The Series That Every Alice In Wonderland Fan Should Watch On Disney+
Once you look beyond the classic Disney movies and Marvel films, Disney+ is full of hidden gems you may have never seen — including a show that's perfect for Alice in Wonderland fans. In 2013, ABC premiered a spin-off of the network's hit series Once Upon a Time called Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. The spin-off featured a few crossover characters from the original series, but instead of taking place in Storybrooke, Maine, the bulk of the action occurred in the magical realms of Wonderland and Agrabah.
Thanks to its thoroughly magical setting, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland was steeped in the kind of magic that makes Alice in Wonderland such an enduring classic. The series kicks off with Alice (Sophie Lowe) returning home to Victorian England full of stories about her adventures in Wonderland, but her father fears she's gone mad and has her committed. If not for a daring rescue from the Knave of Hearts (Michael Socha) and the White Rabbit (who is voiced by John Lithgow), the young adventurer would have been lobotomized.
As you may have surmised from the foiled lobotomy attempt, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland is a bit darker than the original Once Upon a Time. But it's certainly not a bleak show — it's just not one to shy away from the dangerous nature of Wonderland, a world where the Jabberwocky and the Red Queen are constant threats, or the even more frightening reality of being a woman with any sort of fantastical tale during the Victorian era.
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland mixing elements from Alice in Wonderland and Aladdin
When the fantasy series premiered in 2013, it never took off in quite the same way as Once Upon a Time did, but that shouldn't deter fans of Alice adaptations from checking it out. Clocking in at just 13 episodes, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland tells a complete story over the course of its first season. And it's one that will satisfy your craving for adventures in Wonderland, as well as a good old-fashioned love story.
In addition to the Wonderland elements, portions of the series take place in Agrabah, which is where the genie Cyrus (Peter Gadiot) originally hails from. Cyrus happens to be Alice's one true love, but due to his genie curse, his magic is sought after by both the Red Queen (Emma Rigby), and Jafar, played with mustache-twisting glee by Lost's Naveen Andrews. With Cyrus being held captive for much of the season, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland allows Alice to be the hero of her own story — just as she is in the book and the Disney movie.
Alongside the Knave, she traverses Wonderland running into magical characters like the Caterpillar and the Cheshire Cat along the way as she searches for a way to free Cyrus. The end result is a whimsical, fun fantasy series with real emotional stakes and a few genuinely frightening moments that deserves more recognition. If you're an Alice in Wonderland devotee, then this wonderfully weird little show is the perfect series to marathon on Disney+ — and it also makes for great co-viewing if you have any older kids in your family who love the magic of Wonderland, too.