Mirrormask Reviews

[Highly rated reviewer]

Visually Rich & Bizarre

A fresh new take on the dream quest Labyrinth/Alice in Wonderland tale.

A young girl (Helena) works as part of her families circus and the maturity of growing up and wanting to make her own decisions is putting strain on her parents. After an argument in which Helena wishes her mum dead, her mum falls ill with a brain tumour and the girl goes on a fantastical dream quest to conquer the inner turmoil of her guilt. The dreamworld is based on Helena's numerous drawings she has stuck to her bedroom walls in the real world. How this is acheived visually has to be seen to be understood. It results in an extremely rich environment, part real, part sketch, part blur, but all fantasy.

The dreamworld is made up of 2 opposing kingdoms of light and shadow. Each with a ruling queen. The princess of the shadow kingdom has stolen the 'charm' that keeps the balance between the kingdoms and has run away. With the help of local juggler called Valentine, Helena must find this charm and restore the balance to save the kingdoms.

The Jim Henson Creature Workshop have outdone themselves this time. On a par with the Labyrinth creatures but done in a whole new fashion of shimmering CGI. Keep an eye out for the fabulous monkey/pidgeons called Bob and the pretty disturbing winged cats with an appetite.

Stephanie Leonidas who plays Helena pulls off a great performance among the bizarre landscape, giving at times the impression of a young Helena Bonham Carter.

Overall Mirrormask is a fantastical feast for the eyes. Whilst not quite acheiving the warm friendliness of Labyrinth due to the incorporation of CGI this is still an prime example of how film can bring forth the sheer power of imagination. See it if not just for the glimmering sketchy visuals.

Mesmerising

'Mirrormask' exists a world away from Gaiman's other scripts like 'Neverwhere' and acclaimed comic books such as 'The Sandman'. With the aforementioned being largely a more adult fare, Gaiman has, in recent years, taken to writing for a younger audience. And all the better for it, as 'Mirrormask' is a unique piece of fantasy entertainment and a work of art all it's own, thanks to the unequaled skill of artist turned director Dave McKean. Anyone expecting the grim, psychological horrors of Gaiman & McKean's earlier collaborations should be warned- this is a film for all ages, remeniscent of the linear fairytale of their book 'Wolves in the Walls'. Charming, beautiful and simple, this is a touching, funny, sometimes bizarre modern day fable which harks back to classics such as Labrynth and the Dark Crystal. An original piece of cinema- something that is increasingly rare and precious. Embrace this film without a perception based on the previous works of this creative team and you will be rewarded. If you just wanted to see 'The Sandman', go back and read the graphic novels again. I absolutely adore this film!

[Highly rated reviewer]

Inventive First Feature

A wonderfully inventive movie that brings Dave McKean's art to life. A grand mix of both the 3D and 2D animated creations help thread an odd world together.

The story moves at a great pace with energised performances from all the cast, especially the monkey birds.

A brave and fresh first film for Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman.

Neil Gaiman/Dave McKean - need I say more??

For those of you who understand the above, and haven't watched Mirrormask yet - watch it now!!

For those who have heard of neither Neil Gaiman (British author and the master of modern fairytales - the original Brothers Grimm style!) or Dave McKean (offbeat illustrator with a special charm) then you should be ashamed. You should then get your hands on Mirrormask and watch it, before going to read all of Neil and Dave's back catalogues!

dreary but dazzling

as a fan of gaiman/mckean graphic novels,comics and art, i was expecting something more from this creative team. The visuals are stunning but become weary as we are overloaded and much of it is missed, so watch it again for the imagery that is so `mckean` - sadly the `fairytale` plot is weak and not used to its full potential, i was unfullfilled and next time i watch it, i shall view it with the sound off.

Ok

This film was reasonably enjoyable and I found it very watchable. My husband however gave up on it and went off to do something else! It's not everyone's cup of tea.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Mirrormask

Dull Dull Dull.... did i mention DULL!

Excellent

Very different and very entertaining. The actors were great as was the animation / effects. Would highly recommend.

Surrealism gone CGI

Surrealism. One man's dream could be another's nightmare. What with the use of CGI dreamscapes can now be visualised and visualised they are in Mirrormask. Lynxs and weird creatures with cockney voices come to life. Stone giants float in the air and reality intermingles with the fantastic and the magical. It’s all very weird and all very CGI which is not a bad thing here. Where it falls down is in the plot. None of the characters are explained - fair enough as it is a dream after all - but when the loving (dying) mother also plays an evil queen it became bewildering. Dreams are one thing but this is also a movie with a plot that you are supposed to follow otherwise it just becomes one strange scene after one strange scene for the sake of it. This is what makes Mirrormask a 3 star film opposed to anything better. It had the imagination it just didn’t have a story. Mirrormask is still worth a watch however if you like a bit of surrealism once in a while.

[Highly rated reviewer]

It reflects badly...

Brave attempt at creating someting visually interesting and original but thats as far as it goes. The story is paper thin and the characters mostly one dimensional. Once you've adjusted to the CGI look the rest becomes incredibly bland and boring - half way through it becomes really tedious. It was an effort to watch it to the end. It's definitely not what you'd describe as a graphic adaptation, if that is what you're expecting. It scores 2 for effort but theres nothing of substance here. I can't recommend it.