Trailer of Burton's 'Alice' (briefly) hits the Web. Wonderment ensues.

If you've got an Internet connection, you probably already heard the news: Tim Burton, the brain behind "Beetlejuice," "Sleepy Hollow" and a dozen other fantastical flicks, has directed a live-action adaption of Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland."

Today, months before the movie's 2010 release date, an early trailer was passed from blog to blog, gathering dropped jaws in its wake.

But by mid-afternoon, the trailer was pulled from YouTube and other video sharing sites, apparently on the request of the producers of "Alice in Wonderland." What gives? According to at least one news site, the problem lies with IGN.com, which released the trailer a day ahead of schedule. Eventually, IGN.com removed the video from its site; the trailer then migrated to TrailerAddict.com.

A few hours later, TrailerAddict.com followed IGN.com's lead. The video is still circulating the web, but you'll have to have a pretty good command of bit torrent technology to get to it. (And we certainly don't condone piracy.) Barring that, you'll have to wait along with the rest of us – the trailer is set to be officially unveiled this week at the San Diego Comic-Con, in conjunction with a Facebook promotion.

Here's the gist of that promo: If you're a Facebook member, you can become a fan of "Alice" characters like the White Queen and the Mad Hatter; the group with the most fans gets to see the trailer first. For what it's worth, the Mad Hatter – played in the film by Johnny Depp – is leading the pack.

Of course, by now, the contest is sort of moot: millions of folks nationwide have already seen the trailer.

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