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 studio Nelvana Limited, it was directed by staff member Raymond Jafelice and produced by the firm's founders (Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith).
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.
The film featured a musical score by Patricia Cullen along with songs by pop musicians John Sebastian and Natalie Cole.
The Care Bears, Alice, and the Wonderland characters confront the Wizard but the appearance of the Jabberwocky drives the villain insane, and he is arrested.
[8] Nelvana had also begun production of a Care Bears television series set to air on the ABC network in the U.S., and Global in Canada.
[6] Jack Chojnacki, the co-president of American Greetings' licensing division Those Characters from Cleveland,[13] served as a creative consultant on this instalment;[6] for the previous ones, he was an executive producer.
[3] According to the Long Island newspaper Newsday, Cineplex Odeon chairman Garth Drabinsky "shrugged off [this film] as 'a favour to the Canadian producer.
'"[16] Tie-ins appeared at department stores as part of the film's promotion; also, costumed Care Bears spread the word at daycare centres, hospitals and parades, and through radio.
Adventure in Wonderland only managed to break even with worldwide earnings of US$6,000,000,[4][nb 5] which led Nelvana co-founder Michael Hirsh to say, "It was just one sequel too many.
[43] Starting in March 1988, it was screened in matinees across the United Kingdom[44] by Virgin Films,[45] as part of an agreement with the local branch of 20th Century Fox.
[46] As late as 1992, distribution rights in France were held by NDP, who released it as Les Bisounours au pays des merveilles.
[49] Elsewhere in Europe, it is known as As Aventuras dos Ursinhos Carinhosos (in Portugal),[50] Krambjörnarna i Underlandet (in Sweden),[51] and Troskliwe Misie w Krainie Czarów (in Poland).
Henry Herx in The Family Guide to Movies and Videos deemed it a "vastly superior sequel" to the "failed original": "[It is] a lively, colourful, complexly designed and orchestrated travelolgue through Wonderland ... Director Raymond Jafelice holds even adult interest with his fast cuts and engaging fantasy characters",[62] while the Bantam Books guide Movies on TV and Video Cassette gave it two and a half stars out of four and called it "Enjoyable [...] for the tyke set.
"[63] The 1988–1989 edition of the Film Review called it "the best of the trio", adding that it "may well please the youngsters" with its "non-stop entertainment";[64] this view was also shared by Carole Kass of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
[65] John Teerds of Brisbane, Australia's Sunday Mail wrote of the film positively,[66] while another Australian critic, Rob Lowing of Sydney's The Sun-Herald, gave it two and a half stars out of four and noted that there was "nothing original here, although that also means nothing to shock".
[54] Similarly, the Christian Science Monitor wrote that "The animated action holds few surprises for grown-ups, but the cute characters and fetching designs should enthrall young children.
"[67] In her New York Times review, Caryn James said, "[The] movie is paced so it won't strain the attention span of a 6-month-old, but there is nothing to spark a child's imagination.
[72] Halliwell's Film Guide called it "Undemanding and uninteresting whimsy for the under-sixes",[5] while London's Time Out referred to it as "Hemlock to Lewis Carroll fans.
[74] Adventure in Wonderland was nominated for Best Music Score (by Patricia Cullen) and Best Original Song ("Rise and Shine" by Maribeth Soloman) at the 1987 Genie Awards in Canada.