moonspinner55 In 1932, 79-year-old Alice Hargreaves, a no-nonsense sort from England traveling with her timid female assistant, sails for New York City to receive an honorary degree from Columbia University; the school is celebrating the centenary of author Charles L. Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, whose literary masterpiece "Alice in Wonderland" was inspired by Hargreaves when she was but a precocious child. Impeccably-produced and designed on a limited budget, this curious drama mixes fact and fiction with a light hand...and yet, it rarely takes off emotionally. Coral Browne's adult Alice reexamines her lazy childhood days--as well as her past and present states of mind while interacting with Carroll's nonsensical creations (courtesy Jim Henson's Creature Shop)--but screenwriter Dennis Potter includes no poetry of his own in the dialogue. There are lovely moments (particularly the finale at Columbia and its tag), strong performances from Browne and Ian Holm (as the stammering Reverend Dodgson), and the film does improve slowly after a very creaky start. ** from ****

Vorple314 Watched this again tonight. Truly an exceptional movie. Love and time and death seem to be the predominate themes. A muse ripped from time and confused with the temporal wish against the universal need. An honest and pure statement of inspiration, satisfaction, frustration, and restraint against wisdom. I wish it were letter boxed on DVD for the Henson segments. Any extras would be phenomenal. Has anyone seen this in theater? It must have been a rare moment. I don't know if a soundtrack exists but it would be excellent. Everything from big band to Victorian nonsense. OK, it isn't historically accurate and Alice and Charles may have some corrective input if they were able to comment. Still, it is an exceptional, sincere, and intriguing story.

bkus Coral Browne- supported by an excellent cast plays an aged woman who as a child was the author's inspiration for "Alice in Wonderland". We see a picture of the author via her recollections and her reactions in her current day to the memories. A dream of a film as a viewer is taken along by Coral Browne's character through her long ago experiences with insights into Lewsis Carroll. Presents a unique manner of insight into an historical figure. In this case through the eyes of an old woman who was a child when she knew the author. This is both Alice's story and Mr. Carroll's. Enjoyable for anyone who loved "Alice In Wonderland" and "Alice Through the Looking Glass". May drag for younger children.

timpuckett "Dreamchild" is a dark yet beautiful tale of an elderly woman haunted by the famous author who adored her as a child. It deals with love and fear, memories and the past, and the final recociliation of the two. Each character is succinctly and sympathetically drawn, from Lucy the young and naieve maid of the elderly Victorian Mrs. Alice Hargreaves (nee Liddell), who, on her first visit to America, cannot understand the intense attention given to her because of her connection to Lewis Carroll/Rev. Dodgson. The movie seamlessly shifts from the present (New York during the Despression) to the past (Victorian England at Oxford University). Real fans of Alice in Wonderland may object to this depiction of Wonderland characters in a harsher, angrier light; such as when the 80 year old Mrs. Hargreaves meets the Mad Hatter. The Reverend Dodgson does not stand accused as Michael Jackson or like some members of the clergy today, but Mrs. Hargreaves does ask "My mother destroyed all his letters. Why would she do that?" But the younger Alice, when asked by her mother, "Why on earth would he say that to you?" answers straighforwardly, "Because he loves me, of course." A thought provoking film worth seeing if you can find it.