Drum Media Review By Lee Bemrose
Imagine watching a home movie. It's about your life, it features people you know and captures the essence of what you are about. Only thing is, you're not in the home movie and you have never met any of the people in it who you recognise. That will be the feeling every doofer will get upon watching Welcome to Wonderland.
Welcome to Wonderland is a documentary... a doofumentary, if you will... that was several years in the making. It looks at the experiences of several doofers, what doofing means to them, how they became involved and what keeps them coming back. Something happens to certain people when they experience their first bush party, and you know at that moment that doofing is now part of your life. That's what this uplifting DVD nails so well. It also interviews property owners, stall holders and scout clubs who are universally overwhelmed by the good vibe given off by these colourful gatherings of happy freaks of dance.
Director James Short has done a superb job with Welcome to Wonderland. He's an unobtrusive observer, letting the subjects express themselves in their own considered way, and letting the smiles and the dancing speak for themselves. There are tiny, trippy, blink-and-you'll-miss-'em effects throughout the main documentary that are quite funny, and there is some sharp and imaginative editing to maximise the marriage of visual and audio, especially in the dance montages. There is a nice balance here of vox pop, music and dance footage, and all do well to portray what the bush dance scene is all about
If you are a doofer, just get a copy of this DVD, no questions. If you are a non-doofer who's a little curious, also grab a copy. Who knows - it might just be the first step in a wonderful journey.
