On The Set of Alice In Wonderland
By, ZackRoth
www.zdonk.com

October 26, 2008

Last week I went to a soundstage in Culver City, CA to check out the set of the 2010 Disney release, Alice in Wonderland. My father who is a producer on the film (and also a board member of zdonk) suggested we stop by for a visit. The film mixes live action with CGI, motion capture, and 3D to bring this fabled story to life. This movie will be epic, I am sure of that.

The set itself was insane - the whole soundstage was draped in green-screen material, and there were dozens of motion capture cameras hanging overhead - it seemed like half the crew was there just to figure out how to make all the technologies work together.

This version of Alice In Wonderland won't be your fluffy lollipop Disney movie. With Tim Burton directing, and Johnny Depp starring as the Mad Hatter, expect to see a darker, more twisted take on Lewis Carroll's original narrative. Luckily Johnny Depp was working that day, and I got to see him in character. He looked startlingly crazy - Burton's take on the Mad Hatter was pretty wild.

Linda Woolverton adapted the screenplay and I am told added some socio-political context to the film's narrative. No doubt there will be several drug references and crazy mind blowing visuals, but the story will actually have some significant meaning. I don't want to give away the framework of the story, so all I will say is that Alice and Neo from the Matrix have a lot in common in Disney's 2010 release+but what does it all mean?!?!

Some other noteworthy news about the film: Alice is being played by 18 year old Austrailian actress, Mia Wasikowska; Anne Hathaway plays the White Queen; Helena Bonham Carter plays the Red Queen.

Other cast includes: Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts; Alan Rickman as the Catapillar; Michael Sheen as the Cheshire Cat; and Matt Lucas (HBO's Little Britain) as Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

Alice In Wonderland won't be out for a couple years, but its never too early to get the party started+