# Tim Burton does Alice In Wonderland **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2007, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666 "2007-11-16T10:38:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/1 "2007-11-16T10:38:22Z")
[A couple of years ago](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=5974008#post5974008), I suggested that a good mind to tackle _Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland_ would be Tim Burton, as he has the surreal mind to handle it properly, at the disturbing and twisted level it ought to be portrayed. **Larry Mudd** seemed to agree. Well, [the Gods are smiling](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=13). Burton has been asked to do a 3D version of _Alice_ for Disney involving some amount of motion capture. Plus a new version of his own story, _Frankenweenie_. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with! ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/2 "2007-11-16T11:02:09Z")
That is unbelievably exciting. I am a tremendous fan of the books, but I’ve yet to see a truly great adaptation to film. Here’s hoping… ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/3 "2007-11-16T12:01:10Z")
That’s good news, but there’s something really hosed up in your link, unless that’s your version of linking down the rabbit hole… ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/4 "2007-11-16T12:42:05Z")
Bollocks, I messed up. Sorry. Not sure how I managed that. [Corrected link](http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=39379). ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/5 "2007-11-16T15:16:06Z")
Yeah, there was a video game called [American McGee’s Alice](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_McGee's_Alice). Sounds about right. probably give the kids nightmares. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/6 "2007-11-16T15:21:18Z")
The video game gave _me_ nightmares. Though it was awesome. But I love Tim Burton and am looking forward to it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/7 "2007-11-16T15:32:19Z")
What parts are played (voiced & motion captured from, I suppose) by Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter? Has he said yet? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/8 "2007-11-16T16:18:45Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] What parts are played (voiced & motion captured from, I suppose) by Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter? Has he said yet? [/QUOTE] Just an easy guess, but I can see Depp as the Madd Hatter and Carter as the Queen of course. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/9 "2007-11-16T17:18:45Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] Just an easy guess, but I can see Depp as the Madd Hatter and Carter as the Queen of course. [/QUOTE] Lol, I heard of this news earlier, and this is exactly what me and a friend agreed on. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/10 "2007-11-16T17:22:41Z")
Depp would also make a great White Rabbit - that wide eyed startled thing he did so well (and annoyingly) in _Sleepy Hollow_… ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/11 "2007-11-16T17:26:05Z")
Ok, I’m a touch confused. Is this just based on the books or is it an adaptation of American McGee’s Alice? The AM version has been in the works for years. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/12 "2007-11-16T22:32:38Z")
I don’t think this has anything to do with American McGee’s Alice. This is going to be a Disney film, so it won’t be quite so murderously twisted, just dark and edgy like the original book (I hope). ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/13 "2007-11-16T22:42:05Z")
Maybe I’m the only one but I’m pretty much over anything done by the Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Danny Elfman trio. I think they peaked with Edward Scissorhands. After that it goes downhill. Sure the films are pretty to look at but they come off as so emotionless. Sleepy Hollow was boring as well as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride. Just how many times can you do “Creepy-Whimsical” before it gets old. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/14 "2007-11-16T22:48:17Z")
I was really pumped when i read the title seeing as Alice and Wonderland was always one of my favorites growing up but why the health does it have to be 3D? Gah, I can’t stand 3D. I hope there is a non 3D option. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/15 "2007-11-16T23:00:33Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] Maybe I’m the only one but I’m pretty much over anything done by the Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Danny Elfman trio. I think they peaked with Edward Scissorhands. After that it goes downhill. Sure the films are pretty to look at but they come off as so emotionless. Sleepy Hollow was boring as well as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride. Just how many times can you do “Creepy-Whimsical” before it gets old. [/QUOTE] I liked Sleepy Hollow, disliked Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride. Ed Wood was a good movie and Big Fish was great. (Obviously no Depp in that one). Jim ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/16 "2007-11-16T23:21:11Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] Maybe I’m the only one but I’m pretty much over anything done by the Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Danny Elfman trio. [/QUOTE] Which is my main concern too, fearing this will be more about Tim Burton than Lewis Carroll. Such is the diva-heavy era in which we live. Poor _Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass_. There’s so much cerebral enjoyment from its logician author, most of which gets jettisoned when it’s dramatized and all they leave us is costume design. Here’s an overview of the last century’s worth of _Alice_ movies, ([YouTube Link](http://youtube.com/watch?v=u8YHQ_6H4JM&feature=related)) (Yes, they made a porno/musical of _Alice,_ back in the ambitious 1970’s. She’s been exploited for the conceits of every era, but still she endures; hopefully until the day when girls emulate her but who will have never heard of Cinderella. ---
**Author:** ![pprgrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f6c823/32.png) [@pprgrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pprgrl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/17 "2007-11-17T00:27:27Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] Just an easy guess, but I can see Depp as the Madd Hatter and Carter as the Queen of course. [/QUOTE] I can see Carter as the Duchess, but I’m picturing live action here, with Carter in a fat suit and a prosthetic chin. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2007, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/18 "2007-11-17T01:17:03Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] I suggested that a good mind to tackle _Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland_ would be Tim Burton, as he has the surreal mind to handle it properly, at the disturbing and twisted level it ought to be portrayed. [/QUOTE] I’m not convinced. I tend to agree more with **Slithy Tove** (who, with a name like that, ought to know what he’s talking about): [QUOTE=Slithy Tove] Which is my main concern too, fearing this will be more about Tim Burton than Lewis Carroll. Such is the diva-heavy era in which we live. Poor Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass. There’s so much cerebral enjoyment from its logician author, most of which gets jettisoned when it’s dramatized and all they leave us is costume design. [/QUOTE] The Alice books are, first and foremost, works of humor, in much the same vein as Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett—humor which is at times dark, at times surreal, at times cartoonish, but very much logical. Lewis Carroll had the mind of a parodist, not a surrealist. The closest I can come to thinking of a good mind to tackle _Alice In Wonderland_ is the collective mind of Monty Python in their prime. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2007, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/19 "2007-11-17T01:35:48Z")
I think the mere fact that it’s all inside Alice’s head is enough to say there are elements of surrealism. [QUOTE=Thudlow Boink] The closest I can come to thinking of a good mind to tackle _Alice In Wonderland_ is the collective mind of Monty Python in their prime. [/QUOTE] But you’re not going to get that, of course. Terry Gilliam, maybe, but he’s probably too dark. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, maybe, or Guillermo Del Toro might do a good job. Or Alfonso Cuaron. But I think Tim Burton suits the storybook stylisation of the tale, giving it the lighter tone it would need to appeal to a wider audience. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2007, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-burton-does-alice-in-wonderland/426666/20 "2007-11-17T01:52:30Z")
Czech animator Jan Svankmajer’s 1988 film [**Neco z Alenky**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095715), aka **Alice** , is the definitive weird Alice movie. Burton’s just a hack, a dabbler with a fourteen year old’s view of what’s dark and disturbing. Shit, check out Guillermo del Toro’s **Pan’s Labyrinth** , which covers similar ground to a lot of Burton’s movies but is just plain terrifying in its bleakness and horror: no happy endings here, kids.