MirrorMask (DVD)

Way back in January of 2005 I posted some early looks at MirrorMask and I was blown away by the visuals this film presented. The fact that RopeofSilicon was the first site to bring several of these images online prompted an interview with writer Neil Gaiman and the love fest was on and I had not even seen the film yet.

Then came the reviews, they weren't exactly stellar as critics were split down the middle as they all concede the visuals are spectacular, but the story is lacking and I have to agree, to an extent.

MirrorMask is something of a Wizard of Oz for a new age, unfortunately the story doesn't stay intriguing for the long run. The film centers on 15-year-old Helena (Stephanie Leonidas) who is living life with her circus family parents. Helena has always lived the circus life and one day she wishes for a life more normal, a wish that she believes is the cause of her mother's (Gina McKee) recent collapse.

With her mother in the hospital with a mysterious illness Helena soon finds herself in something of a dream world where several of the characters are easily recognizable from the opening minutes of the film. Helena is now charged with the task of saving this odd world as she hooks up Valentine, a dream world juggler who fills Helena in on the goings on in her new environment.

You see there is an evil queen, the Queen of Shadows (McKee), and she believes Helena is her daughter when in fact her daughter has now inhabited Helena's life back in the real world. The Queen of Shadows is in charge of these lands because the Queen of Light (also McKee) is in some sort of a coma and can only be revived if Helena and her new friend find... the MirrorMask.

The story is a bit out there, the players are limited and the second act of this flick really drags despite the cool landscapes and "people" Helena and Valentine encounter. I wasn't overly impressed by the first act either, and if it wasn't for a satisfactory finale this film would have really hit the skids.

The story is just too convoluted for a youngster to keep up with and it is also not all that intriguing. The trailers present this film as a visual extravaganza, and while that is true it doesn't happen until about 10-15 minutes into the feature, and while those early minutes are necessary they just aren't interesting at all.

As for the special features, this DVD boasts a ton, but guess what... all the behind-the-scenes/making-of goodies are primarily sit-down interviews, a.k.a. BORING. There is, however, one feature that is a time lapse look at the production over the course of one day, but the few minutes of that are hardly worth calling "special". There is also a writer/director commentary that wasn't exactly mind-bending either.

Overall I was let down by this movie, but that often happens when a trailer focuses on the visuals of a film and the fact it has a popular writer in Neil Gaiman. While I haven't read any of Gaiman's works I have to believe that something was lost in the adaptation as the magical world he created on paper had to be far more intriguing than it was on film.