Honestly, it feels like a lifetime ago. But when the first trailer Alice in Wonderland dropped back in 2009 for Tim Burton’s reimagining, it didn't just promote a movie. It broke the internet before that was even a common phrase. You remember the vibe: that oversaturated, neon-gothic aesthetic, Johnny Depp looking absolutely unhinged as the Mad Hatter, and Danny Elfman’s score creeping in the background. It was a fever dream.
People were obsessed.
Disney knew exactly what they were doing by leaning into the "visual feast" angle. The trailer was a masterclass in curiosity-gap marketing. It promised a version of Lewis Carroll’s world that was darker, weirder, and more "Burton-esque" than anything we'd seen in the 1951 animated classic. But looking back now, that trailer actually tells us a lot about how Hollywood sells us nostalgia—and how it sometimes tricks us into thinking a movie is something it isn’t.
The Trailer Alice in Wonderland and the Birth of the Live-Action Trend
You’ve gotta realize that before this, Disney wasn’t really in the business of gutting their vault for live-action remakes every six months. This was the catalyst. The trailer Alice in Wonderland presented a "sequel-reboot" hybrid. It showed a nineteen-year-old Alice, not the little girl from the books.
The marketing was clever because it targeted two different groups at once. You had the parents who grew up with the cartoon, and then you had the "Hot Topic" generation who worshipped The Nightmare Before Christmas. By the time the teaser hit the one-minute mark, everyone was sold. It looked like a revolution in CGI.
Looking at it through a 2026 lens, the CGI in that original 2010 film actually looks a bit... crunchy. But at the time? It was cutting-edge stuff. The trailer leaned heavily on the Red Queen’s oversized head (Helena Bonham Carter) and the Cheshire Cat’s vaporous disappearances. It was meant to be jarring. It was meant to feel like a "trip."
Why the Teaser Worked Better Than the Movie
Some film critics, like those over at Empire or The Hollywood Reporter, have noted over the years that trailer editing is its own art form, separate from filmmaking. The trailer Alice in Wonderland is the perfect example of this. In two minutes, it suggests a plot that is fast-paced and high-stakes.
🔗 Read more: Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus Explained (Simply)
In reality, the movie was a bit more of a slog for some.
The trailer used quick cuts to hide the fact that the story was basically a standard "Chosen One" narrative—a trope that even back then was getting a little tired. But the music? Man, the music in that trailer was doing heavy lifting. It used a combination of original score and atmospheric sound design that made Underland feel like a place you had to visit, even if it was dangerous.
Decoding the Visual Language of Tim Burton’s Wonderland
If you watch that trailer Alice in Wonderland again, pay attention to the color grading. It starts out very muted, almost sepia-toned in the "real world" of Victorian England. Then, the moment Alice falls down the rabbit hole, the saturation explodes.
It’s a classic Wizard of Oz move.
But Burton added his own twist. Everything is slightly distorted. The trees have those characteristic curls. The smoke from the Caterpillar’s hookah (voiced by the late, great Alan Rickman) forms physical shapes. This wasn't just a trailer; it was a portfolio for what Disney’s "Live Action" era was going to look like: big, loud, and incredibly expensive.
- The Mad Hatter: Johnny Depp’s reveal was the money shot. The orange hair, the neon green eyes—it was peak 2010s stardom.
- The Jabberwocky: They teased the monster just enough to make it feel like an epic fantasy, almost like Lord of the Rings but for the goth kids.
- The Tone: It balanced whimsy with a weird sense of dread.
The 2016 Sequel: Alice Through the Looking Glass
We can't talk about the original without mentioning the trailer Alice in Wonderland follow-up for the 2016 sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass. This one took a totally different approach. It replaced Tim Burton (who stayed on as a producer) with director James Bobin.
💡 You might also like: Big Brother 27 Morgan: What Really Happened Behind the Scenes
The trailers for the second film leaned heavily on the concept of "Time" himself, played by Sacha Baron Cohen. They used a very haunting cover of Jefferson Airplane’s "White Rabbit" by P!nk. It was a stylistic choice that screamed, "This is more serious now."
Interestingly, while the first movie’s trailer helped propel it to over a billion dollars at the box office, the second one struggled. Maybe the novelty had worn off. Or maybe, quite frankly, the audience realized that the "visual feast" promised in the trailers didn't always satisfy the hunger for a deep story.
What Most People Miss About the Marketing
A lot of people forget that the trailer Alice in Wonderland actually faced some controversy. In the UK, there was a brief stand-off between Disney and cinema owners over the DVD release window. Some theaters threatened not to show the movie—or its trailer—at all.
Eventually, they caved. Why? Because the buzz from the trailer was too big to ignore.
The "Alice" marketing campaign was one of the first to really leverage YouTube in its infancy for viral reach. They released "character vignettes" which were basically mini-trailers for the Mad Hatter, the Red Queen, and the White Queen. It was a saturation strategy. You couldn't go anywhere without seeing those huge, distorted eyes.
Lessons from the Rabbit Hole
When you look back at any trailer Alice in Wonderland version, there’s a clear takeaway for how we consume media. We are suckers for "vibe."
📖 Related: The Lil Wayne Tracklist for Tha Carter 3: What Most People Get Wrong
The 2010 trailer sold a vibe so successfully that it defined the next decade of Disney's business model. Maleficent, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast—they all owe their existence to the success of that first Alice teaser. It proved that audiences didn't necessarily want a beat-for-beat remake of the cartoon. They wanted to see the "real" version of those worlds, even if the "real" version was 90% green screen.
How to Re-Experience Wonderland Today
If you're looking to dive back into this world, don't just re-watch the movie. Look at the evolution of the marketing. It’s actually pretty fascinating to see how the industry's "sell" changed between 2010 and 2016.
- Watch the 2010 Teaser first. Note how it focuses on the "world-building" and the shock of the visuals.
- Compare it to the 2016 "Time" trailer. See how it shifts toward a more emotional, character-driven narrative.
- Check out the "Wonderland" art books. The trailers use the "best" shots, but the concept art shows just how much work went into the stuff that ended up on the cutting room floor.
- Listen to the soundtrack separately. Danny Elfman’s work on the first film is genuinely some of his best, and it’s why the trailer felt so magical.
The trailer Alice in Wonderland remains a pivotal moment in film history. It wasn't just a commercial; it was a shift in how movies are made and sold. It showed us that if you can make a world look interesting enough for ninety seconds, people will follow you anywhere—even down a dark, terrifying rabbit hole.
Next time you see a trailer for a big-budget remake, look for the "Alice Blueprint." It’s everywhere. The high-contrast colors, the slowed-down pop song, the focus on one specific A-list actor in heavy makeup. It all started here.
The best way to appreciate the craftsmanship is to watch the trailers in 4K if you can find them. It highlights the texture work that was meant to dazzle audiences in theaters. Even sixteen years later, that first glimpse of the Cheshire Cat appearing in the fog still holds a bit of that old Disney magic, despite all the CGI bells and whistles that followed.
Actionable Insight: To understand the impact of visual marketing, compare the 2010 Alice trailer with the 1951 original trailer. Notice how the focus shifted from "storytelling and song" to "immersive atmosphere and celebrity." This shift defines the modern blockbuster era.