Whether you like his style of film-making or not, you can’t deny that when a new Tim Burton film is coming out, it’s more of an event than “just another movie.” He’s a filmmaker who has cult written all over him and his films, but yet he’s one of the most popular in the business. And when the idea of an Alice in Wonderland was first thrown around it was almost a no-brainer that Burton would end up helming it. Could there be a more perfect match than Burton and this classic fantasy tale?
I think not.
We’ve already had hints here and there about what we can expect from Burton’s sure-to-be-unique take on the story, but we’ve had nothing really concrete so far (well, beyond the no-brainer casting choice of Burton regular Johnny Depp being cast as the Mad Hatter). A couple of days ago at a Disney meeting, a lucky few got a glimpse of what Depp will look like in the film and apparently the “oohs” and “aahs” were abundant.
Back in November there was an image released of Depp in the Mad Hatter garb but it was never confirmed as genuine. However, thanks to Disney Twenty-Three Magazine (a quarterly publication that can be signed up for a quite expensive $74.99 a year from Disney’s Official Community for Fans) we get our first proper look at what we can expect from Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (sorry for the poor quality – click images for larger versions).
(Click here for more images)
Although we still don’t get to see what Depp will look like, the images (seemingly more concept than actual images from the film) still give us a great first look into just what Burton and co. have in store for us with this new telling of the Alice in Wonderland story. However Burton’s movies turn out in terms of quality, he never lets us down with his unique, trademark style that is in-part the reason he is so popular.
It’s great to finally see how young actress Mia Wasikowski looks in her Alice outfit (it looks like she’ll nail the character) and particularly pleasing to see the tea party scene come to life in this new visual form (albeit concept art for the moment).
I haven’t loved every film in Tim Burton’s career (I know I am going to get some serious flack for saying this but in particular I really don’t like The Nightmare Before Christmas) but I am more than willing to give him the benefit of the doubt every single time.
What do you make of our first real look at Burton’s Alice in Wonderland? Has he gotten it right as far as we can see?
Alice in Wonderland is scheduled for a March 5th 2010 release in the US and an April 2nd 2010 release in the UK.
Sources: TimBurtonCollective and /Film
