Pictured: Inside the Obamas' secret Alice In Wonderland-themed Halloween party at White House that was kept under wraps for TWO years

Held during the depths of the recession, Obamas knew it would be bad PR



Johnny Depp and Tim Burton helped host the event but their names were kept off the visitor logs in an effort to keep the party secret



The first pictures of the infamous Alice in Wonderland Halloween party at the White House emerged today - just hours it was revealed the Obama administration kept the 2009 celebration under wraps for two years.



The pictures will likely add to the embarrassment for the administration as the Obamas have been highly criticized for hosting a lavish Halloween party- with guests like actor Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton- in 2009 at the same time that the country was in the midst of a recession.



The initial news of the party came from a book, written by New York Times journalist Jodi Kantor, which maintains that the reason why it was kept so quiet at the time was because the administration was aware that it would be in poor form for them to host an extravagant party when so many were suffering financially.

Festive family portrait: (L-R) Johnny Depp dresses as the Mad Hatter as he joined Michelle, Malia, Barack and Sasha Obama, director Tim Burton and Mia Wasikowska as Alice

Party people: Wasikowska (second from left), Burton, Depp and actor Deep Roy (bottom right) joined other revellers in the White House. Roy played an Oompa Loompa in Mr Burton's Charlie and The Chocolate Factory

'White House officials were so nervous about how a splashy, Hollywood-esque party would look to jobless Americans — or their representatives in Congress, who would soon vote on health care — that the event was not discussed publicly and Burton’s and Depp’s contributions went unacknowledged,' recounts Ms Kantor in her book.



The party- which was attended by military families, the families of White House staffers, and the first daughters' friends- which was decorated like Mr Burton's then-unreleased film Alice In Wonderland, and the movie's two biggest stars- Mr Depp and Mia Wasikowska- mingled among guests.



Just days after Ms Kantor's book came out, blogs began to circulate the pictures which showed the elaborate costumes and smiling stars.



Mr Depp was dressed as his creepy take on the Mad Hatter and Ms Wasikowska looked innocent as the wide-eyed Alice as they posed for pictures in the formal halls of the White House.

Mr Burton got into the act also, wearing a heart-shaped eye patch over his left eye and was careful to keep his well-known tousled hair a mess even though he was meeting the first family.

In character but out of touch: Critics argue that the party was inappropriate because of the recession, and that Hollywood stars like Depp and Roy (pictured) shouldn't be partying in the White House at that time

Decorative: Characters from Mr Burton's films, like Jack Skellington, the Rabbit and the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland also made appearances though theirs were less life-like than the Mad Hatter

Pre-release: Mr Burton's adaptation of the children's classic didn't come out until March 2010, so the guests at the Halloween party were unofficial reviewers of his take on the tale

The pictures show, however, that the two Oscar nominees were not the only stars at the party.

Burton-buffs will recognize actor Deep Roy, known for his role as an orange Oompa Loompa in Mr Burton’s 2005 version of the children’s classic Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.

First daughters Malia and Sasha, who were respectively 11 and 8 at the time, got into the spirit of things as well.

Sasha dressed up as the Queen of Hearts wearing a red dress and black lipstick in keeping with Helena Bonham Carter’s goth depiction of the character in Mr Burton’s film.



Music in their bones: Mr Burton was flanked by the skeleton band who performed at the trick-or-treating portion of the Halloween festivities at the White House

Out from behind the mask: At one point in the party, Mr Depp (far right) took off the Mad Hatter costume and posed with a White House staffer, while Mr Burton (back left) stayed in his goth get-up the whole time

Malia stepped away from the film, however, and dressed up like the girl depicted on Morton Salt containers by wearing white tights and a yellow jumper. In case guests were confused, she also seems to have toted around a massive container of the condiment during the party.

Michelle and Barack Obama are dressed as they were earlier in the day, with the first lady wearing a leopard print top and matching ears while the President opted out of wearing a costume, simply dressing casually in a sweater and khakis.

Mr Burton and Mr Depp playfully posed for pictures with guests which included White House staffers, their families, Sasha and Malia’s friends, and the children of military men and women.

Dinner dates: Wasikowska and Roy smile as they sit at the table with vintage-inspired lace table cloths, bone-shaped meringues in the bottom left corner and a pack of playing cards in keeping with the Wonderland theme

In the spirit: The group takes a goody picture as Roy holds first dog Bo and Mr Depp gets into his creepy character

Mrs Obama has invited the children of military families to many of the events she has hosted while first lady, including more recent Halloween trick-or-treating sessions and the unveiling of the White House Christmas decorations- which even had a Gold Star Families tree dedicated to the group.

The Halloween party took place five months before Mr Burton's Alice in Wonderland film was released, so the kids served as informal taste-testers and gave an indication of how his spooky take on the Disney classic would be received.

As the children walked into the State Dining Room, they were greeted by a fully-costumed Mr Depp standing on a table decorated with vintage-inspired table cloths and surrounded by giant stuffed animals.

Seeing the sights: Burton and Roy pose for a picture in an unidentified but ornate room in the White House, and though it appears to be curved, it certainly is not the Oval Office

The pictures show that statues of characters of Mr Burton’s films helped decorate the room, with the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland sitting down to tea and the skeleton-like character Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas standing tall.

Favorite pet: Mr Roy seemed to take a liking to the Obama's dog Bo

One of the pictures shows Ms Wasikowska and Mr Roy sitting at the table with bone-shaped meringue cookies and packets of playing cards, both of which play to the cartoon-like nature of the film.

Earlier in the day, the first couple handed out presidential M&Ms, sugar cookies, and dried fruit to D.C.-area children who attended the well-publicized trick-or-treating event.

The fact that many members of the White House press covered the earlier trick-or-treating photo op but did not report on the later party has left commentators outraged.

One way that the Obamas were able to keep the later party under wraps was by leaving the names of actor Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton off the White House visitors logs.

The records, which the Obama administration posts online in an effort to promote transparency, do not list the two stars who helped host the party that came under attack given the disparity between Hollywood opulence and tough economic times.

Officials dismissed any implication of a cover-up, however, saying that celebrities who visit the White House while working are not considered guests, and therefore not listed in the logs.

‘Entertainers and production crews who are working events are generally not WAVED in since they are not guests visiting the White House, they are working,’ an anonymous administration source told Politico.

The New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor who exposed the party in her new book, The Obamas, maintained that the reason why it was kept so quiet at the time was because the administration was aware that it would be in poor form for them to host an extravagant party when so many were suffering financially.

Don't forget the eyebrows! Mr Depp's wig was carefully guarded before he donned the crazy costume

Prep time: A make up artist was on hand to get the actors into costume, though it is unclear whether or not the building out the window is the White House or a neighboring federal building

'White House officials were so nervous about how a splashy, Hollywood-esque party would look to jobless Americans — or their representatives in Congress, who would soon vote on health care — that the event was not discussed publicly and Burton’s and Depp’s contributions went unacknowledged,' recounts Jodi Kantor in her book, 'The Obamas'.



In addition to Mr Depp and Mr Burton's appearances, the Obama's also talked Star Wars director George Lucas and convinced him to lend them the original Chewbacca costume for the entertainment of their guests.

Since the news broke- two years after the fact- the White House has been doing damage control, while still maintaining that they never actively tried to hide the attendance of two Academy Award nominees.

Glum outlook: Mr Burton, with two other guests, wore a heart-shaped eyepatch as an ode to his film

Picture time: While he may have looked dour, he was clearly happy posing for photos with friends (left) and White House staffers (right) throughout the night

‘We may not have alerted folks that Johnny Depp was coming, but we didn’t announce Chewbacca was coming either,’ White House spokesman Eric Schultz told The Washington Post.

Mr Schultz's asserted that members of the White House press pool were told of the party- saying some took photos and were invited- but none of those journalists reported on the party at the time of the event.

For the kids: The Obamas, seen here handing out treats to Washington school children before the hush-hush party for military families

Tradition: The first couple hands out packets of sugar cookies, dried fruit and M&Ms with the seal of the president to kids before the lavish party

Let the music play: The skeleton band performed as the local children and their families got candy from the first couple, but it is unknown whether or not they also performed at the secret Alice in Wonderland party as well

‘If we’re trying to hide something by bringing in the press, we’re not very good at it,’ White House press secretary Jay Carney said.

Only two sources made note of the attendance of Mr Depp and Mr Burton: the Nashville Tennessean and a fan site called JohnnyDeppNews.com.

'Even Johnny Depp’s fans knew about it and posted on their website. Just goes to show you can't believe everything you read in books these days,' Mr Schultz continued.

White House visitor logs from 2009 do not list any of the stars that attended the party, but there certainly were some boldfaced-names that did make the cut.

Actors George Clooney and Brad Pitt (listed under his legal name of William B Pitt) both visited the hallowed halls, Mr Clooney just a month after President Obama took office and Mr Pitt for a standard tour of the building.

On and off the list: (L-R) Visits by Brad Pitt and George Clooney were listed in the White House logs, and while Jay Z (far right) was also listed, while his wife Beyonce Knowles (second from right) was not because she sang at an event and was therefore classified as working and not a guest



Rapper Jay-Z (legal name Shawn Carter) is also listed, but his wife Beyoncé Knowles is not. The reason Beyoncé was kept off the list follows the White House statement because she was performing, and, in keeping with their rules, not considered a guest.

The logs do show many visitors for the Halloween in question, though many of their last names are kept off the record.

The high amount of traffic in the building on the holiday is not surprising, however, as Barack and Michelle did play host to a (very public) group of trick-or-treaters before the Alice in Wonderland party.



