Sideshow dropped a huge reveal this week (at least it was huge to me) in the form of a preview of the newest statue in J. Scott Campbell’s Fairtytale Fantasies: Princess Sultana from The Arabian Nights! She looks absolutely stunning and it was great to hear JSC talk about it a bit on Sideshow’s channel. Of course, that got me to thinking about how I’m not caught up on my reviews of this series, so today I’m going to roll out one that I’ve had on my shelf for a little while. Let’s check out Alice in Wonderland!

Alas, I have the box for this one in storage, but here’s a shot of an art print that I have hanging above where I display her. This was offered a little while back on J. Scott Campbell’s store, which is also where I happened to get the Exclusive Autographed Edition of this statue. I’ve reviewed some of these out of order, with three so far under my belt: The Little Mermaid, Red Riding Hood, and Tinkerbell. But I think, Alice was the third piece released in the series, preceding Red Riding Hood, the most recent release. If you own any Sideshow statues, you should know the drill. She comes sandwiched between two big styrofoam bricks and there’s a little assembly required. Connections are achieved through easily fitted tabs and magnets, and it takes only two shakes of a Cheshire Cat’s tale to get the Alice ready for display!

Alice is a satisfyingly large piece, not necessarily because of her nearly 14-inches in height but the sheer weight of her mushroom base is quite impressive, especially when displayed next to Tinkerbell and Ariel. Every time I move this statue to dust, I’m taken back by how heavy this solid chunk of polyresin is. Alice sits poised on the giant mushroom with her skirt blowing up and a piece of the mushroom in each hand as if deciding which one to eat. Meanwhile, the monstrous Cheshire Cat coils around the base looking up at her with its rictus grimace. The composition is very nicely done with the serene Alice contrasted by the dark and foreboding goings on down below. And as with many of Sideshow’s previous JSC pieces, the colors here are to die for. The blue is so vibrant, matched only by the turquoise and purple of the Cat. Alice’s pale blonde hair has some nice gradient tones and all the paint lines are sharp and immaculate. I particularly dig the high gloss black they used for her shoes. Meanwhile, the mushroom has a bit of a dirty finish on it perhaps suggesting something nefarious about its nature.

Alice’s outfit exhibits that uncanny JSC style of mixing of the cute and innocent nature of Disney with a healthy dose of sex appeal. The striped high stockings with black bow-ties give way to a bare thighs as the frilled trim of her skirt blows up and reveals a flash of panties. Up top you get bare shoulders and an ample dose of cleavages, punctuated with another bowtie front and center and a super glossy red heart pendant hanging around her neck on a sculpted gold chain. The puffy effect on her sleeves is also well done.

And this portrait… oh boy! One of the things I love most about this line is the way the sculptors have captured the 2D style of JSC’s portraits in 3D, and Alice here is just another great example of that. The sweeping curve of her nose, the big, beautiful blue eyes, and the perfect pursed lips are all just dead on gorgeous. What’s more, the paint used for her skin tone is so soft and warm, especially in the cheeks. I may be guilty of saying this every time, but in terms of the portraits, I think this is my favorite of the series so far.

And shifting from the beautiful to the grotesque, check out the mug on the Cheshire Cat! The unsettling wall of teeth are painted with a high gloss to give them a slick, saliva coated sheen. He rests his head on his left front paw while admiring the view above like the dirty kitty he is. Either that or he’s about to bite off her dangling foot. I really dig the way he seems to blend with the mist as if he’s just materialized and his fur has a really cool and surreal look almost akin to crepe paper. The cracks in the edges of the mushroom look great and you get some ribbed texture in the stalk as it rises up out of the swirling mist.

The statue is autographed by Campbell on the back of the mushroom in an almost neon blue marker. Some may have preferred it be more front and center, but I kind of like having it in the back so as not to disrupt the aesthetics of the piece. This way you can have your shroom and eat it too. It’s also somewhat humorous to have the signature right below the panty flash. The Autographed Edition was available in two runs, one with a metal art card and one without. The art card edition was sold out by the time I could get to the website, but I was happy to get this one. This run was 4000 pieces and is hand numbered on the bottom of the base. I got #48 which is by far the lowest numbered Sideshow piece in my collection. It also came with the standard Certificate that is included if you buy signed comics from the JSC store.

Is this my favorite Fairytale Fantasies statue so far? Wow, that’s so hard to say. I do absolutely love it and I think the portrait is up there as one of, if not the best. I also have to give this one props for having such a complex base that really adds a lot of character. Still, I may have to give the nod to Tinkerbell as still being my favorite. I just love the way she’s standing on a compass and her wings are really pretty. It’s so hard to choose one, and I don’t want to hurt any of these ladies’ feelings. Anyway, the regular version of Alice retailed for around $375 and has long since sold out at Sideshow, while this one was just a smidge more at $399 for the Autographed Edition. And as you can see from my display, I have one more in the collection to look at here before I’m all caught up, so maybe I’ll bump Cinderella up to get her time in the spotlight soon.