ALICE IN WONDERLAND

A rhymed version of the classic, compressed into just 12 screens thickly strewn with touch-activated trifles.

“A pretty girl named Alice sat by the stream one day, / She was clever and nice, but had no friend with whom to play.” Viewers can read this literary lowlight to themselves, listen to a saccharine audio or even record their own version. The best option of all removes the text from view entirely with the tap of a button. This leaves a dozen bland, brightly colored cartoon views of an expressionless, doll-like blonde lass in a blue pinafore shrinking, growing (“Mm! A cookie!”) and encountering various odd creatures. These include the usual suspects: a Mad Hatter with an array of headgear options, a sniggering purple Cheshire cat and a Queen who explodes into cards at Alice’s accusatory “Hey, you!” In each scene, taps release sprays of hearts or sparkles, activate exclamations or other sound effects and set off slow animations. Seven screens also include several drag-and-drop jigsaw pieces. The app is available for a nominal charge or in a free version with large pop-up ads.

A sticky-sweet rendition, with none of the original’s pungency or strangeness.