Now I think this is some big news, considering we haven’t really had any solid idea of where Tim Burton is going with this adaptation of the Lewis Carroll classic, so before I get into the newest names to join the movie, let me pass along the good word on what ALICE IN WONDERLAND is looking like.
ZDonk recently got a chance to mess around on the set of ALICE IN WONDERLAND, considering one of the site’s board members is a producer on the film. Here’s a bit on what we can expect:
“…This version of Alice In Wonderland won’t be your fluffy lollipop Disney movie… expect to see a darker, more twisted take on Lewis Carroll’s original narrative. … I am told [screenwriter Linda Woolverton] added some socio-political context to the film’s narrative. No doubt there will be several drug references and crazy mind blowing visuals, but the story will actually have some significant meaning.”
Awesome! Sounds like this one is shaping up to be exactly what I was hoping for. They even go on to compare Burton’s Alice to THE MATRIX’s Neo… let’s hope the comparison means ‘is this world real?’ and not ‘flying through the air and dodging bullets.’ Head on over here to read up a bit more on what they saw on the set.
As for the new names attached, they are: Alan Rickman, Christopher Lee, Eleanor Tomlinson and composer Danny Elfman. Now if your like me, three of those names just made you smirk a bit. There’s no word what role Lee will be stepping up to, but I’m sure it’ll be pretty damn cool. And we all know Elfman is a fantastic composer, so no worries there. Lee (above) and Elfman are no surprise, being frequent Burton collaborators, but Rickman? That’s awesome! That’s not all either… apparently Rickman will be playing that tokin Catapillar! Word also dropped that the previously attached Michael Sheen will be the Chesire Cat and that Tomlinson will be Fiona Chataway, a friend of Alice’s in a role not found in the prior tellings of the story.
These names join Glover as the Knave of Hearts, Anne Hathaway (below) as the White Queen, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, Matt Lucas as Tweedledee and Tweeldedum, Mia Wasikowska taking the role of Alice, and Johnny Depp bringing the Mad Hatter to life. ZDonk explains Depp and Burton’s Hatter as ‘startlingly crazy and pretty wild.’ Dare I say I’m stoked for this movie? Word is the cgi-motion capture-3D film is looking at a release on March 5, 2010.