Independent Films, Film Profiles

The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland

The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland is the third and last theatrical installment of the Care Bears animated franchise. It was released in the United States and Canada on August 7, 1987 by Cineplex Odeon Films, and is loosely based on Lewis Carroll's Alice stories, with some influence from L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.The sequel marked the return of John Sebastian from the first movie, who performed "Nobody Cares like a Bear" therein; this time around, his contribution was "Has Anybody Seen This Girl?". Singer and songwriter Natalie Cole performed the film’s opening song, "Rise and Shine".Due to the film's box-office shortcomings, the Care Bears would not appear in another movie until 2004's Journey to Joke-a-lot. This was also the last film to feature the Care Bear Cousins.In this last theatrical effort, the Care Bears must rescue the Princess of Wonderland from the Evil Wizard and his assistants, Dim and Dumb, after the White Rabbit shows them a photo of her. After searching the Earth for her, the Bears and their Cousins find a most unlikely replacement, as they call upon an ordinary girl named Alice to save her true look-alike.In the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins' home, the Kingdom of Caring, the White Rabbit of Wonderland arrives and asks for his niece, Swift Heart Rabbit. The White Rabbit quickly tells the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins that it is of utmost importance that they find the Princess of Wonderland, who has gone missing. If she is not found, the evil Wizard of Wonderland will be crowned king, which will be disastrous.The Care Bears and Care Bears cousins agree to help and start their search. Grumpy Bear eventually learns that there is a girl named Alice who looks exactly like the Princess. Alice believes she is an ordinary girl and is surprised when the White Rabbit and Care Bear gang explain the situation to her. She agrees to go to Wonderland with them to act as a temporary "replacement" for the Princess while they search for the real one.Little do they know that, as they are travelling, the evil Wizard is spying on them, aware of the danger that Alice will pose to his plan. He calls for his arachnophobic assistants, Dim and Dumb, on the real Princess' status. They respond that they, upon his orders, have stashed her in the Jabberwocky's cave. The Wizard then commands his minions to prevent Alice from reaching Heart Palace. However, their initial attempt to stop the heroes as a group fails.Alice and her protectors are then paid a visit by a rapping Cheshire Cat who tells them that the Mad Hatter had gone to search for the Princess, but is currently stuck. The Chesire Cat advises the group to split in two: one group will take Alice to the palace while the other group will follow the Mad Hatter's trail and rescue the Princess.Following the Cheshire Cat's advice, Brave Heart takes Grumpy, Swift Heart and Good Luck Bear to find the Hatter. Tenderheart, the White Rabbit and Lotsa Heart will being Alice to the Heart Palace. The Wizard, who witnesses this from his secret hideaway via magical means, orders his two assistants to bring the girl to directly to him. Dim and Dumb succeed at this, resulting in Alice having to face the evil Wizard face-to-face. He taunts her blandness, laughing at the idea that she could fool anyone into believing she is a Princess. Shakened and frightened, Alice runs blindly from him and is shocked when she ends up standing before the royal court and the Queen of Hearts herself. Alice stammers and falters, but the Queen of Hearts rushes to her, quickly proclaiming before the court that Alice is her daughter who has returned, and that the coronation will continue as planned.Later, in secret, it is revealed that the Queen of Hearts knows that the Wizard is responsible for kidnapping the real Princess, but she has no proof. She, along with Tenderheart, Lotsa Heart and the White Rabbit, take to training Alice to act as a princess, so that she may hold the real Princess' place before the coronation begins.Meanwhile, the other group consisting of Grumpy, Good Luck, Brave Heart and Swift Heart, have found the Mad Hatter's trail, which consists of magic hats that hypnotise their wearer and lead them in a specific direction. They eventually arrive at the Jabberwockie's cave, where they meet the Mad Hatter and the real Wonderland Princess. After a brief skirmish, they free her and befriend the Jabberwocky, who reveals his name to be Stan.Back at the palace, the coronation of the new Queen of Wonderland has begun, but before Alice is crowned, the Wizard of Wonderland brings out the Book of Wonder and demands that the "princess" undergo the Princess Test to prove that she is indeed the princess. Alice passes the first test but is stumped at the second test, which requires a princess to cause the flowers in the Sleeping Garden to bloom by her touch alone.The Wizard thinks that he has exposed Alice as a fraud, but he is shocked when the flowers do bloom at her touch. In the heat of the moment he claims that Alice cannot be the real princess because he had her kidnapped, and this confession is witnessed by all. It is then revealed that Alice and the Princess switched places just before the test began, as the Princess had arrived at Heart Palace in the nick of time.