Alice, Julius, and one other character are in a combined auto/horse race. Julius gets off to a bad start when his car takes off, without him, in the wrong direction; it takes him a while to get it straightened out. Alice and the bad guy battle a bit for the lead, which Alice takes; they pass a detour, which the bad guy changes the sign for. Julius, taking the bad road, eventually drives up a cliff and, after a mighty struggle at the top, makes it, in third place, to the changeover. Alice and the bad guy ride off on horses; Julius has a wind-up wooden horse. Julius' horse keeps breaking down, eventually losing the back legs (Julius uses an empty thought balloon to hold up the rear). Alice's horse jumps a fence, and won't continue. The bad guy looks like he'll win, but Alice makes a mighty leap and knocks him off to win the race
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Reviews
So much average
Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
The movie really just wants to entertain people.
Alice Wins the Derby (1925) *** (out of 4) Alice and her cat Julius entering a two part derby. The first part will have them in an automobile and the second on a horse but they run into a bad guy who also wants to win the races. ALICE WINS THE DERBY is a good entry in the Walt Disney series thanks in large part to some nice animation and some creative minds. I thought the highlight of the film is when Julius goes down a wrong detour street and ends up on a very bumpy road. The alterations he has to make to his car were quite creative and funny. The majority of the film is animation but there are a couple nice sequences where live action is mixed in and especially the one where the live action Alice is riding on the animated horse.