The output of Walt Disney Animation Studios–currently totaling 54 full-length films–has been cherished by audiences young and old for almost 80 years. In this weekly online feature, arts and entertainment editor Nathan Tucker will review and rank each of them.

Alice in Wonderland suffers from the major problem that plagues Disney’s adaptations of British work: compared to the original, it has sacrificed subtlety for a frantic kineticism and “shouty” performance. But Alice is different in one crucial way: it turns these symptoms into strengths, letting its animators cut loose for the most visually inventive film Disney ever released.

Sure, other Disney pictures might be more aesthetically stunning or technically impressive, but the animation in Alice is the most consciously clever piece of work the studio ever put out. Carrol’s novel was a web of wordplay; the film version wisely comes up with its own alternative of shifting color, lines, and proportions. Disney’s previous films had consistently great gags but were limited in how far they could stretch their setpieces by a rough idea of reality. Alice abandons any reality whatsoever within its first five minutes, and is significantly better off for it.

The finished product is a tremendous triumph of style over substance. Alice’s story is scant and what little it has been borrowed wholesale from The Wizard of Oz. But the verve of the visuals makes that irrelevant: episodes as eye-catching as the Mad Tea Party, Alice growing and shrinking through the Rabbit’s house, and the final swim through a rapidly dissolving Wonderland do not require an overarching narrative arc. The only necessary item here is strong visual style and the combination of Sir John Tenniel’s illustrations with Mary Blair’s modern color palette handily qualifies.

Alice in Wonderland is bizarre, amazing, and utterly unassuming when it comes to both. The ease with which each visual setup is accomplished betrays a collective genius, the kind that can make ingenuity look effortless. That this film in particular maintains a natural spontaneity in the face of brazen weirdness is a testament to the quality of the Disney Animation Studio during this era.

The List:

1. Bambi
2. Alice in Wonderland
3. Fantasia
4. Pinocchio
5. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
6. Cinderella
7. Dumbo
8. Melody Time
9. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
10. Fun and Fancy Free
11. Saludos Amigos
12. Make Mine Music
13. The Three Caballeros