The first opening day studio panel has just concluded as Walt Disney Pictures brought Robert Zemeckis (“A Christmas Carol”), Tim Burton (“Alice in Wonderland”) and the “Tron: Legacy” principals to Hall H for a hefty three-dimensional dose.

The “Christmas Carol” footage, which was an extended version of the Marley’s ghost sequence Disney has been showing for a few months, seemed to leave the audience dizzy with glee.

Patton Oswalt sat down with Zemeckis before the unveiling for a brief Q&A, leading by questioning the director’s reason for tackling the Charles Dickens classic after so many incarnations have already been filmed.

“If you read the actual novel, it’s very, very trippy,” Zemeckis said.  “It’s very surreal and it’s really cool, and it’s very cinematic.  I think we now have the filmmaking tools to film what Dickens wrote.”

Oswalt addressed the issue of “dead eyes” in the performance capture technique and a term applied to the uneasy visceral feeling it summons: “the uncanny valley.”

“The uncanny valley is a term that was coined for robots, for mechanical people, anamatronic dolls, that kind of thing,” Zemeckis said.  “I don’t think it was ever meant to be used for cinema because cinema is illusion [and] in the illusion of cinema, the uncanny valley is an artistry thing; it has nothing to do with the technique.”

As Zemeckis continues to improve upon the technology, which he first began tinkering with in 2004′s “The Polar Express,” he is quite aware of the learning process, to which Oswalt smartly remarked, “You’re making the path by walking it.”

Regarding the casting of Jim Carrey in a slew of roles throughout the film (“He’s tied Alec Guiness for ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets,’” Oswalt said), Zemeckis offered, “I thought he would be the perfect performance capture actor.  He can create a character from inside his entire being and he also works with his entire body when he performs.  Every muscle in his body is emoting that performance and I thought that’s exactly the type of actor that would be perfect for this art form.”

One eager fan in the crowd asked the inevitable query regarding a potential sequel to “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”  Zemeckis said he would “neither confirm nor deny” the possibility, but that “if that ever does happen, the 2D animated characters from the original movie will remain 2D; they will not be dimensionalized.”  Inevitable applause ensued as that has been a point of concern for many fans.  But Zemeckis left the possibility open for including other 3D aspects.

Next up was Tim Burton and “Alice in Wonderland,” which debuted a trailer earlier this week.  This marked Burton’s first ever appearance at Comic-Con as a panelist, though he remembered his days of attending as a fan years ago.  “I haven’t been here since I was in college in the late-70s, and that was a few people and a slideshow so this is great,” he said.

Unfortunately, there was nothing new to be shown.  The crowd was treated to the recently unveiled teaser trailer, albeit in 3D.  Regarding Johnny Depp’s work on the film and his involvement in the look of The Mad Hatter, Burton said, “He’s the type of actor who, a lot of the character comes from the look and the feel of it.  It helps him to really create and get into what the character is.”

Oswalt asked Burton if there was anything else and the director, playing off his trademark awkward charm, said he had nothing else to offer.  “Let’s watch the trailer again,” Oswalt said, but it was obvious something was being milked here.  After a second look at the trailer, Oswalt asked again.

“Well, I have my imaginary friend with me, so maybe if I close my eyes,” Burton said, and on cue, out walked Johnny Depp, to the ecstatic, near-orgasmic screams of young women throughout the Hall.  Fans ran to the stage for a look and/or a photo op as Depp waved and merely said “Tim Burton” into the mic by way of tipping his hat to his frequent collaborator, and then he walked off stage just as swiftly.  With nothing more to showcase, Oswalt called for a third curtain call on the trailer and Burton, no doubt sensing that the repetition was a bit much, said, “I think that’s enough,” and then it was on to “Tron: Legacy.”

Actor Jeff Bridges was in attendance with co-stars Garett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde, as well as the producers and director of the film to discuss what they’ve been working on in the 12 months since they were on hand at the 2008 Comic-Con.  It was a massive geek-fest as concept art and test footage was unveiled.

“When we did the first movie, nothing was real,” said producer Steven Lisberger said.  “No one had a computer.  It was just time-sharing main frames.  After that we just put the disc in the stone and it took this team here, after 27 years, to pull the disc out of the stone.”

He also called the film a “cyber western,” which stuck out as a particularly intriguing classification.  The footage that was unveiled last year was shown again, this time in 3D, then the floor was turned over to the fans for the usual batch of half-baked queries.

With that, the Disney panel closed up shop and the crowd of Twihards got a little less satiable as the countdown for the upcoming “New Moon” panel began.  No, I won’t be covering said panel.  Sony is up next, though I won’t be covering it.  “Avatar” and Jim Cameron will take the stage at 3:00pm PST.

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• Disney sends all-star auteur team to Comic-Con
• COMIC-CON: ‘TRON Legacy’ invades Hall H for a third-straight year
• COMIC-CON: Wrapping it up…are we getting through?
• REVIEW: “A Christmas Carol” (***1/2)
• COMIC-CON: Wrapping it up
• ‘Tron: Legacy’ footage