A Darker Shade of Disney: Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland

I knew that Tim Burton's version of Alice In Wonderland was going to be a darker and more twisted version of Disney's original 1951 cartoon, but I had no idea how far down the rabbit hole they'd gone until I read an article in the Wall Street Journal this morning, entitled "Disney Invites 'Goths' to the Party". Hmm...

Then I read that the movie soundtrack featured Robert Smith, lead singer of the Cure, and contained songs by modern artists like Shinedown, Tokio Hotel, Wolfmother, and Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, and immediately went to see if I could find a sampling online. I did, and you can listen to the soundtrack here on a really cool site called Almost Alice.

Disney has not only aimed this movie at the 18-34 female crowd (as opposed to the 6-11 girly princess crowd), they've entered into a marketing partnership with that good old American Gothic subculture store, Hot Topic. (In fact, if you live anywhere near Hollywood and are a Johnny Depp fan, today would be a good day to head over to the Hollywood Mall, where Disney and Hot Topic are hosting a massive event where Johnny and other cast members will be mingling with fans, and some of the bands featured on the soundtrack will be playing live.) T-shirts, hats and jewelry, all taking over prime display space previously held by promotional merchandise for "Twilight" fans. (Move over, Edward!)

What's even more interesting is the creation of a brand-new line of Victorian-style frocks by designer Sue Wong, that will be sold in high end stores like Neiman marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. Can you say gorgeous?

All in all, I applaud Disney for taking a step closer to the dark side with Tim Burton's vision, and though I have no idea whether I'll be buying any merchandise, I can't WAIT to see the movie! Watch this trailer for a trip into the dark world that awaits Alice: