Interview with Danny Elfman and Tweedles Dum and Dee

First, don't miss our giveaway of an Alice book, tote, and lithograph by one of my favorite artists, Camille Rose Garcia!

Seeing as how Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland 2010 is coming out in a few weeks, we're getting new info every day. Sometimes several times a day.

Here's a fun "how they did it" article for the motion capture and CGI on the film (pictured above is British comedian Matt Lucas and his double.)

Here's an interview with Danny Elfman, the composer for the film, that I thought was very interesting.

No one can dispute the brilliance of the book. To put that on the screen? That would be really interesting, but it's hard to say what kind of movie it would make, you know, for an hour-and-a-half. So they came up with a concept: Alice is [almost] 20, and she's going to chase the rabbit down the hole and you're going to see all the same stuff, but you also hear these voices. "Is it her?" "It doesn't look like her." "I'm telling you it's her." And then she has to find out if it's a mistake, if she's the right Alice or not. She's been brought there for a purpose. But you still have all the same stuff [as far as imagery] with the Mad Hatter and the tea party and everything.

Previously: Interview with Matt Lucas

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Alice Tonner Dolls are Coming

Here is the first of the Alice in Wonderland Tonner Dolls. There are more expected, but they won't be out until March. The good news is that they can be pre-ordered. Here is Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Red Queen, and the White Queen.

An article about Anne Hathaway's creative process of developing the White Queen character, where she declares that the White Queen must be a vegan punk.

The LA Times compares and contrasts the animals of Alice in Wonderland through the ages.

Danny Elfman interviews Tim Burton for Interview Magazine.

Previously: Alice in Wonderland Medicom Figures

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3OH!3 Single from the Almost Alice Soundtrack

I don't usually post on weekends, but this here looks like a leak and so it seems to me that it might not be up for very long. It's the 3OH!3 track from Almost Alice, which you probably already know is the soundtrack album for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland featuring different bands. There is also a soundtrack which is the score by Danny Elfman. Both are available for pre-order. For Almost Alice click here. For the Score Soundtrack, click here.

I also usually post items like this without comment, but for anybody who forgets that Alice 2010 is a Disney movie, this track is quite the harsh reminder. Phew what a stinker of a pop song.

Previously: Alice OST track listing

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Saturday is Fashion Day for Alice

I don't normally post on Saturdays, but due to the buzz surrounding Disney's D23 Expo, there has been a flurry of news lately.

First some fun Alice in Wonderland inspired art. We have here a re-enactment of when the croquet invitation is handed to the Duchess' Frog Footman by the Queen's Fish Footman.

A very nicely done baby room. Check out the murals. I especially like the Cheshire Cat in the upper left corner. June's Room.

Designed Whitney Eve says they are AiW inspired fashions but I just don't see it. Maybe somebody can tell me what exactly screams Wonderland here?

According to the Kerrang! website, Ville Valo, frontman for the band HIM, is penning a track for the Alice in Wonderland soundtrack. How exciting! I hadn't even thought about soundtracks yet (except Danny Elfman.)

The LA Times has more news and information from Disney's D23 Expo. Apparently, Burton corrected Disney exec Cook on two points and the Times is being all "Ooo. Snap!" about it. How dreadful.

There is more news no doubt, but I am late for a very important date.

Previously: The Cheshire Cat!

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Alice Teaser Trailer Scene by Scene

Over at MTV, blogger Adam Rosenberg had the great idea to do a scene by scene rundown of the Alice Teaser Trailer. This appealed to my OCD and so I couldn't help myself. I had to do the same but different.

Cheshire Cat Wallpaper

Shot 1: Alice running through a garden, no doubt following a rabbit who may or may not be talking to himself about a very serious date and consulting a watch.

Shot 2: Alice leaning over a hole, and just between you and me, it really looks like she forced that twig to snap.

Shot 3: Alice goes head over heels and into the hole.

Shot 4: In case you didn't know, this is a Tim Burton film.

Shot 5: Down and down and down falls Alice. Readers of the original will remember quite a bit of exposition on the part of Alice during her fall. She expected the Antipathies. We are treated with lanterns, furniture, windows, cabinets, paintings, and barrels. Some careful scrubbing reveals a skull whizzing by. No ORANGE MARMALADE here.

Shot 5: We see Alice falling face first, and it looks like she's very tired.

Shot 6: Alice hits the ground. In the book this involved a heap of dry sticks and leaves, which I'm sure she would have preferred over a tile floor.

Shot 7: Alice blacks out and when she comes to, she's in a bathtub packed with ice clutching a note about how someone just stole her kidneys. NO NO that's not what happens. Alice comes to in a room with a tiny door and a bottle. We can't see it, but I bet the bottle says "Drink Me".

Shot 8: Alice drinks. She is no doubt experiencing deja vu.

Shot 9: Alice sets down the bottle and shrinks. There is a key in view on the table. Seeing as how her dress did not shrink with her, hopefully there is something nearby with a "wear me" sign on it.

Shot 10: Alice wandering around in front of the garden shown in some of the concept art panoramas. This is the place with the chatty flowers in front of the topiary garden. We see a flamingo topiary bird to the right. Alice has some serious decolletage now.

Shot 11: Alice walking through a giant mushroom forest with several friends. Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Dodo, the White Rabbit, and is that the dormouse running ahead?

Shot 12: Alice and the White Queen on a balcony of a huge castle overlooking a chasm. They are standing next to a telescope. The White Queen looks a little like she's dancing. I keep pushing this out of my mind because it's too horrible to dwell on, but somehow the White Queen looks like Ali G here. Not a good look on her.

Shot 13: Twisty trees and the Cheshire Cat, appearing in head-only form, with a nice toothy smile. Nice gratuitous CGI iris action on the eyes after a blink.

Shot 14: Panning shot of Crispin Glover (!) as the Knave of Hearts, looking at what is presumably a map.

Shot 15: Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, throwing open some doors. The people inside, behind her are kind of grotesque. There is a man with an enormous forehead, a woman with three chins, a woman with huge ears, and a man who looks a little normal. She looks mad.

Shot 16: Whew! This is a lot of work. We have here a monster with black spots and a bunch of cool CGI red card soldiers. The monster roars.

Shot 17: It looks like Alice got a face full of roar, although I doubt that's really it. There is wind gusting in her face. THAT's confusing.

Shot 18: Alice is talking to Tweetledum and Tweedledee. An enormous bird swoops down and takes off with them. Alice ducks and then turns to watch them go.

Shot 19: Some frog pages open the same doors we just saw the Red Queen open. It looks like the Mad Hatter is walking out with card soldiers behind him. On the left is a mural of a gryphon, and on the right, the Jabberwock. There is someone riding the Jabberwock.

Shot 20: The Mad Hatter's hat is on the ground. Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter bends down to pick it up, and we get full-on shot of the Mad Hatter. LOOK-ENG GOOD.

Shot 21: In case you didn't know this was Johnny Depp, they're going to show you his name.

Shot 22: The Mad Hatter walks over a nicely done, traditional tea party and jumps down to...

Shot 23: Confront Alice, who is still small from drinking the shrinking potion.

Shot 24: The Mad Hatter tells Alice she is terribly late and calls her naughty. *groan* Behind him is what looks like a derelict windmill.

Shot 25: The Mad Hatter throws his hat and we see the next few things from the interior of his hat.

Shot 26: Disney - A Film by Tim Burton - Alice in Wonderland

Shot 27: The Mad Hatter, laughing.

Shot 28: The White Rabbit, looking a lot like Danny DeVito, pointing to his pocket watch as if to remind us:

Shot 29: "You've got a very important date." March 5th, 2010

Shot 30: It's not really its own shot but I make the rules around here. The zeroes of 2010 turn into Cheshire Cat eyes and we are treated to his toothy smile again.

Shot 31: Whew last one. The Mad Hatter unfurling two rolls of fabric by throwing them at the camera. Out shoot letters.

Shot 32: "Go through the looking glass in Disney Digital 3D IMAX 3D in select theaters" Then more writing. Credits. Danny Elfman. I'm not typing all this go watch it yourself to see the end.

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