The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland is a 1987 animated musical fantasy film and the third theatrically released film in the Care Bears franchise. It was released in the United States and Canada on August 7, 1987, by Cineplex Odeon Films, and is based on Lewis Carroll's Alice stories. The fourth feature film made at Toronto's Nelvana studio, it was directed by staff member Raymond Jafelice and produced by the firm's founders (Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith). It starred the voices of Keith Knight, Bob Dermer, Jim Henshaw, Tracey Moore and Elizabeth Hanna. In the film, 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 her photo, the Bears and Cousins search around the Earth for her before enlisting an unlikely replacement, an ordinary girl named Alice, to save her true look-alike. Venturing into Wonderland, the group encounters a host of strange characters, among them a rapping Cheshire Cat and the Jabberwocky.
Adventure in Wonderland was produced and self-financed by Nelvana, after a consortium of American companies helped them with the first two films. Animation was handled by Nelvana and Taiwan's Wang Film Productions. The film featured a musical score by Patricia Cullen along with songs by pop musicians John Sebastian and Natalie Cole. Upon its North American release, the film opened weakly to mixed reviews, and ended up with a $2.6 million gross; worldwide, it barely made back its $5 million cost. In the years since it opened, the film has received a VHS and DVD release in various countries outside North America, where distributors refuse to release it due to various complications involving the negative response of its first sequel, leaving this movie abandoned in the US ever since.
Plot
In Care-a-lot, sometime in the year 1986, between the end of summer, and the beginning of fall, the Care Bears are visited by the White Rabbit, the uncle of Swift Heart Rabbit. The White Rabbit gives the Care Bears the task of finding the missing Princess of Heart, who is to be crowned queen in Wonderland, otherwise the villainous Wizard of Wonderland will gain the throne.
Tenderheart, Grumpy, Good Luck, Brave Heart, Lotsa Heart, Swift Heart and the White Rabbit search all over the world for the Princess, but to no avail. Grumpy is pointed to a girl who resembles the Princess, Alice, who believes she is not special. The Care Bears decide that Alice could act as the Princess until the real one is found. The group is separated by the power of the Wizard, forcing Grumpy, Swift Heart and the White Rabbit to use a rabbit hole to reach Wonderland.
In Wonderland, Tenderheart's group gain directions to Heart Palace from Officer Caterpillar. The Wizard sends his minions Dim and Dum (loosely based on Tweedledum and Tweedledee from Alice Through The Looking Glass) to capture Alice using large battle robots, but the Care Bears defeat them with a Care Bear Stare. Grumpy's group reunite with the others as the Cheshire Cat appears, portrayed as a rapper. The Cheshire Cat splits the group of two, directing Tenderheart, Lotsa Heart, Alice and the White Rabbit to Heart Palace, and Brave Heart, Grumpy, Good Luck and Swift Heart to look for the Mad Hatter, who knows where the Princess is. The Wizard captures Alice briefly and explains to her that when he rules he will make Wonderland less insane and more controlled. Alice flees and runs into the Queen of Hearts' throne room, where the Queen accepts Alice as her daughter whilst knowing she is not. Brave Heart's group locate the Mad Hatter who takes them to the lair of the Jabberwocky, where the Princess is. Grumpy rescues the princess, but the Jabberwocky gets a thorn in his foot which is removed by the Care Bears. In gratitude, the Jabberwocky (or "Stan" as he prefers to be called) decides to help them back to Heart Palace.