- Johnny Depp as Tarrant Hightopp / Mad Hatter:[8] Wasikowska said that the characters "both feel like outsiders and feel alone in their separate worlds, and have a special bond and friendship."[9][10] Burton explained that Depp "tried to find a grounding to the character … as opposed to just being mad."[11] Burton also said that "[i]n 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."[11] 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".[12] Depp and Burton decided that the Hatter's clothes, skin, hair, personality and accent would change throughout the film to reflect his emotions.[13] In an interview with Depp, the character was paralleled to "a mood ring, [as] his emotions are very close to the surface".[14] 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.[15] Illusionary dancer David "Elsewhere" Bernal doubled for Depp during the "Futterwacken" sequence near the end of the film.[16]
- 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.[17] 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."[18] 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".[17][19] Mairi Ella Challen portrayed Alice as a six-year-old girl.[20]
- Helena Bonham Carter as Iracebeth / Red Queen: She is an amalgamation of two Carroll characters: the Red Queen and the Queen of Hearts.[8] Her first name is a play on the word irascible because she is easily irritated, obstreperous, impatient, and quick to anger.[21] Bonham Carter's head was digitally increased to three times its original size on screen.[22][23] The character hates animals, and chooses to use them as servants and furniture.[24] 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."
- Anne Hathaway as Mirana / White Queen:[8] She was one of few characters that did not require digital manipulation.[25] Hathaway summed up her character with a caption on a magnet of Happy Bunny holding a knife; "Cute but psycho. Things even out."[26] 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."[27] 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.[27] Burton said that the White Queen's appearance was inspired by Nigella Lawson.[28]
- Crispin Glover as Ilosovic Stayne / Knave of Hearts:[8] The Knave of Hearts is arrogant and tricky. While he follows the Red Queen's every order, he is the only one capable of calming her dramatic mood swings. Glover said, "The Red Queen has a fair amount of short-tempered reactions to things that people do, and so [the Knave] has to be quite diplomatic." The Red Queen believes that the Knave of Hearts is her lover, but this proves to be false.
- Matt Lucas as Tweedledee / Tweedledum: Burton commented on the mixture of animation and Lucas, saying that "It's a weird mixture of things which gives his characters the disturbing quality that they so richly deserve."[29] The characters are portrayed through a combination of CGI and live-action, with Lucas's face digitally composited to a full animated body. While performing the character, Lucas had to wear a teardrop-shaped motion capture suit and walk on stilts. In order to play both characters, Lucas was doubled by Ethan Cohn.
- Frances de la Tour as Imogene: Alice's aunt.[30] She is suffering from severe delusions and is constantly awaiting her fictional fiancé whom she believes to be a prince.
- Leo Bill as Hamish Ascot: Alice's would-be fiancé.[30]
Marton Csokas makes a cameo appearance as Alice's deceased father in the film's opening scene and Alice's mother is played by Lindsay Duncan. Lord and Lady Ascot are played by Tim Pigott-Smith and Geraldine James, respectively. Eleanor Tomlinson and Eleanor Gecks play the Cathaway sisters, who bear a strong resemblance to Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Jemma Powell appears briefly as Alice's sister, Margaret, while Margaret's unfaithful husband Lowell is played by John Hopkins.
Voice cast
- Michael Sheen as Nivens McTwisp / White Rabbit:[8][31] Sheen said the character "is such an iconic character that [he] didn't feel like [he] should break the mold too much."[32] Burton said the quality he wanted most in his clock-watching bunny was a twitchiness, also commenting that "[in] any incarnation of the [White Rabbit] through the years, there's that sort of nervousness of a rabbit."[32]
- Alan Rickman as Absolem the Caterpillar:[8] Rickman was originally going to have his face composited onto the animated Caterpillar. He was filmed recording his voice in the studio, but the idea was eventually scrapped. The animators did, however, try to give Absolem's face characteristics similar to Rickman's.[23]
- Stephen Fry as Cheshire:[8][33] Burton stated that the character had a creepy quality in addition to tapping into his own hatred of cats.[34] The role was intended to be played by Michael Sheen but he changed his role to the White Rabbit due to scheduling conflicts.
- Barbara Windsor as Mallymkun the Dormouse:[8] Burton said that he sought after Windsor for the role because he was a fan of her character in the TV show EastEnders. Her voice sealed the deal for her role as the character.[35]
- Timothy Spall as Bayard Hamar / Bloodhound: Although Bayard does not appear in the book, a similar character named The Puppy is likely the inspiration for the character.
- Paul Whitehouse as Thackery Earwicket / March Hare:[8] Burton stated that because Whitehouse is a great comedic actor, a lot of his lines came from improvisation.[36]
- Michael Gough as Uilleam the Dodo:[8] Burton said that Gough was the first person he thought of for the role of Uilleam because he has "a full life quality to his voice".[37] The character only speaks three lines, that Gough recorded in a day. This would be Gough's final acting role; he died a year after its release, aged 94. Gough had previously portrayed the March Hare in the 1966 TV play of the book.
- Christopher Lee as The Jabberwocky: While it only had two lines, Burton said that he felt Lee to be a good match for the iconic character because he is "an iconic guy".[38] For the character, Lee had originally tried to make his voice "burble" (as described in the poem "Jabberwocky"). However, Burton convinced him to use his actual voice, as he found it more intimidating and aggressive.
- Imelda Staunton as The Talking Flowers: Though there are many flowers that appear around Underland, only one of them speaks and one of them is clearly a caricature of Staunton.[39] Staunton only speaks three lines that are heard very briefly at the beginning of the film.
- Jim Carter as The Executioner: The Executioner only speaks one line and appears extremely briefly, though Carter also voiced several other servants to the Red Queen.
Frank Welker provided additional voices and vocal effects; including roars of the Jabberwocky and Bandersnatch, squawks for the Jubjub bird, and Bayard's barking.[39] Rickman, Windsor, Fry, Gough, Lee, Staunton and Carter each took only a day to record their dialogue.[39]
