We are all excited about the Alice movie. If we weren't, we wouldn't be on this spot. But is it really Alice's story anymore?

My friend, her sister, and I were at the cinema together seeing the Lightning Thief movie. As we left the theater, we were confronted by a huge poster for Alice in Wonderland with a crazy-big neon-bright image of the Mad Hatter on it. My friend's sister said "If it's called Alice in Wonderland, the why is there only a picture of the Hatter on the poster?"

It's a reasonable question, and one that really made me think. Of all the posters I had seen promoting Tim Burton's latest movie, almost all of them had the Mad Hatter as the center of attention. The posters I saw that actually had our heroine on them had either the Hatter standing prominently enoungh in the background or Johnny Depp's name in big and fancy gold lettering.

So why is the Hatter the one advertising? Isn't Alice the whole point of the story?

The most obvious reason is Johnny Depp. People will pay to see a movie starring Johnny Depp. How many people will pay to see a movie just because Mia Wasikowska is in it? Who? Exactly. She's not nearly as popular.

Another reason might be the eye-catching colors. If you see a girl in a pretty blue dress on a poster, you might take notice. But if you see a crazy guy with orange hair, bright green eyes, and a funny hat staring at you? That's bound to attract alot of attention. Aside from creeping you out just a little, it sticks in your head forever.

Then there's the weird part of it. People today like weird. They like new, different things that test the boundaries of reality and make their friends do a double take. If the Mad Hatter isn't weird, I don't know what he is.

The good news is, I don't think the movie will be so much the Hatter's. Sure, he'll be there, but not always the main deal. I love Johnny Depp as much as the next crazy fan, but it might detract some of the substance from the storyline if people are focused only on Johnny. Critics wouldn't like it. People wouldn't go see it as much. There would be less box office revenue.

Instead, as I'm sure will happen, people will follow the story of Alice, while loving the Hatter screen time. And then there's always the off-screen fanbase. Fanfiction, merchandise, and all other things Hatter can (and will), at the very least, keep this fan happy.

Because we pay to see Alice in Wonderland, not The Attack of the Story Stealers.