Anne Hathaway, who might find herself nominated for an Oscar this year thanks to her strong performance in Rachel Getting Married, has just signed on as the latest star in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. Hathaway will be playing the White Queen, a character in Through the Looking Glass, and the Hollywood Reporter story about the casting says that the White Queen recruits Alice to slay the Bandersnatch, a monster mentioned in the poems Jabberwocky and The Hunting of the Snark. I don’t remember the White Queen sending Alice on such a mission in the books, and looking it up I can’t seem to see any mention of it. Is this the beginning of us learning about changes made for the film? Or is my knowledge of the works of Lewis Carroll simply woefully incomplete?
Meanwhile, the trades are acting like the casting of Helena Bonham Carter in the movie is a big deal, or in any way ‘news.’ What is newsworthy is the fact that Burton’s fiancee will be playing the Red Queen, ie that ‘Off with her head!’ bitch.
The film will be partially live action, partially mocap. I’m not sure whether Hathaway and Carter will be real of Memorex.