First look at Burton's 'Alice': It has been "Burton-ized"

The critter (voiced by Welsh actor Michael Sheen of Frost/Nixon) checks his timepiece while Alice (Australian actress Mia Wasikowska) takes in the view, one that she has seen before. “The rabbit is convinced he has the right Alice,” says producer Richard Zanuck. “He has been looking for her for years.” And – shades of Burton's Edward Scissorhands – topiaries in the shape of a giraffe, a dodo and other creatures fill the garden.

USA Today gives us a look at Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Click on the link to read the entire article.

Just as the trees talked in Oz, the roses that blossom in Wonderland can hold a conversation. Alice greets them along the entrance to what appears to be a forest of giant mushrooms. But as in the book, her size shrinks and grows throughout her journey. Burton has said of choosing Wasikowska, 19, to play Alice, “We met a lot of people, but she just had that certain kind of emotional toughness, standing her ground in a way that makes her kind of an older person with a younger person’s mentality.”

Egg-shaped Tweedledee and Tweedledum, who are created through motion-capture technology, are among the first characters to greet Alice. They take her to meet the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp). The twins are played by popular British comic Matt Lucas, best known for the TV series Little Britain.

"Off his rocker": Johnny Depp concocts another memorably trippy character as the Mad Hatter. Besides his Carrot Top mop, Depp undergoes a transformation with the addition of enlarged eyes tinted yellow. "He is so much fun and so nutty, I can't imagine anyone else doing it," says producer Richard Zanuck. The actor also employs an accent that Zanuck can only describe as indescribable.

Wonderland was a peaceful kingdom until the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) took power. "The creatures are ready to revolt and waiting for Alice to help them," says Zanuck. Bonham Carter has a digitally enhanced swelled head to play the domineering crimson ruler, who likes nothing better than to scream "Off with their heads!"

The White Queen (Anne Hathaway), who was overthrown by her sister, "is beautiful but over the top. She doesn't walk. She floats. She's very eccentric," Zanuck says.