<Li> Mia Wasikowska as Alice Kingsleigh . When creating the character, screenwriter Linda Woolverton researched how young women were expected to behave in the Victorian era and then made her the opposite . Wasikowska read Carroll's books as a child and re-read them to prepare for her role . She also watched Jan Švankmajer's Alice . She said, "When we were kids, my mum would pop it in the VCR player . We would be disturbed, and wouldn't really understand it, but we couldn't look away because it was too intriguing . So I had kept that feeling about Alice, a kind of haunting feeling ." Although facing pressures to conform to society's expectations, Alice grows into a stronger - willed and empowered heroine who chooses her own path; Independent columnist Liz Hoggard praised Alice as a role model for girls, describing the character as "stubborn, brave, (and) non-girlie". Mairi Ella Challen portrayed Alice as a six - year - old girl . </Li> <Li> Johnny Depp as Tarrant Hightopp, The Mad Hatter . Wasikowska said that the characters, "both feel like outsiders and feel alone in their separate worlds, and have a special bond and friendship ." Burton explained that Depp "tried to find a grounding to the character...as opposed to just being mad ." Burton also said that, "In a lot of versions it's a very one - note kind of character and you know (Depp's) goal was to try and bring out a human side to the strangeness of the character ." The orange hair is an allusion to the mercury poisoning suffered by hatters who used mercury to cure felt; Depp believes that the character "was poisoned...and it was coming out through his hair, through his fingernails and eyes". Depp and Burton decided that the Hatter's clothes, skin, hair, personality and accent would change throughout the film to reflect his emotions . In an interview with Depp, the character was paralleled to "a mood ring, (as) his emotions are very close to the surface". The Hatter is "made up of different people and their extreme sides", with a gentle voice much like the character's creator Lewis Carroll reflecting the lighter personality and with a Scottish Glaswegian accent (which Depp modeled after Gregor Fisher's Rab C. Nesbitt character) reflecting a darker, more dangerous personality . Illusionary dancer David "Elsewhere" Bernal doubled for Depp during the "Futterwacken" sequence near the end of the film . </Li> <Li> Helena Bonham Carter as Iracebeth of Crims, the Red Queen . She is an amalgamation of two Carroll characters: the Red Queen and the Queen of Hearts . Her first name is a play on the word irascible because she is easily irritated, obstreperous, impatient, and quick to anger . Bonham Carter's head was digitally increased to three times its original size on screen . The character hates animals, and chooses to use them as servants and furniture . It is implied that the Red Queen beheaded her former husband, the King . The actress took inspiration from her young daughter Nell, a toddler, stating that, "The Red Queen is just like a toddler, because she's got a big head and she's a tyrant ." </Li> <Li> Anne Hathaway as Mirana of Marmoreal, the White Queen . She was one of few characters that did not require digital manipulation . Hathaway summed up her character with a caption on a magnet of Happy Bunny holding a knife; "Cute but psycho . Things even out ." According to Hathaway, "She comes from the same gene pool as the Red Queen . She really likes the dark side, but she's so scared of going too far into it that she's made everything appear very light and happy . But she's living in that place out of fear that she won't be able to control herself ." Hathaway described her interpretation of the White Queen as "a punk - rock vegan pacifist", with inspiration drawn from Debbie Harry, Greta Garbo, and the artwork of Dan Flavin . Burton said that the White Queen's appearance was inspired by Nigella Lawson . </Li>

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