I totally agree with you about this movie being a merchandising opportunity, and another chance to cash in on the team of Depp and Burton. I loved them in their earlier movies, like Ed Wood and Edward Scissorhands... but lately they're getting too weird for me - LOL!

and I also agree with you that kids will see Burton's version of Alice and they won't know how wonderful the original is! Hopefully, as I said to another friend, they will be intrigued enough to want to read the books, but do kids even read anymore? I worry about that stuff too! I want to make sure my niece and nephew read the classics - it's my job to buy them books as they get older, and I've already got a set of The Chronicles of Narnia to give to my nephew when he's old enough. I better go out and buy a good version of Lewis Carroll's classic too:)