Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter – What Does He Look Like?

Not long ago, an image of Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland appeared online, and then quickly vanished when the studio caught word of it. (Shhh, you can still see it over here – don’t say anything.) At the time, most folks either chalked it up as a complete fake or a close-enough-to-the-real-thing version of what Depp will look like playing the classic literary character in yet another much buzzed-about partnership with his go-to director Tim Burton. To put it simply, we just didn’t know what the truth was … until now (maybe).

The New York Times reports from a Disney board meeting in which the first image of Depp as The Mad Hatter was presented to a crowd who serenaded the screen "with a chorus of oohs and ahhs from the packed theater." The description of Depp in character certainly matched that of the earlier leaked image, and it went like this: "Victorian top hat, crimped hair that sticks straight out, and swirl of brightly colored make-up on his eyes, cheeks and lips that resembled the blur of a pinwheel blowing in the breeze."

Disney said they will not release the image now, and that folks will have to wait for the next issue of Disney Twenty-Three, their new quarterly magazine. In it we’ll be treated to an interview with Burton (where he describes the film as "kind of a mixture of some distorted live action and animation"), as well as concept art for the tea party scene. Also at the meeting, the first footage of Toy Story 3 was described as "jaw-droppingly good" by one audience member. Alice in Wonderland is set to arrive in theaters on March 5, 2010.

Which movie are you looking forward to the most: Alice in Wonderland or Toy Story 3?