The 25th Animafest Zagreb finds its thematic backbone in the contemporary literary classic, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, published exactly 150 years ago. The world from the other side of a rabbit hole playing with logic is equally attractive to both children and adults, and exceptionally inspiring to animation. It is no wonder that the book saw many animated adaptations, with Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (1951) as one of the most successful feature classics. 

We are very pleased to be able to look back at Disney’s Alice and also see some other feature approaches to the theme, like the one by great Czech surrealist Jan Švankmajer (Alice / Něco z Alenky), who perceived the story as an immoral dream. A small treat is also Little from the Fish Shop by Czech puppet film master Jan Balej.

Animafest Zagreb is preparing two intriguing short film sections referring directly or indirectly to Alice and partly consisting of 18+ films which are not suitable for children. The first section includes direct adaptations of Alice, with two Disney’s short films, from 1923 and 1936, followed by Jabberwacky from Švankmajer’s earlier phase, a curious interpretation of Alice commissioned by the American Mental Health Institute, and a surreal sexual film by Vince Collins Malice in Wonderland. 

The other section includes films inhabited by unusual creatures like unicorns, twisted polygonal 3D bodies or diverse rabbits.