Mirrormask is a film with excellent parentage. The Jim Henson Company, hoping to emulate their now classic Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal, has financed the film, with the screenplay provided by Neil Gaiman and his long-time collaborator Dave McKean directing the film. But the budget here is a 20th of cost of those earlier works and Gaiman and McKean untested in the filmic world. So how does the final result stand up? We first meet Helena (Stephanie Leonidas) working at her parent's (Rob Brydon and Gina McKee) circus. While most children would like nothing better than to run away and join the circus, Helena is fed up to the back teeth, cursing her mother for not allowing her a normal life. During a performance her mother becomes seriously ill and has to undergo life-saving surgery. That night Helena dreams, finding herself in magical land that is reminiscent of her own drawings, off-balance because of its sleeping White Queen (McKee again). Accompanied by Valentine (Jason Barry) she goes on quest to find the key that will wake the Queen and restore balance to the world, whilst avoiding the clutches of the Black Queen (McKee yet again). But there is another malign influence overshadowing this world, one prepared to destroy it all.
The film is something of a crossbreed, equally art-house and children's film. Unlike Henson's earlier films all the visuals here are of the CG rather than puppet variety. The final result is similar to other recent green-screen films such as Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and Immortel. Unlike those efforts however Mirrormask features a believable fantasy world, populated by strange and unusual creatures and where fish fly through the air.
McKean has always had the ability to create striking imagery as his cover for The Sandman books will attest, and it's his visual flair that really shines here, hardly surprising considering the film 18 months of post-production. But all this eye-candy can be overwhelming, with actors possibly being overshadowed the goings-on around them. Rob Brydon gets lumbered with a quite awful mask at one point. And Gina McKee doesn't really register, surprising when considering she has 3 roles to play. But theirs are supporting roles, and lead actress Stephanie Leonidas is more than up to the task of carrying the film, ably assisted by Jason Barry, who manages carry off the side-kick role from behind a blank face-mask.
It a shame the plot could not be as inventive as the visuals, with the bare bones reminiscent of above-mentioned Labyrinth. The story meanders on occasion, with interludes that slow everything down to a snails pace. On the positive, there are moments of great comic invention, a particular highlight being the duck/gorilla creatures that are all called Bob (apart from the one called Malcolm).
So will the film achieve the same level of cult as its predecessors? Only time and DVD sales will tell.
The film is something of a crossbreed, equally art-house and children's film. Unlike Henson's earlier films all the visuals here are of the CG rather than puppet variety. The final result is similar to other recent green-screen films such as Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and Immortel. Unlike those efforts however Mirrormask features a believable fantasy world, populated by strange and unusual creatures and where fish fly through the air.
McKean has always had the ability to create striking imagery as his cover for The Sandman books will attest, and it's his visual flair that really shines here, hardly surprising considering the film 18 months of post-production. But all this eye-candy can be overwhelming, with actors possibly being overshadowed the goings-on around them. Rob Brydon gets lumbered with a quite awful mask at one point. And Gina McKee doesn't really register, surprising when considering she has 3 roles to play. But theirs are supporting roles, and lead actress Stephanie Leonidas is more than up to the task of carrying the film, ably assisted by Jason Barry, who manages carry off the side-kick role from behind a blank face-mask.
It a shame the plot could not be as inventive as the visuals, with the bare bones reminiscent of above-mentioned Labyrinth. The story meanders on occasion, with interludes that slow everything down to a snails pace. On the positive, there are moments of great comic invention, a particular highlight being the duck/gorilla creatures that are all called Bob (apart from the one called Malcolm).
So will the film achieve the same level of cult as its predecessors? Only time and DVD sales will tell.