Your Thoughts: Abby in Wonderland

[Phillip Chapman]

The long-awaited DVD release "Abby in Wonderland" 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, 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 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]

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]

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]

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.

[BEAR]

Originally Posted by Son of Enik

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]

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. Ah well... at least Cookie Monster stole the show.

[frogboy4]

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!

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

[The Count]

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]

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(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.

[frogboy4]

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

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.

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.

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]

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]

Originally Posted by The Count

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]

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

[The Shoe Fairy]

Originally Posted by The Count

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]

Originally Posted by Oscarfan

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.