Concept art from Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland

The character designs look so...fake. It doesn't feel like a real vibrant world the way the environments do.

I think the problem with the character designs is that they are completely "posed promos". And not like action poses, but simple a "here's the character" shot. I think once we see a teaparty, or the white queen in action (and hopefully singing about jam ^^) then I think we will get a better idea.

So yeah, I'm reserving my pre-judgment for the trailer.

Hmm, reminds me of that old Tom Petty video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5H0wUo37RY

The Mad Hatter looks genuinely insane. I'm thinking it's too scary-looking for kids.

Granted they're both derived from the Tenniel illustrations, but that Tweedledum and Tweedledee above look awfully derivative of the character design in the game American McGee's Alice. To belabor the obvious, that's a bad sign - the depth of character and image needed to hold your interest in a movie is a lot greater than in a game.

@4: I was sure that Burton's Alice was going to be too scary for kids when found out about the casting of Christopher Lee and Crispin Glover. Now we have some visual proof that this is in fact the case and we haven't even see what those two guys will look like! Run, kiddies!

It's funny to me that I find the promo stills of the actors more interesting than the scenery pictures. Those seem rather standard (or, at least, not eye-poppingly different) whereas the character shots are very full of, well, character.

I don't love the Tweedledee/Tweedledum shot, though. I can buy that warping of shape for the Red Queen (don't love it there, but Helena Bonham Carter will be able to pull it off, I trust), but for them it just seems...Humpty Dumpty-ish. The real standout is obviously Johnny Depp's Hatter--the color, the frighteningly manic aspect. It's just mesmerizing.

I'm not sure why, but the character designs look like they are from a graphic novel. Are they posed promos or concept art?

My problem with the Mad Hatter is that he looks over-the-top crazy...clown like.

My favorite Alice in Wonderland adaptation is Svankmayer's "Alice". Also not for little kids but I _loved_ it as a teenager -- particularly this scene of the scene of the white rabbit coming to life and getting dressed.

Tweedledum and dee are from Through the Looking Glass, not Adventures in Wonderland. Are the books being compressed into one?

#7 -- I think you are right. I assume the character stills are promos and not the actual concept art.

It turns out that the characters are designed by Imaginisms Studio.
http://imaginismstudios.blogspot.com/2009/06/alice-in-wonderland.html
(I wish I knew who did the environments but I can't make out the signature.)

I'd love to see their drawings. I hope there will be an "Art of" book...but with such big stars the studio may opt for the Coraline style "visual companion".....focusing on behind the scene stills of actors, not actual artwork.

bellman - According to the USA Today article, it's a sequel not a retelling. Alice is returning to Wonderland 10 yrs later. (Making her sexy-and-seventeen.)

Amazing art for Alice and Wonderland. Many people are looking forward to this new movie released. The big news in Hollywood circles is Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. The Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland should prove to be quite the picture, as the director brings a distinct visual atmosphere to his films, and so far there is a lot of talk about Johnny Depp, and his role in the film as the Mad Hatter, and the 17-year old Mia Wasikowska as Alice. Many will line up some money loans to go. Lewis Carroll wrote the story as a children’s fable. The tale is a classic, and there will be a lot of cash advances paid to see the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland.