Normally we don’t go for direct press puffery here at STS – prefering to think our journalistic integrity is worth a pint or two at least – but the 25th of February sees the premiere of Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland, and we’re willing to make an exception as the 3D extravaganza and the nice chaps from Disney will be transforming London’s Leicester Square for the event in aid of The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts

The entire cast—including Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen and newcomer Mia Wasikowska as Alice will be attending, and hopefully we’ll be able to distinguish Tim burton and Helena Bonham-Carter from the drunks stumbling out of Chinatown as the entire place gets it’s bi-annual scrub down in preperation for a royal visit (that’s HRH The Prince of Wales, not Stephen Fry).

We’ve already seen some pretty stunning visuals – including the (did we mention it was exclusive? we probably should) new image of Anne Hathawy above – from the movie, as Alice “embarks on a fantastical journey to find her true destiny and end the Red Queen’s reign of terror” apparently. Oh -and it’s in lovely 3D – not sure how that works with the Cheshire Cat but hey-ho.

Alice in Wonderland is released across the UK on March the 5th on 2D, Disney Digital 3D and IMAX® 3D screens, so come on down and join in as we attempt to sneak past the bouncers and cram your camera full of celebrity goodness in aid of a good cause.

What with Monday’s anouncement that Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides will begin filming soon in Hawaii, you might think that the mass of Depp hitting our screens is about to reach critical mass. It seems Disney are betting against it though-which is why they were nice enough to furnish us with some lovely new stills from Tim Burton’s sure-to-be-massive Alice In Wonderland. Check out the Deppster in all his ginger glory above , and read on for an exclusive mini podcast with some sneak plot details, and yet more wonderful imagery -including a pic of Alice that caused several innapropriate outbursts among the STS staff. Whatever reception the movie receives, there’s no denying it’ll be beautiful to watch…

Check out our exclusive Character Gallery below:

Time to chuck that moldering Jack Sparrow costume out the window and get yourself an outsize topper for next Halloween, as our driends at Disey reveal the new trailer for Tim Burton’s hotly tipped Alice In Wonderland today.

Previously the STS staff only got near a set of playing cards when payday rolled around, but based on this they’re all set to be next years must-have fashion accesory. Expect Burton regulars Depp and Bonham Carter to be suitably nutty and degenerate, with Burton’s dark edge seemingly finding it’s spritual home as some wonderfully twisted takes on the classic Lewis Carrol characters lurk among the beautifully rendered backgrounds.

Whether it’s a big hitter or a Mad Hatter may be down to the script, but based on this it’ll be a sight worth seeing…

Even though you know what’s coming, the latest chapter in the HP saga still manages to appeal and enthrall by dint of an all pervading sense of menace throughout. It’s a huge cliché to say that each film is darker than the last, but here the villains – often played previously as pantomime moustache-twirlers – finally blossom into genuine threats, their evil casual and malicious and all the better for it. Throughout, there’s a real feeling that any of the leads could perish in an instant and despite Rowling’s occasional use of magic to neatly sidestep painting herself into a corner (Ron’s poisoning a case in point), fans hardened and casual will find some genuine, edge-of-seat moments to enjoy here.

Throughout, the film is a nice mixture of talk and action, the opening sequence over London featuring Death Eaters swooping like black ink in water is exceptional, tightly edited and genuinely pushing the boundaries of the 12A certificate, with hints at hundreds dying as the Millennium Bridge is destroyed. Likewise, while there are overly talky scenes throughout, they never become boring, with Harry finally realising the true danger he-who-shall-not-be-named poses. A growing menace lovingly conveyed via some beautifully dark photography by Amelie DoP Bruno Delbonnel, the opening storm staying on throughout, tiniting everything grey and transforming the previous Christmas box tweeness of Hogwarts into a mess of shadows and looming, unfriendly architecture.

As per usual, there is a marked improvement in the acting and although Radcliffe himself stays within some tightly delineated lines, he conveys a growing sense of determination effectively, managing to get away (just) with dialogue that is often overly purple. Likewise Rupert Grint continues to excel in the affably likable stakes, although Emma Watson perhaps relies too heavily on her burgeoning good looks, with her scenes often overly stagy and rather distracting because of it. Of the grown ups, Helena Bonham Carter stands out, her Ballatrix La Strange eerily menacing and sadly underused and while many of the other resident Brit thesps seem to be on a retainer, simply there to fill the screen rather than add anything useful to proceedings, Jim Broadbent puts in an incredibly strong appearance as Horace Slughorn, his physical comedy a genuine pleasure in a franchise often guilty of mugging, whilst still managing to imbue many of his scenes with genuine pathos.

On the downside, the challenge of squeezing 800-odd pages into one film often means too much exposition and Rowling’s tendency to rely too heavily on Deus Ex Machina doesn’t help, giving the feeling that some scenes are cut off half way through, while the smaller points that previously worked to flesh out the magical world are often sadly absent here – a grin-inducing appearance by the Weasley twins notwithstanding. It’s a small quibble, but one that the next film will hopefully have more room to rectify.

This dense plotting also means that viewers unfamiliar with the books (including yours truly) may find themselves slightly bemused by seemingly unimportant plot points that, at this stage at least, are never expanded upon, whilst the knowledge that the real action is coming up in the next two movies may leave you frustrated.

That said, this is an excellent exercise in tension-building. Beautifully rendered with some innovative effects and genuine good humour, it also finds the time to be truly thrilling. A strong addition to the series, with some lovely and affecting performances and a sense of elan papering over the previous film’s weaker characterisation. Not quite magic, but very close indeed.

Confirmed goth, Tim Burton has long tried to craft a reputation for ghoulish, fantastical work, and seems to be succeeding in securing larger and larger budgets despite his movies only appealing to teenage girls with blue hair and socks on their hands.

While USA Today has called the concept art for his latest reimagining (read: no original material) Alice In Wonderland proof that Burton is ‘attuned to the fantastic’, the concept art released today is certainly pretty, but it seems like we’re in for another helping of style over substance.

All the usual suspects line up for the advance posters, Depp as the mad hatter, Big-Bonced Bonham Carter as the red queen and, natch, Christopher Lee lurking in the background.

On the plus side, there is relative newcomer Mia Wasikowska in the title role, although it’s hard to shake the feeling that a passing resemblance to Winona may have helped her audition along. Still, she’s been pretty solid in HBO’s Treatment, so here’s hoping she can keep the film grounded in reality and prevent too much kooky, ooky, Burtonization from sucking all the tension and drama out in favour of Chitty Bang Bang cutesyness.

Check out the full interactive images courtesy of USA Today.