Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

post #31 of 112

10/7/08 at 12:21pm

MatthewLouwrens
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Interesting. Presumably they're going to be staying away from the playing cards (since I don't see them wanting a third queen), so this is probably going to be more of a Looking Glass adaptation.

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post #32 of 112

10/7/08 at 12:31pm

Greg_S_H
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidPla

This would be the sixth time that Bonham Carter has worked with Burton (and she's also the mother of his two kids).

Wow! What a strange coincidence!

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post #33 of 112

10/7/08 at 5:18pm

Ron-P
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Wow, so far an amazing cast. Tim Burton is my favorite director far beyond any other. I am so looking forward to this film, he's a perfect fit for it. Any word if Danny Elfman will be scoring?

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post #34 of 112

10/7/08 at 5:45pm

Matt Butler
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Ron-P,
Ya think Burton would go anywhere else for a score?!

(Seriously I dont know but I would assume yes)

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post #35 of 112

10/7/08 at 6:11pm

Ron-P
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

I know, I know, I just want to be sure.

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post #36 of 112

10/8/08 at 1:29pm

Brian D H
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatthewLouwrens

Interesting. Presumably they're going to be staying away from the playing cards (since I don't see them wanting a third queen), so this is probably going to be more of a Looking Glass adaptation.

With this casting news (Red Queen & White Queen) he's obviously combining the two books. I'm disappointed.

We've had countless adaptations of Wonderland/Looking Glass through the decades and never once had a good one that keeps them straight and separate. I was hoping that this really was an adaptation of "Wonderland" and that "Looking Glass" would follow later (assuming this movie was successful). Now it appears that he's picking and choosing chapters from each book without regard to which one they came from.

How come know one can seem to keep straight that Alice was different ages in each book, and that one has a playing-card theme and the other a chess theme. I still may enjoy the movie, but I can't help thinking of all the chapters that will be left out.

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post #37 of 112

10/8/08 at 2:13pm

MatthewLouwrens
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Quote:

With this casting news (Red Queen & White Queen) he's obviously combining the two books. I'm disappointed.

We've had countless adaptations of Wonderland/Looking Glass through the decades and never once had a good one that keeps them straight and separate. I was hoping that this really was an adaptation of "Wonderland" and that "Looking Glass" would follow later (assuming this movie was successful). Now it appears that he's picking and choosing chapters from each book without regard to which one they came from.

How come know one can seem to keep straight that Alice was different ages in each book, and that one has a playing-card theme and the other a chess theme. I still may enjoy the movie, but I can't help thinking of all the chapters that will be left out.

I absolutely agree. It's my biggest frustration with any Alice film as well - I would love to see a series of two films that are faithful to each individual book.

Still, many of the elements of each story - the White Rabbit, the Caterpillar, the Tea Party, Humpty Dumpty, Tweedledum and Tweedledee - are not necessarily connected to the playing-card or chess themes, and can be easily inserted in either story with minimal effort. And the casting of the White and Red Queens suggests this will be a chess-centric film, which will at least be a change.

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post #38 of 112

10/8/08 at 6:07pm

Raasean Asaad
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Burton again, with his usual players again with i'm sure the same cinematography and score again...

I'm getting a bit tired of it these days, i hope he actually does something a little different this time but i don't have high hopes.

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post #39 of 112

10/23/08 at 9:26pm

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DavidPla
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Tim Burton working with Crispin Glover! Can it get much better than this? Glover will play the Knave of Hearts!

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...6cb15642adb685

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post #40 of 112

10/24/08 at 7:57am

Sean Laughter
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

With a Knave of Hearts - so much for it being chess-centric. Yet another hybrid adaption.

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post #41 of 112

10/24/08 at 8:50am

Brian Borst
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

I thought that was already known. I have never read any of the books (just seen the Disney film, and that's probably not the truest adaptation out there) but a simple adaptation sounds a bit boring. Everything being shuffled around could be better for the movie. And I'm really psyched that Crispin Glover is in this. He's always great.

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post #42 of 112

10/24/08 at 10:23am

Brian D H
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Borst

I thought that was already known. I have never read any of the books... but a simple adaptation sounds a bit boring.

Hard to say since it hasn't been done. The main things to know about the books are:

1) The books were meant to be read one chapter at a time, with each one being it's own self-contained mini-encounter for Alice. This aspect does not work well on film and most versions have tried (most unsuccessfully) to create a cohesive story.

2) The first book attempts to unify the chapters with an overall theme of playing cards throughout the book. This theme is done throughout, but not consistently and doesn't really come to the forefront until the climax at the end with the Queen of Hearts.

3) The second book uses a Chess theme which is (IMO) much more successful. Each chapter represents one specific move on a particular game of chess (the entire game and all moves are detailed in the appendix). Alice is not aware of this fact at first, but hints are given by the characters she encounters and the fact that the entire landscape looks like a chessboard (each square is about a half mile across or so). Alice starts out as a pawn and is eventually promoted to a queen. Since every chapter is part of the same chess game, the book feels much more unified, while maintaining the same set-up of individual mini-encounters. You can see why I was much more interested in a focus on the second book's theme.

I could envision a chess themed movie with favorite encounters from the first book added on without hurting the narrative. Unfortunately, as soon as you have any card-themed characters, it pretty much ruins that idea. I am worried that it will (once again) feel like a bunch of disconnected individual encounters.

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post #43 of 112

10/24/08 at 2:48pm

BrokenAmbience
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

i really want to see this i just love his pale characters look

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post #44 of 112

10/26/08 at 5:40pm

MatthewLouwrens
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

I was about to post, but Brian D H said pretty much everything I had to say. So I'll just agree with him.

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post #45 of 112

10/26/08 at 10:37pm

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DavidPla
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian D H

I am worried that it will (once again) feel like a bunch of disconnected individual encounters.

Tim Burton seems to share those very concerns.

Quote:

"It's a funny project. The story is obviously a classic with iconic images and ideas and thoughts. But with all the movie versions, well, I've just never seen one that really had any impact to me. It's always just a series of weird events. Every character is strange and she's just kind of wandering through all of the encounters as just a sort of observer. The goal is to try to make it an engaging movie where you get some of the psychology and kind of bring a freshness but also keep the classic nature of 'Alice.' And, you know, getting to do it in 3-D fits the material quite well. So I'm excited about making it a new version but also have the elements that people expect when they think of the material."

I told Burton he's right, the Disney movie is a meandering tour of a funhouse without any gripping story arc. "Yeah, I know, it's just, 'Oh, this character's weird' and 'Oh, that character's weird.' I can't really recall a version where I felt really engaged by it. So that's the goal, just to try to give it a gravity that most film versions haven't had."

Tim Burton talks about Johnny Depp, 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'The Dark Knight' | Hero Complex | Los Angeles Times

Alan Rickman is rumoured to be playing the Caterpillar and Michael Sheen's role seems to be the Cheshire Cat.

http://www.zdonk.com/zblog/visits-to...in-wonderland/

Christopher Lee has also been confirmed. No role mentioned but I'd assume the White Knight.

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post #46 of 112

10/30/08 at 10:01am

Josh.C
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Burton must have signed a life contract with Depp.

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post #47 of 112

11/17/08 at 12:09pm

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DavidPla
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

The Mad Hatter (Burton style!) Real or fake?

First Look at Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter? - ComingSoon.net

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post #48 of 112

11/17/08 at 12:43pm

mattCR
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

At first I thought this was American McGee's Alice, which I keep thinking would be an interesting potential story. But so far, no one has managed that kind of adaptation worth a damn.

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post #49 of 112

11/17/08 at 2:15pm

Radioman970
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

I really hope that is fake. But maybe they will be doing to nifty alterations with cgi to make him look cartoonish.

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post #50 of 112

11/18/08 at 5:33am

JonZ
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

@ that Depp picture

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post #51 of 112

11/18/08 at 6:54am

Sean Laughter
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidPla

The Mad Hatter (Burton style!) Real or fake?

First Look at Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter? - ComingSoon.net

"There is no Johnny, only Zuul!!!"

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post #52 of 112

11/19/08 at 12:45pm

ScottR
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

The 1985 mini-series kept the two stories separate. Night one was Alice in Wonderland and Night two was Through the Looking Glass. I thought it was the most faithful adaptation to date. Sure it is '80's with a very '80's television cast but it still works.

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post #53 of 112

11/19/08 at 2:32pm

Brian D H
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Re: Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidPla

The Mad Hatter (Burton style!) Real or fake?

First Look at Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter? - ComingSoon.net

God, I hope not. If you don't at least have a nod to the character designs from the original Tenniel illustrations than it's just not Wonderland. Sorry.