Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Code Horror · Post by **Code Horror** » November 16th, 2007, 12:58 pm

Guys you won't believe this, Tim Burton is doing Alice in Wonderland for Disney, all I can say is, I'm up for it, this idea just works for Burton alot.

http://joblo.com/arrow/index.php?id=10115

Post by **droosan** » November 16th, 2007, 2:20 pm

'Stop-Motion' and 'Performance Capture' ..?

Those are kind-of mutually exclusive. Unless this is some sort of 'mixed-media' project ..

It's Tim Burton, so I'm officially intrigued .. but I hope it looks nothing like the 'sexed-up' photo in that article; I hate it when (so-called) 'creators' do that to Alice, or Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz .. but that's the 'public domain' for ya ..

Then again, it is Disney .. so, I doubt it'll be that 'risqué'.

Post by **Ben** » November 16th, 2007, 2:28 pm

Hey CH, I swapped the title to reflect both upcoming movies from Burton.

This is indeed exciting...we knew Frankenweenie was in the offing, but a new Alice does indeed seem to fit him like a glove!

Here's a more "sedate" version of the story from JoBlo's less hyper looking site:
http://www.joblo.com/burton-in-wonderland

...and a serious take that covers Burton's new 2-pic deal with Disney here:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/con ... 2dd0e28cbd

Code Horror · Post by **Code Horror** » November 16th, 2007, 2:34 pm

droosan wrote:Then again, it is Disney .. so, I doubt it'll be that 'risqué'.

Oh trust me, this is Burton we're talking about, it'll be "risque."

Post by **Ben** » November 16th, 2007, 2:52 pm

Well, that Alice image is basically from a "sexy costume" website - it has nothing to do with Burton's film.

BTW, Alice will be live-action and performance capture, and Frankenweenie will use stop-motion.

Please see the Hollywood Reporter story I linked to for more balanced info on these.

My guess is that Burton's Alice will actually have a lot of heart, as per James And The Giant Peach, and Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. He likes an odd confection, but it's usually soft at its middle.

And risqué? Has there ever been a risqué Burton project? I'm wracking my brains...

Code Horror · Post by **Code Horror** » November 16th, 2007, 3:03 pm

Burton's films are usually dark so that's why they're usually risque, besides I doubt Disney will restrain Burton's creativity.

Post by **Vernadyn** » November 16th, 2007, 3:51 pm

Yes, Burton's films are dark, but they always have some emotional center to them that softens them a little as opposed to the harshness of, say, a David Fincher or David Cronenberg film (both of whom I also really like). Looking forward to both of these. Disney has actually been as good as Warner Brothers in not restraining Burton's creativity; Nightmare Before Christmas and Ed Wood are fantastic. It was only when he was a "mere animator" at Disney that he felt restrained (according to the book Burton on Burton.

By the way, I think the word "risque" has a more sexual connotation, and it is true that Burton's films have been fairly conservative in this regard. Even in "that scene" from Sleepy Hollow, both characters are fully clothed.

Code Horror · Post by **Code Horror** » November 16th, 2007, 3:58 pm

You know, I think Johnny Depp might either make a very good Mad Hatter or Cheshire Cat.

Post by **droosan** » November 16th, 2007, 4:03 pm

I was using the word 'risqué' to refer to the photo accompanying the linked article, and the many similar such 'sexy'/horror-based 'takes' on Alice/Dorothy which have been seen in recent comic books and video games. These are beloved children's book characters, who (IMHO) deserve more 'respectful' treatment.

As I said, I doubt Tim Burton would go that route. It'll be 'goth-icky', I'm sure .. but charming, nonetheless.

I'm not too crazy about the fact that it will be a 'performance capture' movie, though (thank you, Ben, for clarifying that Alice is to be PC, while Frankenweenie is stop-motion) .. because, frankly, all of the movies & TV shows made with this method have left me feeling kinda 'cold' (and that's coming from someone who's actually worked on some of them).

Code Horror · Post by **Code Horror** » November 16th, 2007, 4:14 pm

Well all I know is that if Beowulf succeeds, Disney will probably start production as soon as that movie does well and I have no problem with motion capture whatsoever.

Post by **Ben** » November 16th, 2007, 4:58 pm

Yep, Droo, I should have clarified my remark was directed at the "sexy Alice" too, which is bordering on being an inappropriate link from this website, really.

Burton's film won't go that route, as mentioned. I do think we'll have a neat James/Charlie type outing, fairly faithful to the original (and just think of what he'll get up to with the characters that Walt actually cut out of his version, if they go the faithful route). I'm thinking more "Dreamchild" if that makes sense to anyone with a bit of Henson history.

Beowulf has nothing to do with this deal. The announcement has been made before that film makes its debut (so if it fails, the deal is still on) and already Disney is in bed with Bob Zemeckis on his next perf-cap movie anyway.

Code Horror · Post by **Code Horror** » November 16th, 2007, 5:12 pm

You know, I wonder what would the Jabberwocky's design will look like.

Post by **Ben** » November 16th, 2007, 5:20 pm

Well, I <I>would</I> have mentioned that as one of the characters that Walt cut, if the Jabberwocky was actually <I>in</I> Alice In Wonderland.

The Jabberwocky comes from the sequel novel "Through The Looking Glass". My bet is if Alice In Wonderland does well, we'll see the other book done the same way, unless they mix things up (as Walt did too).

Funny how Burton didn't follow up Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. I was sure that was the basis for making the Oompa-Loompa sequel.

Post by **Once Upon A Dream** » November 16th, 2007, 5:24 pm

Do you think it will be something like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?.
And i also wonder if it's like the original book or like American MeGee's Alice?.

Post by **Foxtale** » November 16th, 2007, 8:16 pm

I can't wait until there are more information out on either of these. I can't really judge until I see a coming attraction of some sort. I hope the Frankenwennie thing is better than the Corpse Bride. I mean that wasn't that bad but I feel like it was trying to hard to be like the Nightmare Before Christmas. I am excited though, stop motion is really wonderful.

The Alice and Wonderland thing I have no clue what to expect for that. Something dark and twisted. Probably like the New charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I think he can do something awesome with it as long as he doesn't try to cater to the "Hot Topic Crowd"