First Look: Burton Goes Insane with ‘Alice in Wonderland’

Posted by Dr. Cole Abaius (cole.abaius@filmschoolrejects.com) on June 22, 2009

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Back in November we posted an image that we thought was fanmade featuring a Johnny Depp Mad Hatter that looked a lot like someone’s grandmother. Now it’s looking like that image might have actually been, seriously, one of the concept images for the production. Weird how that happens. At least, judging by the first official pictures to come out of the production anyway.

Drop some acid, and check them out for yourself:

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As you can see, Depp actually looks a lot like the original picture from back in November – crazy red hair, manic eyes and what look like Ron Weasley’s dress robes. Helena Bonham Carter (surprise! she’s in it!) looks like she’s got an incredibly sexy receding hair line, and Anne Hathaway as The White Queen has a very Gandalf the White look to her. I suppose that last one might have inevitable.

I can’t figure out for the life of me whether these images for Alice in Wonderland are creative or not. Here’s why: Tim Burton has a fantastic mind, but we’ve come to expect a certain style from him. So when he delivers on that style, it almost seems like he’s not trying even though he’s delivering exactly what we’d want from him.

Meanwhile, the full shots of the world he’s created do look absolutely gorgeous, so that’s a plus. Check out more of them below, courtesy of USA Today. Alice in Wonderland hits theaters on March 5, 2010.

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What do you think? Are you psyched about the look of Wonderland?


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  • How scary is Bonham-Carter!I'm trying to decide whether they've altered that image to make it unworldly or if shes just crazy looking.
  • Nightmares... Persistent nightmares...
  • LJ
    Holy crap that looks nuts..
  • The character designs are very, very strange; fits perfectly into Burton's aesthetic. I love the artwork of the world, though. Subdued, dark, and beautiful.

    This movie will be fun to just look at for the design, let alone watch for the plot, etc.
  • I am actually really excited about this film. Here is why. I agree with you that we expect the same aesthetic qualities Burton produces but there is a reason why...he is the only one who can successfully do this. How many stop motion films have we actually seen that is even compariable with what he has done is the past? 0. In a sense he has created his own personal niche and thats with the help of pretty much the same special effects/puppeteering group that has worked with him since Nightmare Before Christmas. The pictures you posted, seems to me, that the backdrop settings have evolved which probably is why I am really excited for the film.

    As far as everything looking like an acid trip...well, wasn't that the underlining premise of Lewis Carroll? Well, some english professors probably think so. Maybe he was trying to recover from his holier than thou Lion Witch Wardrobe fiasco. Burton is probably just exploited that idea by a million...is it overdone? We shall see.
  • Linda Page
    Veronica, CS Lewis wrote the Narnia books.
  • mlledufarge
    I think you might be confusing Lewis Carroll with C.S. Lewis.

    I do agree with you that Burton is probably the only director out there who could make this film work. I hope it does.
  • Mal Reynolds
    contrary to popular belief not only did tim burton not direct nightmare before christmas he didnt do the stop action himself, in his basement, or some situation where he was totally involved. and im pretty sure Wallace and Gromit boasts smoother, more technically impressive animation.
  • Tim Burton helped create the characters and story and produced it. That is all he did.
  • Downtherabbithole
    Uh, yeah, that's right, that's why when you watch the credits to the movie, it says that it's directed by Tim Burton. From the morbid feel of the film, to the fact that Danny Elfman wrote the score/ was the singing voice for Jack, to the sheer awesome brilliance of it, how could you think Tim Burton wasn't totally involved?
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