Happy Halloween! Playthings Advertisement for Alice Costumes by Ben Cooper

Happy Halloween to all, and Happy Birthday to me!  Tis the season for costumes, and in 1951 the king of costumes was Ben Cooper.  Wouldn't you know it, they made costumes based on Alice, and were pushing them hard months before the film was released, and even more months before Halloween.

This ad comes from the greatest of all toy industry magazines Playthings, and features bright red printing for the Alice in Wonderland masquerade costumes to be released by Ben Cooper.  It's just too bad there isn't any art of Alice and company in this ad, but there is a stock image of Donald, so that's something.

This ad was published in the March issue of Playthings, the Toy Fair issue.  As with all other Playthings issues from the 1930s through the mid/late 1950s, it features a Disney cover, and this cover features Mickey dancing about with the Mad Hatter and March Hare, welcoming all to the 1951 Toy Fair.  This particular issue is chock full of Alice stuff, but those pages are for other posts.  Save some candy for me!

David Hall Story Art Stills - Alice Encounters the Cheshire Cat

I'm missing at least 15 still in the series between last post and this one.  At long last Alice encounters the Cheshire Cat, at first only his head as depicted in this detailed drawing.  Difficult to read here, but this is labeled '66' and is reproduced in the David Hall book.

Alice gazes up at her strange companion in his equally strange environs in this watercolor, labeled '67'.  Unfortunately this is not reproduced, I would love to see this one in color.

Alice appears to be receiving advice from her cat companion here, as he begins to disappear.  Labeled '68', this is reproduced in the David Hall book.

David Hall Story Art Stills - The Caucus Race

This first drawing depicts the Gryphon and Mock Turtle, again completely out of sequence, but what else is new?

 One assumes this is the caucus race, with all the various critters from the Pool of Tears in attendance, as well as the Gryphon and Mock Turtle, and of course Alice.  There is a label, but I cannot make it out, presumably it is '49' based on the label on the next image..

 The next still is a detail of the previous one, focusing on Alice, the Mock Turtle and the Dodo, with various other denizens on the periphery, labeled '49A'.

David Hall Story Art Stills - Alice and Company Come Ashore

Alice and her new-found friends make their way to shore in this watercolor, labeled '47'.

 This detail focuses on Alice and the Dodo, labeled '47A'.  There is a lot of detail in this image, you can see the pigeon, the fish, the mouse, the hedgehog, and on the shore you can see an array of beach cabanas with snails making their way towards the beach.  And in the full image you get a first glimpse of the Gryphon and Mock Turtle.

This watercolor was reproduced in color in the David Hall book, severely cropped to focus on the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle, which sequentially is much later in the story.

David Hall Story Art Stills - Alice Encounters Many Curious Creatures

As Alice struggles to stay afloat in the Pool of Tears, she encounters many curious creatures besides the Mouse including what looks like a Beaver and a hedgehog.  Labeled '46A'.

 And a plethora of birds including this very fancy pidgeon, followed by an equally dapper parrot.  Labeled '46B'.

 And last but certainly not least, the Dodo and his fishing partner an Owl, with a Fish looking on as well.  Labeled '46C'.

David Hall Story Art Stills - Alice Hitches a Ride on the Mouse

As Alice struggles to stay afloat, the Mouse swims by.

Alice jumps astride the Mouse, much to his consternation, labeled '44A'

and unceremoniously tosses Alice back in the drink, labeled '45'.

David Hall Story Art Stills - Alice and the Mouse in the Pool of Tears

Alice flounders around in the Pool of Tears with the Mouse seen at the extreme upper left.  The pool is surprisingly stormy.  This watercolor is signed in the lower left and labeled '43' also in the lower left.

This detail of the watercolor focuses on Alice and is labeled '43A'.

This detail of the watercolor focuses on the Mouse - who did not make it into the final 1951 version of the film - and is labeled '43B'.

Fortunately, this water color is partially reproduced in the David Hall book, and appears to be not so much a Pool of Tears, but a Pool of Orange Crush (or perhaps marmalade).  It is a double-page spread, so there is a gutter in the middle, and they only produced the to 3/4 of the image, but at least we get a feel for the colors of the piece!

David Hall Story Art Stills - Alice Shrinks Back Down

Whatever it was that Mr Bottle heaved into Alice's crying mouth, worked!  Alice shrinks dramatically in this frenetic drawing, labeled '40A'.  This drawing is reproduced in the David Hall book.

Clinging to the edge of the glass table with Mr Bottle looking on, labeled '41'.

And finally, inevitably, plunging into the Sea of Tears of her own making, labeled '42'.

David Hall Story Art Stills - Giant Alice Raining Tears

After having drunk the trickle of potion as provided by Mr Bottle, Alice grows to fill the room!  Partial signature visible in the lower left, labeled '38' in the lower right.

 Tears rain down on Mr Bottle as he tries to avoid being stuck by the giant droplets.  Partial signature in lower left, labeled '39' in the lower right.

 Now fearing for his life, Mr Bottle tosses something into Alice's mouth, presumably to stop the torrential downpour of tears.  Partial signature in lower left, labeled '40' in lower right.

Alice and Snark by Oleg Lipchenko

I just discovered today that the beautifully illustrated editions of Alice Adventure's in Wonderland and The Hunting of the Snark by my friend Oleg Lipchenko are now available on Amazon!  Go buy his beautiful books!

Article on Disney Commercials

Over the past several years I've posted about Disney Alice commercials in the 1950s, and shown some of the actual commercials and original art.  If you are interested in more information about these fairly bizarre commercials, I highly recommend reading this article by my friend Jim Korkis.

David Hall Story Art Stills - Alice Tries to Retrieve the Key

Poor Alice, she just can't catch a break.  Now small enough to go through the door, she's forgotten the key, and tries to climb back up the table to retrieve it.

Next we see Mr Bottle helpfully dribbling something into Alice's mouth, this can't end well.

David Hall Story Art Stills - Alice Shrinks!

After drinking the suspect liquid as provided by Mr Bottle, Alice shrinks dramatically in this still of a pencil drawing.  Again, you can see the watermark on the paper in the shaded area to the left of the spinning Alice. In the lower right you can see where the label was, but it was not captured in this image.  This image is reproduced in the David Hall book.

After her whirlwind size change, she looks back up at Mr Bottle on the table, and sees the key that she needs to open the door.  There is a fragment of a signature visible in the lower left, and in the lower right is the label '34'.

David Hall Story Art Stills - Alice and the Bottle

I love this next image, Alice and lots of ghostly images of her standing around the table with Mr Bottle just before she drinks.  Prominent signature in the lower right corner of this watercolor, labeled '32' just to the left of the signature.

Fortunately this image was reproduced in the David Hall book, and  can see just how beautiful this painting really is.  I would love to have this in my collection.

Never one to be daunted by unknown potions, Alice downs the drink as supplied by Mr Bottle.  This drawing is signed, but it is almost totally clipped in this particular still.