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Love this film.Very quirky,but compulsive viewing.If you love Labyrinth,Dark crystal type weirdness,watch Mirrormask.Great actors in it too.
Love this film. This is a continuation of the tradition of fantastical films about the adolescent transition of young women. Other films in this vein are "Alice in Wonderland", "Paperhouse",and "Labrynth." The film was produced by Henson Studios, and is presented like their other features, but rather than puppets and elaborate sets, animation replaces those elements. Some of the people I talke to also loved the visuals but felt the story was a bit dull, that they had seen it all before. Well, it's true that the story does wear its influences on its sleeve--a little "Alice in Wonderland" here, a little "Time Bandits" there, a lot of "Wizard of Oz" over here, not to mention a resemblance to Gaiman's own "Coraline." But I'm just as familiar with those stories as anyone else, and the resemblances never interrupted my enjoyment of "MirrorrMask"--after all, it's what you do with a story that determines its success. And from moment to moment, there was enough innovation and cleverness, enough delight and wonder, to make the movie a memorable. Visually I found it stunning. I am familiar with McKean's work, and I found this to be amongst his best. It was distinctly McKean's style. The use of color was phenomenal, as well as surreal composition. I was enthralled seeing his creations in literal motion, rather than the usual implied motion. I personally thought there were a number of visual references to other great films, but I'll leave that to your opinion. I thought the direction clearly demonstrated his grasp of composition. The writing was true to Gaiman's tradition of off-beat fairy tales. The pacing was dreamlike, flowing between slow moments of beauty and exposition to frenetic moments of fierce action. Humor, dark and otherwise, punctuated the film. The dialogue was very strong. I was also very fond of the use of sound. One scene is a frightening and beautiful music video, that can be lifted out of the film completely and carry itself. It fits better in the film, but doesn't need to. The film fits extremely well with all of the previous Henson Productions. I suggest having seen "Dark Crystal", "Labyrinth", and "Jim Henson's The Storyteller" before viewing this. The piece fits very well with these. Parents need to know that although there's some potentially scary creature imagery in this fantastical plunge into a post-modern Wonderland, it's more weird and playfully grotesque than ugly or horrific. A menacing queen who sprouts black tentacles (through her mouth at one point) is the worst of it. Some young viewers may just be more confused about the otherworldly events and warped logic than scared or otherwise upset.Read full review
Mirrormask is one of the most visually arresting films that I have seen. Lovingly crafted by the bizarre imagination of Dave McKean ('directed' seems like the wrong word) it is unlikely to be quite like anything you have seen before. Unless, that is, you are familiar with McKean's previous work as an artist collaborating with the writer Neil Gaiman. Gaiman also wrote the screenplay for this film, and is interviewed with McKean in the DVD special features. Mirrormask was intended to be a film that follows on from the traditions of the Jim Henson films The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. Whilst the dreamlike plot-structure and heroine of the film draws parallels with that of Labyrinth, the visual possibilities of modern computer graphics offer a different vista than could have been achieved by Henson's ground-breaking puppet-mastery. Such technology is exploited to full effect, with much of the film taking place in an alternate and surreal reality. The central character, a young girl on the verge of becoming a woman, is perfectly played by the delightful Stephanie Leonidas. Her quest, however, is somewhat predictable in nature and not quite what I would have hoped for from such an accomplished writer as Gaiman. That said, this is a fairy tale of sorts, and Gaiman writes such simple stories better than most. A beautiful, mad, exquisite film. Highly recommended.Read full review
Mirrormask is a collaboration between the storytelling skills of Neil Gaiman (Sandman, Good Omens, American Gods) and artist Dave McKean (Sandman). It's a fantasy movie, heavy on special effects and wildly imaginative plot elements. The movie follows the story of a young girl who lives and performs in a circus. When her mother falls ill, she enters a fantasy world of her own creation and is tasked with saving the land of light from the dark shadows. To go too much into the plot would be to spoil the movie itself, so I can best describe this as a modern-day Alice in Wonderland tale, but without the heavy religious allegories. It's at once joyful, depressing, mindboggling and funny, each adding to the others, rather than taking anything away. The special effects are stunning, and were created by the masters at Jim Henson's Workshop. The only real negative about the film is that it feels like it takes an age to start, but once it does, it's brilliant. Highly recommended for all fantasy fans, and those who want a little bit of escapism.Read full review
This is a great film. I signed up because of the Jim Henson connection. I love Labyrinth & The Dark Crystal and was led to believe that this was a film in the same vein. That's not neccesarily so. There's no cutesy pseudo muppets with funny voices helping out on jolly quests here. This is all pretty brutal and grown up by comparison. But it is beautifully made and gloriously filmed. Essentially Mirrormask follows a young girl on a quest to save her mother, alternating between a gritty real world and a dark nighmarish world created by Mr Gaiman. This is a film made by people with soaring imaginations. The central plot may well be a bit paint by numbers, but the characters and the setting more than make up for any deficit. My youngest (5), being a big fan of Labrynth, watched this but didnt particularly enjoy it, it was a tad too dark. My eldest (10) loved it as did I. Interesting well made storytelling.Read full review
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