Oh, baby. Tim Burton is taking a whack at Alice in Wonderland, and his two most reliable stand-bys—Johnny Depp (the Mad Hatter) and Helena Bonham-Carter (the Queen of Hearts)—are inch-deep in makeup and dooded up for the show. Also in the fray are Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar and Anne Hathaway as the White Queen.

From just these character photos I’m already on board and excited as all get out for this movie. The wonderful thing about Alice is that it hinges on the fantastical and the madcap, rather than on character development or a meticulous plot. The few weak Tim Burton movies are usually doomed by relying too heavily on spectacle, barely masking a weak or maudlin plot (I’m looking at you, Big Fish), but Alice is all about the spectacular.

Early stills are coming out, and they all look incredible. The film won’t be released til 2010ish, but expect lots of buzz around it as more shots are leaked. The story has apparently been updated a bit, and Burton’s Alice will be somewhat older than Carroll’s. I deem that a good decision, since there remains that creepy vibe lingering around the history of the real-life young Alice/old Carroll relationship. I can’t wait to see if there will be more heads rolling in this movie than there were in Burton’s Sweeney Todd!

Images copyright of Entertainment Weekly.