Mirrormask (2005)

MirrorMask is like the crack baby of Labyrinth and Alice in Wonderland--but this baby is more stylized, modern, and incredibly beautiful.

I am a huge fan of both Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman's work. I consider myself lucky, because I was able to meet Neil at the Salt Lake Public Library a couple of years ago, and I was treated to a sneak preview of MirrorMask at the San Diego Comic Convention in 2004. And amazingly enough, I got to see the film at the Sundance Film Festival on January 29th-- and Neil and Dave were there again. So, I've felt attached to this project for a while.

This is a film that children and adults will adore. The humor is great, and the characters are immediately enjoyable and identifiable. Helena, the main character, possesses the kind of wide-eyed wonderment and tenacious attitude that all viewers will find believably endearing. The other characters range from strangely beautiful and frightening, as in the Black Queen, to comical and seemingly ordinary, as in the sardonic juggler, Valentine. The background characters are beautifully rendered and reflect McKean's style perfectly. The costume design is particularly outstanding—details are not overlooked. One could view the film a dozen times and still see new surprises.

Like Labyrinth, the film follows Helena through a journey of self-discovery, where she ultimately begins to understand the importance of her herself and her family—and of the ultimate power of hope. As a child, I was captivated by Labyrinth's Sarah character, and I think younger generations will latch onto Helena just as quickly. Helena is more believable though, than Sarah—and her role is a positive one. She is a strong, intelligent, and inquisitive girl, just on the verge of womanhood.

The entire film floored me—I feel so lucky to have seen it. If any of you have a chance to see it, do so immediately. Hopefully, the film will be released to theaters around the country— this would be an especially wise move, as I'm sure it will become a classic fantasy film for all ages.

Fmovies: I have just returned from seeing this wonderful little film. From the summary, it is obvious to most that not only is this, for the most part, a children's film, but it borrows from the classic "girl trapped in another world as a metaphor for growing up". We're even treated to a brief shot of a man juggling glass balls a la David Bowie in "Labirynth". The obvious "Alice in Wonderland-esquire" story makes things a bit predictable since we've seen it several times, but if one were to sit back and enjoy the magic and the characters, then enjoyment is practically guaranteed. It is a very family-friendly movie because of this.

At the same time, the art crowd will instantly recognize the names of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. Gaiman is the author of such novels as "American Gods" and "Neverwhere" and also is a comic writer that reached fame with his metaphysical masterpiece series "The Sandman". McKean, likewise, is a famed graphic designer and also worked with Gaiman on "Sandman". They have both collaborated on children's books as well. McKean's brilliant design work and Gaiman's delightful characters are evident throughout. Those seeking more cerebral movies will not be displeased.

The only negatives of this movie is that it slows a bit in some places and the effects are sometimes "too pretty" and might be a distraction. These are only two small drawbacks in what is otherwise a great film. I know I will not be the only one hopeful that this will be the first in many movies that will be involved in the Jim Henson Company's comeback.

Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman's MirrorMask is the quintessential Alice in Wonderland story. The world that these two immensely gifted artists and storytellers have created is the very definition of mind-blowing, offering up one of the most astonishing and original fantasy realms since Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's The City of Lost Children over a decade ago. The amazing dreamscapes of Helena is truly Dave McKean's art brought to life, and is just through and through a perfect fit for Neil Gaiman's highly imaginative and at times quirky style of writing. The character inhabiting this strange tale, both the flesh and blood ones as well as those digitally rendered, are every bit as memorable as their surroundings. Stephanie Leonidas is quite simply a revelation as Helena, giving her a childlike innocence that, together with the emotionally rough seas of a teenager, makes for a very fascinating and real-felt performance. And you wouldn't for a second believe her to be anything but a troubled teen, despite her actual twenty-two years of age. Gina McKee delivers an equally impressive performance as Helena's mother, Joanne, and as the Dark Queen she has such a stunning presence about her that not even the most wicked of witches or evil of step-mothers could overshadow her for even the fraction of a second. Dave McKean's feature film directorial debut is a masterpiece, short and simple, and the feast that he serves up with MirrorMask is one that I most definitely will never tire of...

Mirrormask fmovies. The audience that showed up for the Sundance premiere of this gem was quite diverse. Some came for Neil Gaiman, some for Dave McKean and the rest for the Jim Henson legacy. Based on my informal polls conducted in waiting list lines around Salt Lake City, everyone got what they wanted.

The visuals -- as you would expect from a move involving Henson's company -- are simply stunning. Most of the movie is blue-screen, which is quite unbelievable for a movie made for a mere $4 million. The human actors blend into the gorgeous painting-like backgrounds (google McKean's art and you will understand that this is quite a feat), and do an outstanding job of interacting with the digital characters.

Only 17 people -- all freshly graduated students -- worked on the animation, but the result looks like 170 professionals did. It should be noted however that Dave McKean spent 18 months in post-production, pretty much 24/7.

The weakest part of the movie is the story. Dave and Neil came up with the outline over 3 days, and worked out the details as they filmed. The end result is a run-of-the-mill Alice in Wonderland rip-off, with some elements from Labyrinth and other familiar children's tales.

I have to give extra credit to Stephanie Leonidas, who does a great job bringing Helena, a girl who ends up lost in the world of her Dali-meets-Picasso-meets-McKean drawings, to life.

I hope this movie will get picked up for theater distribution, because it deserves to be seen on the big-screen. In any case, McKean fans will be happy to hear that a Mirrormask picture book is in the works that will contain the 1700 drawings produced for the movie...

If you get a chance, go see this movie. It should be fun for children of all ages. If it comes to theaters, I will go see it again, and will give it an A again :)

This is a visually mesmerizing film that takes movie fantasy into new territory. Think Alice in Wonderland meets Wizard of Oz performed by Cirque de Soleil. MirrorMask takes a comic-book approach to Good vs. Evil, with 15-year-old Helena as the protagonist who must find the MirrorMask and save the Light Kingdom.

But the story isn't nearly as important as the fantastic creatures and hallucinatory imagery that parade non-stop through Helena's fantastic journey. Director and writer (and frequent collaborators) Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman leap into the movie business with extraordinary confidence and derring-do. They are both legendary successes and have a devoted fan base from comic books (the Sandman series, for one), novels, short stories, posters, CD art, and much more.

It quickly becomes clear that MirrorMask is the creation of talented and imaginative artists completely unfettered by the bounds of traditional film-making. As a result, it is a bold departure from anything you have ever seen on the screen before. The story is simple enough and the visuals so wondrous that most children should find the movie enjoyable (unless they've become action-oriented adrenaline addicts). Yet the writing is sufficiently deep to satisfy the most thoughtful of adults.

I spoke to both McKean and Gaiman at one of the Sundance screenings and found them both polite, thoughtful and interesting. I told them that MirrorMask was the kind of movie I wanted to see again immediately. It is lovely enough to warrant a second look. And there's enough meat on the bones to go back and catch what you might have missed. The last movie I felt that way about was Memento, one of my all-time favorites.

This is my first review, so pardon me for any clumsiness in its composition. As such I am nervously avoiding any discussion of the plot, lest I spoil anything.

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.

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", "Labrynth", and "Jim Henson's The Storyteller" before viewing this. The piece fits very well with these.