SAN DIEGO -- Without makeup or effects, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp still seem like creatures from one or the other's imagination.

One has impossibly wild hair, speaks in frenetic stops and starts, and dresses in all black. The other is impossibly handsome but often covers his features with hats, long locks and facial hair. His out-there wardrobe reflects his out-there comrades in odd, the late Hunter S. Thompson and Keith Richards, and he speaks in soft, measured tones.

So, when the former, Tim Burton, looks at a screen full of images and says, "Looks like a freak show, doesn't it?" you just have to shake your head and say, "Good one, Tim."

He was referring to the giant screen at Comic-Con International that displayed a lineup of characters from Mr. Burton's "Alice in Wonderland," on 3-D and 2-D screens today.

Mr. Burton was at ease in front of the die-hard, devoted audience in the packed San Diego auditorium, an unexpected development considering his formative, outsider years a little more than 100 miles to the north, in Burbank.

Much has been made of Mr. Burton growing up in the shadow of all things Disney, then beginning his career as a concept artist at the studio. He eventually followed his own quirky, creepy vision from "Batman" to "Beetlejuice," "Corpse Bride" to "Sweeney Todd" and now back to his roots, with Disney the studio behind his "Alice."

But don't expect any resemblance to the 1951 Disney cartoon version of Lewis Carroll's classic literary work. The 2010 film is infused with a quirky sensibility that practically shrieks, "This is a Tim Burton film!"

An example of that are favorite outings among the director's seven movies with Johnny Depp, the mop-top Mad Hatter of "Alice."

"There are parts of each one that I love. But if I have to pick, probably ['Edward] Scissorhands' is special to me, and 'Ed Wood.' "

If he seemed antsy on the stage, he said it was because he was fully focused on finishing the film at hand. Want to know what freaks out Tim Burton?

"Actually being here [in San Diego], when it's not done. I have this sort of White Rabbit with a ticking clock, and I really ought to be doing it."

Employing a variety of technologies and stories has made "Alice" his most intricate project to date, he said. Linda Woolverton's screenplay follows a different road than the book of the same name, although the path was mapped by the author.

"A lot of the material is based on the [Jabberwocky] poem," Mr. Burton said. "That's the thing about this material. I've seen a lot of different film versions of it, and it's always just a girl wandering around sort of passively questioning these weird characters. So we tried to take all of the elements of [Carroll's work] and weave it into a story that has some movement to it and some emotion to it, so it's not just a series of weird events."

Among the most striking images seen in trailers are that of Mr. Depp's Mad Hatter and of Burton's baby mama and frequent collaborator, Helena Bonham Carter, whose Red Queen is rendered as a huge head on a tiny body.

Mr. Depp plays the Mad Hatter with day-glo green eyes and white eyelashes, wild red hair, pancake makeup and a tall top hat, not the first time he's gone full-out costume crazy. There have been memorable transformations as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films and Mr. Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," too.

Mr. Burton pretended to pull the hat over our eyes when the Mad Hatter's look came up.

"I think Johnny and I have been together many times, but he's never done a character with a large hat, so we scalped Carrot Top and took his hair," he said.

Good one, Tim.

Mr. Depp has described the look as Carrot Top Kabuki.

"As we got into it, we picked out every image to simulate red hair and realized it's a very disturbing thing," Mr. Burton said. "Johnny always does the hat, even the look and the feel of [the whole costume], from wearing the shoes. It starts from there, comfortable or not comfortable. It's all about getting to what the character is."

Film clips from "Alice" were screened in 3-D, and audience members howled as they came face to whisker with the Cheshire Cat, voiced by Stephen Fry.

"This confirms my hatred of cats," Mr. Burton said with a wry smile. "I have a thing about cats." Mr. Fry's voice work confirmed that the director puts cats in the "creepy" category.

Or rather, "freaky," as Mr. Burton put it.

The 3-D is just one element of a film that's packed with digital and practical effects.

"With the technology available ... we're just trying to find our own way to tell this material. We didn't end up doing too much motion capture; mostly just pure animation and then using the actors in mysterious ways."

Mr. Burton obviously had some magic up his sleeve as he stammered about having something else to show the audience.

"I think I brought ... I have an imaginary friend that sometimes ... He just happened to be in the neighborhood visiting Sea World ..."

And from stage left came Johnny Depp, hatless and waving to the crowd. He took the microphone, pointed to the director and said, "Tim Burton," then walked off with his friend without saying another word.

Good one, Tim.

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