Tim Burton Enters Wonderland

José de Creeft’s sculpture of Alice and friends in Central Park. Commissioned by the publisher George Delacorte as a tribute to his late wife Margarita, and as a gift to the children of New York City. Unveiled in 1959.

Shooting has begun for Tim Burton’s next film, an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s 1865 classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times blog Hero Complex caught up with Burton on the set to discuss “Alice” and more.

“It appears his mission is to reclaim a children’s classic, resharpen its edges and remind everyone that sapping the weirdness out of a tale often renders it flat and forgettable.” says Boucher

Burton adds:

“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.”

As for the cast:

Mia Wasikowska plays Alice

Johnny Depp is the Mad Hatter,

Anne Hathaway is the White Queen and

Helena Bonham Carter is the Red Queen.

Thanks to Shelf Awareness for the lead