Wonderland's Mad Hatter, White Queen & Red Queen

There’s a small handful of directors working today that are guaranteed to deliver something completely imaginative every time you step into the theatre.  And leading the pack is Tim Burton.  Love him or hate him, you’ve got to admit that the imagery he creates in his films is absolutely phenomenal.  USA Today has the original story including several beautiful concept artworks of Burton’s upcoming Wonderland.  My favorite is easily the image of Alice and the Tweedels.

Look, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass are among my favorite childhood stories – and I don’t think there is a better director out there than Tim Burton to bring Lewis Carroll’s books to life.  There’s a sort of trippy ghoulishness to the books that Burton handles very, very, very well.  And as much as I’m hyped for this movie – I’m remaining skeptical.  A look a Burton’s past reveals that his films are so incredibly polarizing you’ll either love them or hate them.  For every brilliant Big Fish or Edward Scissorhands he creates, he also forces us to endure Sleepy Hollow or Planet of the Apes.  But the new concept art as well as the three character images released below have me cautiously optimistic about the film.

For one thing, it’s got Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter – pitch-perfect casting choice.  And he looks like some sort of hopped up Elijah Wood nightmare.

Then you’ve got Anne Hathaway looking ethereally beautiful.  I imagine that Burton’s going to take a lot of the techniques Peter Jackson used on Cate Blanchett to give her that otherworldly beauty in the Lord of the Rings movies – and take it further.

And lastly, the one that is probably going to give me nightmares tonight.  Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen.

Love the way her oversized head just pushes the right buttons and gives you that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach.  I want to see footage of this movie – no, I need to see footage of this movie.  I want to see how Burton is blending CGI with Live Action to bring Wonderland to life.  And I’m dying to see the image of the Cheshire Cat – which is apparently incredibly disturbing.  American McGee ain’t got nothin’ on Burton.