Your Thoughts: Abby in Wonderland [Archive]

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Phillip Chapman

09-27-2008, 01:46 AM

The long-awaited DVD release "Abby in Wonderland" (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001AR60H4/muppetcentral/) arrives in stores this week and is being shown in select theaters across the country. After you pick up your copy or order on-line to help support MC (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001AR60H4/muppetcentral/), post in the below discussion to let us know what you think about Sesame Workshop's latest project.

By the way all the songs from "Abby in Wonderland" began playing on Muppet Central Radio (http://www.muppetcentral.com/radio/) about a week ago. Have a listen and check out the new tunes.

For more info and pictures of "Abby in Wonderland" check out this release...

http://www.muppetcentral.com/news/2008/060908.shtml

fleecenotfelt

09-29-2008, 01:28 PM

hey guys!

i found out that the barnes and noble in tribeca, nyc is having a promotional abby in wonderland tea party this wednesday! i think abby and elmo are making an appearance and if you're one of the first 50 to buy a dvd, you get a photo-op w/ the puppets! or maybe it was a signed copy.... I DON'T REMEMBEr. but who cares!

everyone should call their b&n and see if the tour is hitting anywhere else! i imagine LA at least.

muppet baby

09-29-2008, 10:01 PM

wow i am going to be going to hastings tomriow to get this , i can not wait i can belive that sept 30 is here , abby is going to be so cute . wow the entire cast is going to be so great .

Son of Enik

10-01-2008, 07:38 AM

BEAR

10-02-2008, 01:50 PM

I bought my copy of Abby In Wonderland and watched it yesterday. While it is by no means Sesame's finest work, I enjoyed it. There are some great one-liners and the overall production is fantastic, I especially loved The Count (I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet) and Oscar in their respective roles. I have thought Abby to be adorable ever since she first appeared, so this was a must have for me. My daughter laughed and danced along with it, so that right there was worth it.

I will probably go out and find the DVD this week but I was wondering what some of you all thought of it and the cast appearances. I know that there are appearances by Abby, Elmo, Oscar, Rosita, Zoe, Grover, The Count, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie, but is there anyone else not mentioned? What about Telly or Big Bird?

theprawncracker

10-04-2008, 03:20 PM

Just saw Abby in Wonderland... I can honestly say, I expected a lot more out of it. It was enjoyable, but way too short. Highlights include The Count, Grover, and Cookie Monster. I was not happy with Bert and Ernie's extremely brief cameo (no matter how funny it was) and really expected to see more of them. Oscar was pretty good too, but alotgether the whole thing felt rushed. I also really felt the absence of characters like Big Bird, Snuffy, Telly, and Baby Bear. It was basically The Elmo and Abby Special with cameos by Grover, Zoe, The Count, Rosita, Cookie Monster, and Oscar. :smirk: Ah well... at least Cookie Monster stole the show.

frogboy4

10-04-2008, 03:31 PM

Can someone write a review of the DVD? Is Big Bird in the film at all? I can not comprehend a Sesame movie without it's main bird! :wisdom:

Is Abby the new Elmo? :grouchy: I miss my classic characters, but I might actually get this if I hear good enough things. :super:

The Count

10-04-2008, 06:18 PM

Can any character be the new Elmo? But on a more serious query... Which Wonderland characters did Rosita and Zoe portray respectively?
My Wonderland nitpicks aside, I'll "try" to get this at some point for my overall Sesame furtherance. But reviews would be nice.

theprawncracker

10-04-2008, 06:33 PM

Abby in Wonderland DVD Review

:):) Kermit Heads (out of 5)

WRITER'S NOTE: Please keep in mind that I'm writing this review as an 18 year old male Sesame Street fan. I will have different tastes than, let's say, a five year old little girl who is also a fan of the show. Thanks!

Ryan Dosier (October 4, 2008) - Sesame Workshop's latest outlet for their classic characters is the new direct-to-DVD, 41 minute Abby in Wonderland (http://www.amazon.com/Sesame-Street-Abby-Wonderland/dp/B001AR60H4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1223161016&sr=8-1)(the special is also showing in select Kidtoons Theaters). Starring, of course, Sesame Street's newest main addition to the cast, Abby Cadabby playing herself as she's whisked off into the twisted realm of Wonderland. Co-starring alongside Abby are more of her friends from Sesame Street, including Elmo (as the White Rabbit), Cookie Monster (as the Chesire Cookie Cat), and Grover (as the Mad Hatter).

PLOT SYNOPSIS

Based on Lewis Carroll's classic children's book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Abby in Wonderland is an enchanting tale that follows Abby Cadabby down the rabbit hole and through Wonderland.

The special opens with Abby piling a table with colorful books. As she works, she's greeted by her friends Grover, Rosita, and Zoe. Once they pass, Abby sighs and examines her books. She tells the viewers that these are all of her favorite books of fairy tales. She then proceeds into a song about how she longs to have her own fairy tale. During the song she's joined by Anything Muppets straight out of fairy tales.

After her longing song and dance number, Abby is visited by Elmo, who's very impressed by Abby's collection of books. He's most impressed by his favorite story, Alice in Wonderland. A clever name gag occurs and Elmo and Abby decide to read the book. Mid-way through the first page, Abby starts to fall asleep. She awakes only to realize that Elmo has left her side, she calls out for him and instead finds the White (Red) Rabbit (played by Elmo). The Rabbit looks at his pocket watch and realizes he's late and darts off. Abby, confused by this occurence, gives chase.

Soon enough, Abby has fallen down the rabbit hole and has caught up with the Rabbit--but only briefly, as he's still late. Abby starts to give chase, but trips and loses her wand. It lands in the back pocket of the Rabbit, who disappers behind a door that is way too small for Abby to fit through. Luckily for Abby, however, she has the aid of a talking cookie and bottle (and some clever rhyming) to help her enter Wonderland. Almost immediately upon entering this new world, Abby meets the Counterpillar (the Count von Count) and Rose-ita (Rosita). Rose-ita and the Counterpillar tell Abby about all the wonders of being small and counting small things.

Abby returns to her normal size and runs into the Rabbit again. She gives chase to him, running past Tweedle-Dee (Bert) and Tweedle-Dum (Ernie) in an extremely brief (albeit very funny) cameo. Abby loses sight of the Rabbit again and finds herself in the pressence of the Cheshire Cookie Cat (Cookie Monster) who tells her that the Rabbit is probably late for a tea party with the Mad Hatter. Cookie Monster's performance here is probably the highlight of the special--he truly stole the show.

Continuing her quest, Abby meets the Mad Hatter (Grover), the Doormouse (Zoe), and finally catches up to the Rabbit. Abby is overwhelmed with the Mad Hatter's attempts to sell her a hat and is thrusted into the "T-Party" he's throwing. Abby asks the Hatter why he's mad all the time. The Mad Hatter tells her that he is really a Hatter of many emotions and transitions into a peppy song full of numerous hats and feelings.

Abby finally confronts the Rabbit about her wand in his pocket. The Rabbit reveals that the pocket the wand fell into is now agape with a huge hole, "It must've fell out in the woods!" the Rabbit laments. Abby, distraught, returns to the woods in search of her wand. When her quest turns up no wand, even with the help of the Rabbit, she and the Rabbit sing a song about her desire to return home.

Immediately after the song, the Rabbit realizes he's, once again, late, and rushes off to "his majesty's croquet game." Abby takes a few clever turns and winds up in the kingdom of the King of Hearts (ironically portrayed by Oscar the Grouch). The King has Abby's wand in his possession, and tells Abby the only way she can have it back is by beating him at a game of croquet.

Abby takes on the King's challenge, but is thwarted by his cheating ways. The Rabbit and Abby recover the wand from the King in a larger-than-life way, and Abby finally awakes from her dream. After her adventure, Abby has learned that she doesn't need to be bigger or older to do great things, she just has to try.

The special finishes with a new version of "Little Things" performed by Elmo and Abby.

THOUGHTS

I felt this special severely underperformed. Based on earlier expectations for this, I feel like it really didn't come through. I think the short length of the lack of characters may have affected it, but the biggest problem was the short run time.

It would've been nice (and expected) to see Big Bird, Snuffy, Baby Bear, and Telly in special, Wonderland roles, but the short run time really didn't allow for it. There wasn't too much or too little time spent on one part of the story either, it was just too short for the amount of story that needed to be told.

All in all the special was decent for old-school fans, with memorable, scene-stealing appearances from Grover, Cookie Monster, and The Count, and a quick cameo by Ernie and Bert. The lack of Big Bird is extremely disheartening, and the over-inclusion of Elmo IS expected but wasn't all that necessary.

Again, the high points of the special are Grover, The Count, and most of all Cookie Monster, beautifully designed sets, clever writing, and stellar performances all around. The lows are too much Elmo, poorly written songs, lack of certain main-stay characters, and length.

I highly reccomend this DVD to anyone with a son or daughter who loves the show currently, but I don't think hardcore, old-school Sesame fans would enjoy it nearly as much, but I guess that's what you can expect from a release intended for kids.

The songs from Abby in Wonderland are currently playing on Muppet Central Radio (http://www.muppetcentral.com/radio/index.shtml).

frogboy4

10-04-2008, 07:03 PM

Thanks for that review. Phillip should post that on the main site!

:wisdom: A Sesame special without Big Bird just isn't right. It's kind of like a Sesame movie taking place in Grouchland and kicking Oscar to the margins...oh, I guess that did happen. :grouchy:

I do like Abby, but I do see her as Sesame's answer to Dora. She's a marketable character with enough kid appeal that looks good on products. I was rather cynical about her until seeing an appearance on one of the morning shows a while back. She is a sharp-witted little thing.

:batty: The Counterpillar, Grover Hatter and Cheshire Cookie Cat all seem like great ideas. I just feel bad for Zoe and for Prairie Dawn getting her song co-opted by Abby. There was a Muppet girl-power moment that seems to have been missed there.

The Count

10-04-2008, 09:25 PM

Thank you Prawny baby. Send this to Phil, maybe he'll put it up in the Articles section.

Frankly, I'm not surprised TweedleBert and TweedleErnie got such a short cameo, their characters aren't from Wonderland but from Looking Glass Land, the follow-up that almost noone in movie/TV land seems to know off. It's been that kind of mishmash every time we get a new Alice production.
Would've thought they could've made this into something grander than reported at 41 mins. running time by including Big B as the Griffin and Oscar as the Mock Turtle with Grundgetta in the role of the Queen of Hearts.
Oh well, c'est la viv.

theprawncracker

10-04-2008, 09:45 PM

Thank you Prawny baby. Send this to Phil, maybe he'll put it up in the Articles section.
I sent it a little bit earlier. I hope he likes it. I'd love to be a regular contributor.

Oscarfan

10-06-2008, 04:58 PM

Just to let everyone know, this is going to air on PBS on Nov. 28 (My station is at least)

The Shoe Fairy

10-06-2008, 06:55 PM

Can any character be the new Elmo? But on a more serious query... Which Wonderland characters did Rosita and Zoe portray respectively?

Rosita Played Rose-ita, The billingual flower, and Zoe was some sort of mouse, seen with Grover.

I wonder If the DVD will come out in Oz. I saw most of the Sesame Specials at my music store, and at Blockbuster.

Drtooth

10-07-2008, 02:15 PM

Just to let everyone know, this is going to air on PBS on Nov. 28 (My station is at least)

Thank Frog! I don't want to buy this special, and I don't feel like seeing it in theaters. From what it sounds like, SW is up to its old tricks again, and making something that should have been much longer into a 3 year old friendly 40 minute special. And yes Count, thanks for pointing out that every single time we get an Alice project its a mishmosh of the 2 books, all in a blatant attempt to be identical to Disney's version. I have nothing wrong with their version (after all, it's the most iconic- every Mad Hatter I've seen clones Ed Wynne's performance), but I want to see something more close to the book.

Redsonga

10-10-2008, 10:51 PM

I think Grover was the one that stole the show for me, besides showing what a 'hatter' is to the next generation. I wished that they had put that mad was another word meaning crazy, but I guess they wanted to make it as preschool and we in the US friendly as they could :P. I sort of knew how bad it was going to be when I saw how thin Abby's copy of Wonderland was. Whatever happened to showing the classic version? It had pictures (but not as many) and it is not like ether of them can read yet...*sigh* I have a long running hate for shortened versions of classic fairy tales, most of all Alice& Looking Glass, that my ma had a copy of from the 40's with those very detailed pictures with tissue paper over them and use to read to me...

11-01-2008, 01:36 AM

I want to know more about this movie. I seen advertisment during the summer, in a mall... and thought it would be good...

However... when SS did Christmas Carol... i feel i wasted my money.

HUGE fan of Follow that Bird. I can always enjoy that movie. And i thought All the older films (BB in China, BB in Japan... Christmas on SS. Don't eat the pictures [btw, i have offical DVD copies of those listed, except don't eat the pictures... was there one?]) were too amazing. So, its not that i'm too old... SS really has been aiming at current generation children, instead of keeping the same taste they had when i was little... which is NOT a bad thing by any means.

I want to read everyones views on the movie... but hear n there i see little spoilders that i whish not to see lol.... so please, without spoilers... can someone please answer some questions?

1. Will a classic SS fan enjoy watching Abby? I can deal with Elmo. I have to say that because i know alot of older fans can't... and though i came into SS as he was a background character.. i can deal with him.

2. Will a classic SS fan enjoy this movie?

3. How much was changed from the original story? I'm not talkin about the Disney ver. Knowing the story, i care alot less for Disney's ways of ruining stories. Although Disney does a good job ruining and recreating lol.

Is this a mix of Alice in Wonderland and Looking Glass, like Disney?

JEANYLASER

11-01-2008, 02:45 PM

I wait to get it in Disney world for my birthday!

heralde

11-01-2008, 11:49 PM

HUGE fan of Follow that Bird. I can always enjoy that movie. And i thought All the older films (BB in China, BB in Japan... Christmas on SS. Don't eat the pictures [btw, i have offical DVD copies of those listed, except don't eat the pictures... was there one?]) were too amazing. So, its not that i'm too old... SS really has been aiming at current generation children, instead of keeping the same taste they had when i was little... which is NOT a bad thing by any means.

I don't think the current generation would be any less entertained by the older material. People haven't changed as much as people seem to think. ;)

I'm not positive but I don't think Don't Eat the Pictures has ever been on DVD. But I believe it's still available at the Museum giftshops on VHS.

Redsonga

11-02-2008, 10:34 AM

I don't think the current generation would be any less entertained by the older material. People haven't changed as much as people seem to think.

I'm not positive but I don't think Don't Eat the Pictures has ever been on DVD. But I believe it's still available at the Museum giftshops on VHS.

Don't Eat was never on DVD but it is still being sold on VHS, I really need to get a new copy, it was the SS movie I grew up on, I never saw the others until later...

I agree that the current generation would like our SS just fine if they saw it, the nature of being a little kid really hasn't changed as much as the people that made Abby and pulled down the target age group of SS seem to think, and no one is too young for bigger ideas IMHO :).
I don't hate Abby I just wish they had maybe made her a little older or something:). Being girly and happy go lucky is one thing, but to have nearly every new monster they make be the level of Elmo or younger is a bit much IMHO:sympathy:...

Oscarfan

11-02-2008, 03:15 PM

Redsonga

11-02-2008, 04:37 PM

As a kid, whenever I got the old 80's SS videos from the library, I didn't care or know that they were old. The only thing I cared about was that I liked them. I'm sure if kids get exposed to some old SS, I'm sure they'll find it enjoyable.

Me to..when I saw SS clips and cartoons from the 70's on SS I thought they were brand new..I always thought "Gee golly, how do they draw things so fast?" :coy:

heralde

11-02-2008, 05:11 PM

Redsonga

11-02-2008, 05:46 PM

heralde

11-02-2008, 05:58 PM

I don't know about the "confuse" or "challenge" thingie, I mean are they trying to make it to where little ones hardly have a reason to ask questions anymore? :sympathy: Even with my learning disability when I was little I never had much trouble understanding non-dumbed down shows...The worst thing they did was improve my vocabulary:coy:

Yeah it's like everyone in society is downplaying the role of the parent. Kids shouldn't just observe TV or the world alone. Parents are there to answer questions. I think some of this is guilt over how so many more parents are having to work and be away from their kids (which is largely the government's fault!)

Drtooth

11-10-2008, 06:12 PM

Exactly, I don't understand this school of thought that's come around lately that kids don't watch older shows. It does not match the real world. It seems to go along with the trend of making everything safe and simple for kids, so as not to "confuse" or "challenge" them too much.

I blame the creation of Blues Clues... and the fact that too many hack Child Psychologists (the ones that are shifty and have questionable credentials) who are out to say something ridiculous in order to sell books... and Baby Einstein.

Anyway, Abby getting her own DVD is almost a contractual obligation... I mean, she has all this merchandise (again, I reiterate, EXCEPT for a PVC collectible, which I'm still waiting to see), so a DVD story would only make sense.

It seems they should have made a movie, but they made a TV special instead, and I think that royalty reasons and stuff like that kept bonus segments and skits off the DVD. I mean, no brainer... The SS News Flash segment with Alice would probably be great... but then they'd have to get permission from Disney... and all that nonsense.

If there's one thing I think these SS DVD's need is extra segments, new or old. 12 bucks for a 45 minute special... it really needs a bonus of some sort.

Ilikemuppets

11-16-2008, 07:50 PM

The SS News Flash segment with Alice would probably be great... but then they'd have to get permission from Disney... and all that nonsense.Well, they do have permission to use anything with Kermit that they already own. But it could be different fro DVD. I do not know?

Redsonga

11-16-2008, 09:00 PM

I don't really think Disney owns Alice anyway :P. I mean unless she looks exactly like the Disney version :\

Drtooth

11-18-2008, 03:57 PM

It has been confirmed... Abby in Wonderland WILL air the day after Thanksgiving. There's a promo for it that's airing on PBS.

Oscarfan

11-27-2008, 07:28 AM

I've been watching the movie on one of my stations and so far, it's okay. The bets parts are the scenes with Cookie, E&B's short cameo and the T Party, especially the song and Cookie showing up and eating everything.

Drtooth

11-28-2008, 02:51 PM

I think my review will be biased as I didn't have to pay for a 10 dollar copy.....

But I thought it was a very cute little special, myself. Definately felt too short, and like it really needed to at least be a full 50 minutes. But we really got a nice character study on the part of Abby. She is in a rush to grow up, and by the end of her voyage, she realizes that hurrying into things like that causes trouble. It's best to keep looking forward to that day, yet enjoying her life before the time comes. A very valuable lesson, with kids racing to grow up these days.

Ernie and Bert's cameo was brilliant. Unlike I predicted, it seemed like they didn't completely blend the Alice books together ( I don't want to spoil their scene, so I won't say why).

And I have to say, I like how they handled the "Eat Me" and "Drink me" bits. And how Cheshire Cat Cookie's eyes disappeared last of all, in lieu of a toothy smile (as Cookie has no teeth). And Oscar came across villainous all the while staying clear of the "off with her head" thing.

Though, it was interresting to see that Elmo Rabbit was a blend of the White Rabbit and the March Hare... and yes, Grover's sequence may have been the best in the whole special.

So, pretty fun to watch, but as a DVD, it really seems like it should have been bulked up with something else. I give it 2 Wows... Wow Wow!

Oscarfan

11-29-2008, 06:13 PM

One thing I was unhappy about was Zoe as the Door Mouse. Her freaking out at the mention of the word "cat" was not in character for her. I think Telly would been a better choice.

antsamthompson9

03-17-2009, 05:45 PM

I got it for my birthday and I thoght it was good. I was a bit disapointed that Ernie didn't interact with Abby. I've never seen them interact before.

Drtooth

03-18-2009, 09:04 AM

I got it for my birthday and I thoght it was good. I was a bit disapointed that Ernie didn't interact with Abby. I've never seen them interact before.

But don't you remember? Those characters weren;t really in the book, and it's a common misconception :D . Anyone else think that was a shot at Disney?

The Count

03-18-2009, 09:55 AM

Not really, as various productions of Louis Caroll's books get mismashed into one work as I've seen throughout the years.

antsamthompson9

03-18-2009, 03:49 PM

But don't you remember? Those characters weren;t really in the book, and it's a common misconception :D . Anyone else think that was a shot at Disney?
Well, I diden't know untill I saw that scene.

The Shoe Fairy

05-17-2009, 04:37 AM

I finally saw it today. I really enjoyed the special, although it could have been longer, and some parts I thought went for too long. I really enjoyed Cookie's role, I laughed so hard at that, and also at the Grover sequence. The songs were great too, as I have had "My Own Fairy Tale" stuck in my head all day. I really enjoyed it, and it had a nice message. It also seemed a good study on Abby's character and gave a lot of character development.

Drtooth

05-18-2009, 09:25 AM

It also seemed a good study on Abby's character and gave a lot of character development.

Absolutely. If there's one thing I hate about Elmo's World and stuff like that is you see the characters, but you don't see what makes them tick, their drive, their passions... etc. That dulls a character to me. But here we saw Abby explore her inner most desire, and how she comes to terms with it, almost growing up and moving on from it completely. We get to see a character develop and change and grow. Much better than having Abby pop up to say the letters of the day and sing songs about words...

Redsonga

05-23-2009, 02:30 AM

heralde

05-23-2009, 05:21 PM

Redsonga

05-23-2009, 10:56 PM

Well there's nothing wrong with helping other young ones when they get their own fairy tales, hehe. And you know sometimes growing older and away from childhood only makes you appreciate it more. And it doesn't have to mean you give up what you love completely. :)
Of course, but it still seems like a bad deal :P.
Anyway, I thought the message wasn't growing up at all, but more being glad to be who you are. Leaving anything behind wasn't really the point I think...
Besides, why appreciate a memory if you can still live it everyday :excited:? There are plenty of jobs that let you do that...muppets is one of them :3.
Abby on the other hand, she'll always be in fairy tales :)

Drtooth

05-25-2009, 09:10 AM

I'd be sad if Abby moved on from the idea totally..Maybe she just learned that if you are going to pick your own fairy tale you might want to pick something a little less crazy than Alice in Wonderland ;). Of course, the wanting to be grown up part is common when you are really little...
But since she is a fairy being an 'adult' might mean helping in other fairy tales and never having her own after all :\. Maybe she was better off in Wonderland...

I think I should have gone into greater detail... but to me, Abby wanting to be in a fairy tale before she was ready is an allegory for kids who want to grow up too fast, and be like older kids, their parents, or the other kids who act older than they are. Something that's promoted dangerously in our society, even by seemingly innocuous things like Hanna Montana. Abby moving on saying to herself, "I'll get a fairy tale someday," seems like she's maturing up inside, and not superficially. It's like someone who rushed into a relationship, got their heart broken, and realized that they may not be ready for something serious yet.

heralde

05-25-2009, 01:27 PM

Besides, why appreciate a memory if you can still live it everyday :excited:?

Good point, sometimes I'd trade nostalgia for actually having that feeling again every day. :)

It's just that I'm also reminded of a couple lines from Fraggle Rock such as, "lose your heart till it's new" or "You got to leave to stay." Sometimes if we keep things too close, we lose our precious they really are. A little distance makes them new again.

Or from the musical Into the Woods, "If life were only moments, then you'd never know you had one."

Redsonga

05-26-2009, 02:36 PM

I think I should have gone into greater detail... but to me, Abby wanting to be in a fairy tale before she was ready is an allegory for kids who want to grow up too fast, and be like older kids, their parents, or the other kids who act older than they are. Something that's promoted dangerously in our society, even by seemingly innocuous things like Hanna Montana. Abby moving on saying to herself, "I'll get a fairy tale someday," seems like she's maturing up inside, and not superficially. It's like someone who rushed into a relationship, got their heart broken, and realized that they may not be ready for something serious yet.
Okay then, that makes sense :).
I still think Abby would have looked nice as a blue and white snow fairy, then she could have talked about fairy tales and weather:excited:.
Now that I think of it though, Alice in Wonderland isn't really a fairy tale is it? It's more a classic story, like Winnie the Pooh :insatiable:

Drtooth

05-28-2009, 09:45 AM

Now that I think of it though, Alice in Wonderland isn't really a fairy tale is it? It's more a classic story, like Winnie the Pooh :insatiable:

Semantics.... I never quite thought it was a fairy tale, though it could easily be categorized as one, despite the lack of said fairies. But since they typically have king and queen castle settings like that, I guess that's why it's sort of classified as one.

That said, without ragging on the plot, Alice is a very complex story. You think it would be safer for Abby to do something a lot less dangerous and full of chess references.