01x25 - Up and Anthem

[bunniefuu]

[upbeat music playing]

Dinah, this is Paris,
where my pen pal Yvette lives.

Paris is the capital of France.

The capital of a country is the main city
where all the country's leaders work,

in case you didn't know.

Yvette also sent me a picture
of the French flag. See?

[Dinah meows]

Every country has its own flag.
I learned that in geography class.

Some countries even have
national flowers and birds.

I bet they even have national dogs.

In France, I suppose the national dog
would be the French poodle.

Come on, Dinah. Just teasing.

Boy. You're in a mood.

Better leave you alone for a while.

[mystical music playing]

[theme music playing]

♪ Hold on to your seat
Let's go for a ride ♪

♪ Now that we're here
On the other side ♪

♪ Use your imagination
And you'll understand ♪

♪ It's an adventure in Wonderland ♪

♪ Every day is something new ♪

♪ With music, rhyme, and a dance or two ♪

♪ It's a curious place
With a wonderful crew ♪

♪ And you're never quite sure
What they will do ♪

♪ Use your imagination
You'll understand ♪

♪ It's an adventure in Wonderland ♪

♪ Adventure in Wonderland ♪

♪ Adventure in Wonderland ♪

[playing fanfare]

[chuckles] Welcome, welcome, everyone,

and happy Red Queen Day.

[all] Happy Red Queen Day!

And now presenting our most esteemed
and lovable sovereign,

the Red Queen.

[crowd applauding and cheering]

Thank you, thank you,
my dearest loyal subjects.

And happy... Well, happy my day.

[applause stops]

Psst.

Shouldn't they be singing to me?

Oh, of course, Your Majesty.

And now we will all sing
the Wonderland national anthem,

"The Regal Red Queen of Wonderland."

Um, do we have to?

Yes.

[crowd clearing throats]

[plays note on pitch pipe]

[crowd]
♪ Oh, the regal Red Queen of Wonderland ♪

♪ Is a very, very, very wise queen ♪

♪ She's the cream of the crop ♪

♪ She's the woman at the top ♪

♪ We are blessed with the best ♪

Oh.

♪ She's our ♪

-[on high note] ♪ Queen ♪
-[glass shattering]

Second verse! Same as the first!

♪ Oh, the regal Red Queen of-- ♪

[Red Queen] Hold it!

[clears throat]
Is there a problem, Your Majesty?

What's the matter with all of you?

Your singing must have broken
half of the crystal glasses in the palace.

It's not our fault.

It's that song. It's unsingable.

[gasps]

-[shouting] If you ask me, the--
-Oh!

[in normal voice]
The tune needs a tune-up.

How true that is.

Is not. Is not.

I wrote that song, and it's fine.

The problem is
you weren't singing it properly.

Enough!

Alice, what did you think
of the Rabbit's anthem?

It's a nice song.

To tell you the truth...

that one note is a little hard to sing.

I agree. This song does not work.

But you approved it before.

Now I disapprove it.

-It's a sorry excuse for an anthem.
-Oh!

I hereby order

-that a new song be written.
-Oh!

In a fact, I decree
a Wonderland national-anthem competition.

-[crowd gasps]
-Any questions?

[crowd clamors]

-Mr. Hatter.
-Mm-hm, mm-hm. Yeah, uh...

How do we enter this competition?

Simply write a new anthem
and let me be the judge of it.

-Oh, Your Majesty! Ooh!
-Hare.

What happens to the person
who writes the winning song?

The winner will be named
the official Wonderland songwriter.

[crowd] Ooh. Ah.

But-- But-- But
I'm the official Wonderland songwriter.

Sorry. Not anymore.

You'll have to enter the contest
along with everyone else.

Time for one more question.

Your Majesty!

Tweedle Dum.

Uh, Tweedle Dee.

Oh, whatever. sh**t.

[clears throat]
Any rules for writing this new anthem?

Only one.

It must be singable.

[regal music playing]

♪ Give me a singable song ♪

♪ With music strong and sweet ♪

♪ Oh, give me a hummable tune ♪

♪ A tune that will bring a crowd
To its feet ♪

♪ As a catchy a song
As a nation has had ♪

♪ One that will make
All of our hearts glad ♪

♪ With a melody that stays in the mind ♪

♪ And a rhythm that won't be left behind ♪

♪ Give me a singable song ♪

♪ I need an anthem
To thrill the throng ♪

♪ Give me a chorus so fine ♪

♪ Where the lyrics flow
From line to line ♪

♪ Write me a song so thoroughly grand ♪

♪ It calls to be played
By a 50-piece band ♪

♪ Deliver to me a toe-tapper ♪

♪ A bona fide foot-stomping
Finger-snapper ♪

[crowd snapping]

♪ Just give me a singable song ♪

♪ Not too short and not too long ♪

♪ Just one singable song ♪

That's it. Off you go, everyone.
And may the best song win.

[crowd chattering]

Oh! Carrot sticks!

No, thank you.

But I'll take fish sticks
if you have them.

I'm in no mood for kitty comedy, Cat.

All broken up
over the queen's glassware, eh?

The glassware isn't the problem.

It's how they got broken
in the first place

that really singes my whiskers.

So I heard.

That song of yours
was a shattering experience. [laughs]

It was not my song.

It was the completely wrong way
everyone sang it.

So are you going to take a crack
at writing a new song for the contest?

Of course not.

My old anthem is perfect
just the way it is-- It is.

You sure have a funny definition
of "perfect."

The queen better buy
some unbreakable glassware.

[laughing]

If you ask me, the queen should buy
everyone in Wonderland singing lessons.

Still...

I wonder...

What if someone does write a song
that's almost as good... [gasps]

...or even better than mine?

[both] ♪ Folks are happy
The flowers bloom ♪

[singing different notes]
♪ Bloom, bloom, bloom ♪

Hi! How's your anthem coming?

Oh, hi, Alice. Okay, I guess.

We've written pretty good words,
but the music's not quite there yet.

It needs something. More of a beat.

Oh, yeah. Our anthem needs
to be exciting, different.

[jazzy tune playing]

That was different, all right.

Uh, that wasn't me.
Those keys played by themselves.

[purrs] Not quite. I helped.

[hums]

Um, excuse me,
but we were practicing our winning anthem.

So will you please be so kind as to scat?

Ohh. I thought you never ask.
I'd love to scat.

[purrs]

[scatting]

What was that?

The Cat sang scat.
Jazz music, only you sing it.

Getting back to our music,
we need something to jazz it up,

-if you know what I mean.
-Okay.

The way I see it,
the problem with most anthems

is that they're too slow and serious.

So let's lighten ours up.

[playing lively jazz music]

That's it! Let's try it.

[playing upbeat ragtime music]

♪ Things couldn't be better ♪

♪ We really like it a lot ♪

♪ It's never rainin'
We're not complainin' ♪

♪ We love the life we got ♪

[both] ♪ The folks are happy
The flowers bloom ♪

♪ There's lots of laughin'
And plenty of room ♪

♪ It's never, ever, ever, ever
Ever a drag ♪

♪ We're happy to be singin'
This Wonderland rag ♪

♪ We can dance in the mornin' ♪

♪ We can dance in the night ♪

♪ The sky is sunny
The jokes are funny ♪

♪ And everything is all right ♪

[both] ♪ The folks are happy
The flowers bloom ♪

♪ There's lots of laughin'
And plenty of room ♪

♪ It's never, ever, ever, ever
Ever a drag ♪

♪ We're happy to be singin' ♪

♪ This Wonderland rag ♪

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! ♪

Now, that's great.

With a song like that,
we'll win the anthem contest for sure.

[Rabbit] I wouldn't be so sure.

Why not? Didn't you like it?

Oh, yes, yes, I...

I liked it.

It's just that, uh,
well, I know the queen.

She's very particular, you know.

In fact, if I were you, I'd write
another song completely different.

Uh, we don't have time
to write another song before the contest.

Oh, well. Too bad.

But, then, songwriting isn't something
everyone is good at, you know.

Oh! Look at the time.
I must be going. Goodbye.

Boy. If he acts like that
when he likes a song,

think how he must act
if he doesn't like it.

What do you say, Alice?
Should we rewrite our anthem?

I'm not an expert
on music like Mr. Rabbit,

but I like your song the way it is.

Me too. Come on, Dum.
Let's keep practicing.

Yep. See you at the contest.

[classical music playing on headphones]

[Rabbit] And then
the queen decided to a hold a contest

for a new Wonderland anthem.

Can you believe that?

And all because
no one could sing the song I wrote.

Oh, it's so difficult
being a gifted and brilliant songwriter.

You know, I...

I say, it's difficult
being a gifted and brilliant...

It's tough...

-[music stops]
-[splutters]

Oh. Sorry.

I was just listening to a bit of music
by my favorite composer,

Ludwig van Bugthoven.

Yes, wel--

Yes. Well...

Well, as I was saying,

it's not my fault
if no one else can sing the songs I wrote.

Can you sing it?

Of course!

Can I sing it?

[plays note]

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

♪ Oh, the regal Red Queen of Wonderland ♪

♪ Is a very, very, very wise queen ♪

♪ She's the cream of the crop ♪

♪ She's the woman at the top ♪

♪ We are blessed with the best ♪

♪ She's our ♪

-[on high note] ♪ Queen ♪
-[glass shatters]

Ye-- Yes.
Well, I've a bit of a sore throat,

or I would have sung
that last part better.

Hmm. I see.

The point is, the queen could listen
to new songs until the cows come home.

She'll never hear an anthem
as good as mine.

Till the cows come home, you say?

-Yes.
-That reminds me of a story.

Once there was a cowboy
who had a bit of a problem.

His herd of cows
just couldn't seem to sleep at night.

[cows lowing]

The cowboy had to do something.

Not only were his cows tired
every day from lack of sleep...

but they were keeping the cowboy up
all night too.

[moos]

The cowboy decided to try singing
to his cows to help them sleep.

[electric guitar wailing]

The first song he played was too loud.

-[clears throat] Yoo-hoo.
-Huh?

-[grunts]
-Oh.

[playing lively country music]

[Caterpillar] The second song he played
was too much of a toe-tapper.

[chuffs]

But the third song he played
was a soft lullaby.

And lo and behold...

it worked.

Finally, everyone on the ranch
got a good night's sleep.

-[snores]
-[knocking on door]

Well, almost everyone.

Aw. [chuckles]

[playing lullaby]

[both snoring]

Hmm. Interesting story.

But, uh...

what I'd really like to know is,

are you writing a song
for the Wonderland anthem contest too?

No. I prefer story writing.

Songwriting has never been my... forte.

It's never been something
I'm good at, that is.

Well, songwriting is my forte.

Of course, I don't have to tell you that.
You heard how lovely my anthem was.

However, for some reason,
the queen wants a new one.

I can't imagine why.

So you already finished
writing your anthem?

Yes, and it's a musical masterpiece.

If I do say so myself. [chuckles]

We just need to decide
the best instruments on which to play it.

Unless we should sing it a cappella.

A propeller? That's brilliant.

We'll play our anthem
while flying by on an airplane.

It'll be incredible.

Not a propeller. A cappella. It's Italian.

It means to sing without
any musical instruments playing along.

We'll sound better with instruments.

Well, in that case, let's try this.

A gong! You never told me
you played in a marching band.

Wait. Your high-school marching band
didn't really have a gong in it, did it?

Certainly not. We had 43 of them.

You could barely hear them
with all the noise the cellos made.

-Give it a try, Hare.
-Oh!

[clears throat] Fore!

Thank you.

Maybe singing your anthem a cappella
isn't such a bad idea after all.

She has a point.

No sense giving up so easily.

I know I've got
some other musical instruments up here.

This looks like it used to be a trombone.

Yes. I don't play it much anymore.

Always sounds a little flat.

No. We need a musical instrument

that can play the soft delicate tones
of our lovely anthem.

An instrument of grace, of quiet elegance.

[tuba honks]

Perfect! Let's go!

[zany music playing]

Oh. Hat.

Oh! Oh. [splutters]

Oh! Oof.

Whoa!

Oh!

Have a seat, Alice.

Whoa! Lookie here.

Isn't that handy?

Okay. Does everyone have
their instruments and their hats?

-I've got mine too.
-[Mad Hatter] So you do.

In that case, let's begin our anthem.

-It's a little ditty we like to call...
-"The Wonderland Polka."

Mousetro, if you please?

And a one, and a two, and a...

Yay!

[playing upbeat polka music]

♪ This is the Wonderland Polka ♪

♪ What a wonderful, wondrous place ♪

♪ It's the land we truly embrace ♪

♪ It's a lovely space
But we must race ♪

♪ To put the polka break
In the right place, whoo! ♪

♪ Yeah, sure ♪

♪ I said this is the Wonderland Polka ♪

♪ What a wonderful, wondrous place ♪

♪ It's not a dream
It's just what it seems ♪

♪ Upside down, inside out
And also in between ♪

♪ This is the Wonderland Polka ♪

♪ And we're singing its praises today ♪

♪ But now we've got
A roaring polka to play ♪

♪ Uff da, Hare
Let's take it away ♪

-What do you think?
-That was great.

There's a girl who knows good music.

Come on. It's off to the contest.

Good luck!

Bye-bye.

You sound terrific!

-You don't have to rub it in.
-[Dormouse] Huh?

[sighs]

What's wrong, Rabbit?

Let me ask you a question.
I know you have a good ear for music.

Two good ears.

Yeah-- Yes.

The question is, did you really like
the Hatter and Hare's anthem?

I loved it.

I laughed, I cried, I squeaked!

Yes, it is a good anthem, isn't it?

The Tweedles' anthem is good as well.

Though I was too jealous to say so.

It's time I faced the music.

My days as official Wonderland songwriter
are at an end.

Didn't you write a new anthem
for the contest?

No. I was so sure that no one
would write a song as good as mine

I didn't write a single new note.

Hmm. Speaking of a single new note,
maybe that's what you could do.

Come here.

-[whispering indistinctly]
-[gasps] Oh. Oh.

[all playing instruments
and singing indistinctly]

[all playing instruments
and singing indistinctly]

Silence!

The Wonderland National Anthem Contest
will now begin.

Shouldn't we wait for the White Rabbit?

Oh. We can't start the whole contest late

just because
he can't keep track of the time.

Contestant Number 1.

That's us.

[playing upbeat ragtime music]

♪ Things couldn't be better ♪

♪ We really like it... ♪

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! ♪

[exclaims]

Wonderful!

A truly toe-tapping anthem.
It's the best song I've heard so far.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

But it's the only song
you've heard so far.

What's your point?

Contestant Number 2.

Oh, oh, oh!

[clears throat]

And a one, and a two...

[playing upbeat polka music]

Yes!

That sure is a fun anthem.

Yes, but what won't be fun
is deciding what anthem is the winner.

They both are quite good.

It's too bad Mr. Rabbit isn't coming.

Yes, but what's a queen to do?

Hmm! It's time to pick a winner.

[clearing throat]

I hereby declare

that the Wonderland
National Anthem Contest--

Wait! [screams]

[Rabbit crashing]

Sorry I'm late, Your Majesty.

I had a slight problem
with a broken watch.

-You know...
-[Red Queen] Hmm.

-Well, you made it. Barely.
-Yes.

Do you have an anthem to perform?

Yes, Your Majesty.

But before I sing it,

I would just like to say
that the song you're about to hear

may sound a teensy tiny bit familiar.

I'll be the judge of that. Sing.

Yeah-- Yeah.

Take our spot there.

Tsk. [clears throat]

♪ Oh, the regal Red Queen of Wonderland ♪

Hold it!

That song isn't
a teensy tiny bit familiar.

It's very familiar.

Did you think I wouldn't notice
that you're singing the same old song?

Please, Your Majesty.
Trust me, it's not exactly the same.

Hmm. For the sake of the royal glassware,
I hope he's right.

[clears throat]

♪ Oh, the regal Red Queen of Wonderland ♪

♪ Is a very, very, very wise queen ♪

♪ She's the cream of the crop ♪

♪ She's the woman at the top ♪

♪ We are blessed with the best ♪

-Cover your ears!
-Every hare for himself!

♪ She's our ♪

[on low note] ♪ Queen ♪

Hey. I didn't hear any glass shattering.

Me neither.

Because the song isn't the same.

I finally realized
it wasn't perfect after all.

So I changed my tune.

[upbeat music playing]

♪ I thought I was right
So very, very right ♪

♪ It was hard to admit
I was a little bit wrong ♪

♪ Way down inside
I pushed away my pride ♪

♪ And I started thinking
About my song ♪

♪ I changed my tune ♪

♪ Not a minute too soon ♪

♪ I changed my tune
Now it's better to croon ♪

♪ You've all worked hard
So very, very hard ♪

♪ And the songs you wrote
Have got what it takes ♪

♪ I had to listen twice
But I took your advice ♪

♪ Now when my song is sung
Nothing breaks ♪

♪ I changed my tune ♪

♪ And not a minute too soon ♪

♪ I changed my tune
Now it's better to croon ♪

♪ I changed my tune
Now it's better to [on high note] croo-- ♪

Oops. [chuckles]

[on low note] ♪ Croon ♪

I'm very proud of you, Rabbit.

It's never easy to admit
you are wrong about something.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

In fact...

in the unlikely event I'm ever wrong,
I'm going to remember what you did.

Uh, what about the anthem-writing contest?

Right. You still have to pick a winner,
Your Majesty.

Well, uh, I think you'll all agree
that all of the anthems were very good.

How true that is.

[clears throat]

But when it comes down to it,
only one of the anthems was about me.

Therefore, I hereby declare
the Rabbit the winner.

Oh!

-Congratulations, Mr. Rabbit.
-You must be very proud.

Oh! I always cry at these things.

[nose honks]

Rabbit, you're still
the official Wonderland songwriter.

And what do you think about that?

I think it's music to my ears.

-Your ears.
-Uff da!

[Mad Hatter & Hare playing
upbeat polka music]

[pop music playing on radio]

Dinah, how did you turn on that radio?

I didn't know you were such a music lover.

What a good dancer you are, Dinah.

You know,
this is one of my favorite songs.

-Can you sing too?
-[meows]

You sure can.

Just one little word of advice.

Watch out for those high notes.

♪ You happened to look my way ♪

[theme music playing]

♪ That's all for now
But we'll see you again ♪

♪ Come back real soon
Now that we're all friends ♪

♪ Where every day is something new ♪

♪ With music, rhyme, and a dance or two ♪

♪ Use your imagination
And you'll understand ♪

♪ It's an adventure in Wonderland ♪

♪ Adventure in Wonderland ♪

♪ Adventures in Wonderland ♪