Like the first Care Bears Movie, Adventure in Wonderland received mixed reviews from critics. Henry Herx in The Family Guide to Movies and Videos deemed it a "vastly superior sequel" to the "failed original": "[It is] a lively, colourful, complexly designed and orchestrated travelolgue through Wonderland ... Director Raymond Jafelice holds even adult interest with his fast cuts and engaging fantasy characters." while the Bantam Books guide, Movies on TV and Video Cassette gave it two and a half stars out of four and called it "Enjoyable [...] for the tyke set." The 1988–1989 edition of the Film Review called it "the best of the trio", adding that it "may well please the youngsters" with its "non-stop entertainment"; this view was also shared by Carole Kass of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. John Teerds of Brisbane, Australia's Sunday Mail wrote of the film positively, while another Australian critic, Rob Lowing of Sydney's The Sun-Herald, gave it two and a half stars out of four and noted that there was "Nothing original here, although that also means nothing to shock". Similarly, the Christian Science Monitor wrote that "The animated action holds few surprises for grown-ups, but the cute characters and fetching designs should enthrall young children."
