JOHNNY Depp has been a regular collaborator with director Tim Burton during the past two decades, and he gets top billing in a wild re-imagining of the books of Lewis Carroll.

Based on a screenplay by Linda Woolverton (The Lion King), Burton's descent down the rabbit hole in Alice In wonderland is a characteristically eye-catching and quixotic journey of self-discovery in a world where anything can, and probably will, happen.

Fans of the director's earlier work will recognise his thumbprints on the grotesque character design and the colourful sets, many rendered digitally.

However, the action-oriented narrative owes rather a lot to The Golden Compass and the Narnia films in terms of the imagery and plot developments.

It opens with rebellious 19-year-old heroine (Mia Wasikowska) faced with a most unexpected marriage proposal. Fleeing the public gaze to clear her head, Alice chases White Rabbit (voiced by Michael Sheen) down a hole, and reunites with old friends she cannot remember from her earlier visit to Wonderland.

The visuals are stunning, as you would expect, but characterisation is weak, and Depp's turn as the Mad Hatter is one bout of lunacy too far.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

CERTIFICATE: PG

RUNNING TIME:108 mins

STARTS: Today at the Odeon and Cinema De Lux in Derby and Cineworld in Burton in 3D (other cinemas in 2D).

RATING: 3/5