I'm not the most learned watcher of musicals, but I have had some experience (performing in them, seeing them, and listening to their music until my ears bleed because my best friend adores them).

It seems self-evident to me that if you were going to make a musical with parts as difficult to sing as those in Sweeney Todd, you wouldn't just cast your usual buddies with no regard for the fact that they'll actually have to *perform* the music that made the story famous in the first place...

Don't get me wrong.  I love Johnny Depp and Alan Rickman and Helena Bonham Carter as much as the next guy.  But they are gifted film actors, not musical actors who are capable of handling some of Sondheim's most difficult roles.

Furthermore, am I the only one who's tired of a Tim Burton film starring Depp & Carter, both done up in black leather and pale-face makeup, set in obviously-sceniced gray locations?  This formula's a bit tired...