Once upon a time there was a wonderful new television show rewriting everything we thought we knew about our treasured fairytales… and then they made another one. Friends, gather round as a new world of adventure unfolds before our very eyes – Wonderland.
A tea party in the wood, well attended by a mouse, a rabbit and a stuffed doll with his hat falling forward over his eyes. With a BOOM Alice returns to the real world, complete with hairband and blue dress. We find out that she’s been missing for a while – that White Rabbit is a bad influence. But the main issue following her adventures in Wonderland is adults’ lack of imagination as the adults discuss cures for caterpillars and magic mushrooms. Young Alice resolves to prove that it’s all true.
Seated in front of a panel of doctors Alice can only listen as they mock her adventures of fighting pirates, swimming with mermaids and love. Alice and the genie were travelling Wonderland together until the fateful journey to the ‘Boiling Sea’; it was here Cyrus proposed and Alice said yes. They were separated due to the evil Red Queen who ambushed them and cast Cyrus over the cliff side.
So she fights back – literally BIFF, BASH, BOFF. With the right attitude you don’t need help to fight off syringe wielding doctors…After all that emotional turmoil she’s late for the White Rabbit, tut tut! Escaping her captors through a newly ‘dug’ rabbit hole, both she and the Knave find themselves sinking into the Mellow Marsh because ‘a pond made out of dessert topping makes perfect sense’. Well, it does actually. Chocolate buttercream puddles, fondue rain, honeycomb rocks; I’d live in Wonderland! Sounds a lot like the Land of Goodies from Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree series so far…
She lives in a castle made of giant chess pieces, which is actually quite fantastic! The Red Queen (Emma Rigby) is not to be confused with the Queen of Hearts, mother of the Evil Queen and stepmother to Snow White; she is the Red Queen of the chessboard and as such I’m sure we can expect a lot of cunning moves on her part.
But how can you build on the unveiling of Jafar of Agrabah (Naveen Andrews) Even more effective as it rhymes and the fairytale villain is complete with his snakehead staff and magic carpet… The two are uneasy allies, with an as-yet-undisclosed plot in play – what’s in store for we humble viewers?
He returns her shoes and wishes. I think there is going to be a lot of wish-related etiquette on this show with the initial ones being: ‘you can’t steal a wish, it has to be granted’ and ‘wishes must be without consequences’. Easy…
Back in Agrabah, Cyrus HAS survived the Boiling Sea disaster, thanks to Jafar’s well-placed flying carpet, and has been held captive in a hanging cage in a tall tower since then. He looks understandably glum, but hopefully not for much longer.
Aside from the fact the show appears to have some strong links to Candy Crush Saga, it’s already a big adventure with lots more to come! From Wonderland to Agrabah to Wonderland again, it’s going to be a magic carpet ride of a show!