Sweeney Sings ... A Little

Last week, Tim Burton unveiled about 17 minutes of Sweeney Todd footage in New York, and now they're letting the rest of us get a look at it too. Specifically, an extended listen to Johnny Depp's singing voice. Personally, I'm still holding my judgment until I actually see the movie -- or at least more then this little snippet; Depp's voice doesn't blow you away like you may want it to, but it still could work in the context of the film as a whole. Right now, it just sounds like ... well, Johnny Depp singing. Still, as it was recently revealed, Stephen Sondheim himself signed off on the casting (and was also involved in trimming down his iconic score), so I guess if Sondheim says he'll work, we can at least wait and see if he's right.

Above you'll find one of two new posters for this eagerly awaited big screen Sweeney. As you can surmise, the marketing department is working overtime to cover all their bases in regards to the disparate audiences for the film, and I expect we'll soon be seeing a new, all-singing trailer any day now.

In more Burton news, the eccentric director has returned once more to the Disney fold. He was an animator back in their dark days of the 1980's, and, post-Batman, he made two of his best movies (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood) for the studio in the mid-90's. Now, post-Todd, he'll direct not one, but two fantasy films that will utilize the 3-D technology that is all the rage these days. The first will be yet another adaptation of Alice in Wonderland that will combine mo-cap animation with live action (let's see ... Depp as the Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter as the Queen of Hearts and Alan Rickman as the Mock Turtle ... I guess that will work). The second will be a feature length version of his cult short film, Frankenweenie, about a dog that is resurrected, well, like Frankenstein. It will utilize stop motion animation in the style of his Nightmare and Corpse Bride, so expect a long production time for that one.

Click here to buy Sweeney Toddposters from Amazon.com.
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