Mia Wasikowska as Alice (ABOVE) and Johnny Depp (BELOW) as the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ rated PG. (Photo courtesy of Disney)

The anticipation for Tim Burton’s 3D “Alice in Wonderland” could not have been higher.

A better match in artistic sensibilities than between director Tim Burton and Lewis Carroll’s classics “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass” would be hard to imagine, as the material seemed custom-made for the director.

Throw in a cast headed by Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, plus 3D technology, and the table was set for a feast of delightful cinematic whimsy.

Sadly, this film is not quite all that.

Firstly, it is not a new movie version of Carroll’s crazy-delightful books, but instead a less imaginative, Alice-returns-to-Wonderland tale, with an adult Alice. While the visual elements are a complete treat and individual performances are often quite good, it represents a missed opportunity for a new cinema classic.

The story change does allow a bigger part for Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter, a more conflicted 20-year-old Alice (Mia Wasikowska) and a bit of a romance angle. A lot of the original Wonderland silliness is still there, with Alice chasing the waist-coated rabbit and falling down a rabbit hole. Familiar characters appear, like the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover), White Queen (Anne Hathaway), Cheshire Cat (voiced by Stephen Fry) and hookah-smoking Caterpillar (voiced by Alan Rickman). But the plot more closely resembles “The Wizard of Oz,” with a touch of Joan of Arc, than the “Alice” books a curious development indeed.

This is not to say the film is not entertaining. The Tim Burton visual style fills the eyes with a color-drenched, marvelously rich 3D world, a delight simply to watch. Individual scenes are often quirky delights, like when Alice comes across the Mad Hatter, March Hare (voiced by Paul Whitehouse) and Dormouse (voiced by Barbara Windsor) at their lunatic tea party. Johnny Depp quoting the poem “The Jabberwocky” as he spirits a shrunken Alice to safety aboard his hat is a delicious example of one of several performance highlights in the film, both poetic and comic.

Bonham Carter’s performance is a standout that challenges Depp for dominance in the film-goer’s mind, but other actors are memorable as well, such as Anne

Hathaway’s comically-graceful “Disney princess” performance and Alan Rickman’s dry, droll Caterpillar.

The appearance of the actors is manipulated to great effect, with Depp sporting unnaturally large, unfocused green eyes along with wild red hair, and Bonham Carter with large, bulbous head on a tiny body.

There has been a lot of talk about 3D movies like “Alice” being a game-changer for the industry, with comparisons to the advent of sound film. It certainly would require theaters to do the same kind of expensive upgrade, but in fact, 3D might be more like the advent of color film, a bigger plus for some kinds of films than others.

Whether theaters will rush to splurge on the re-fit might depend on their core audience.

The 3D effect is a major appeal for “Alice” but overall, the film is less than the sum of its parts.

It is sunk by the weak plot, including an unnecessary framing story, in which the grown-up Alice is inexplicably clothed like the 19th century child in the books’ original illustrations, rather than as an adult woman of the period.

No amount of visual dazzle and striking individual roles can overcome the less-than-involving storyline or the disappointment of true “Alice” fans wanting a fresh adaptation of the books.

“Alice in Wonderland” is an entertaining movie but it is also certainly a missed opportunity to create a true, new cinema classic.

Grade: B