full story at YouTube.

History of film.

Graphics credit: Canva