Tina Majorino played the lead role of Alice and a number of well-known performers portrayed the eccentric characters whom Alice meets during the course of the story, including Ben Kingsley, Martin Short, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Ustinov, Christopher Lloyd, Gene Wilder, George Wendt, Robbie Coltrane and Miranda Richardson.

Nagged by her governess (Dilys Laye) and facing stage fright, an audience of strangers and a song she dislikes, Alice runs out of the house and hides in the woods.

She meets Mr Mouse (Ken Dodd) and his avian friends who attend his boring history lecture and participate in a Caucus Race.

The White Rabbit and his gardeners Pat (Jason Byrne) and Bill (Paddy Joyce) attempt to remove Alice but she shrinks to a tiny size.

In a nearby manor house she meets the musical Duchess (Elizabeth Spriggs), her baby, her pepper-obsessed, plate-throwing cook (Sheila Hancock) and the Cheshire Cat (Whoopi Goldberg).

Alice once again finds the small door and this time manages to enter the garden, which unfortunately turns out to be a labyrinth maze belonging to the Queen of Hearts (Miranda Richardson).

Having the flowers help her, Alice walks off and meets Tweedledum and Tweedledee (Robbie Coltrane and George Wendt), who have some antics with her such as telling the story of The Walrus and the Carpenter before getting into a fight.

Alice is then chased by clouds and taken by a pair of card soldiers to the royal court, where the Knave of Hearts (Jason Flemyng) is put on trial for apparently stealing the Queen's tarts.

In December 2018, composer Richard Hartley was interviewed for Tammy Tuckey's "Rattling the Stars" podcast about his work on the film for the 20th anniversary, providing never-before-heard stories.

[7] David Zurawik gave the film a positive review in The Baltimore Sun, calling it a "grand and magical production" and praising the cast's performances, particularly Majorino and Wilder.