When Tim Burton announces a film project, there are rarely any surprises in the casting department. It’s more like a check-list that ends with Christopher Lee. But is there really anything wrong with that? Martin Scorsese does it all the time!

With that introduction, it will come as no surprise to you that Burton’s partner, Helena Bonham-Carter, has been added to the cast of Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland.” It probably won’t even shock you to find out what legendary Lewis Carroll character she’s playing — the Red Queen, fond of red roses, croquet matches, and shouting “Off with their heads!” But again, can we really complain, when Bonham-Carter plays ferocious and unhinged so well?

There is a newcomer to the Burton club, however. Anne Hathaway has also joined the cast as the White Queen, the kind and generous monarch who’s throne was usurped by her bloodthirsty Red sister. In Burton’s version, she sends Alice on a quest to hunt the Bandersnatch — a creature which appears only in Carroll’s poems “Jabberwocky” and “The Hunting of the Snark.” While Carroll purists will probably complain about Burton taking liberties, anyone who’s read the disconcerting narrative of “Alice in Wonderland” or “Through the Looking Glass” can hardly blame him.

I can’t say that Burton’s “Alice” is on my must see list (I’m just not a fan of the story) but with the cast he’s lined up, it’s bound to be fun. Aren’t you looking forward to seeing the soft-spoken Hathaway square off against a demented Bonham-Carter?