Mirrormask

Mirrormask (Motion picture)
Sony Pictures, 2005

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Drama

Honors:

• Herald Angel Award, The Scottish Herald
• Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival, Black Tulip Award, 2006
• Locarno Film Festival, Nominated for Golden Leopard, Won Youth Jury Award, 2005
• Sarasota Film Festival, Audience Award, 2005
• Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival, Nominated for Best Film, Won Best Art Direction and Best Makeup, 2005

Review: From the imagination of Neil Gaiman and the Producers of Jim Hensen Productions comes a story that blends reality with a dream world. When Helena, a teenage circus performer, finds out her mother is in the hospital and needs surgery, her dreams take her to another world, one in which her mother is a white queen, and she is trapped in a deep slumber by magic. The daughter of a dark queen has escaped using a magical item called a "mirrormask" and has switched herself with Helena, putting Helena in the dreamworld. Without the dark princess, the dreamworld is coming apart, and Helena becomes the enchanted slave of the dark queen. The only way to return to reality and awaken her mother is to find the mirrormask, along with a window into the waking world, so she can switch herself back and return balance to the dreamworld.

Opinion: I had to watch this more than once to get into it: it has a very art house-y feel to it, and Gaiman's twisted artwork takes over the entire film, from costume design to scenery. Something about the tone and direction of the film make it very slow at first, and I felt like I had to be either an intellectual observer or a big Gaiman fan to appreciate the style present in Mirrormask. The film was rated highly by young adults and teens, judging by the film festival awards and nominations it has received, so my guess is it would be more appropriate for older tweens than younger ones.

Ideas: I like the idea of having multiple displays for fantasy authors that have transitioned to the big screen. We have seen many, such as C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowing, have their works adapted to film. This is going a step beyond, in a way, as Gaiman and Jim Hensen were working together to create this film, which is pretty neat.