Review: Mirrormask (2006)
By William Pattison
This time I got a dark fantasy that was written by Neal Gaiman,
the writer of Sandman….
Helena, a 15-year-old girl in a family of circus
entertainers, often wishes she could run off and join real life. After a fight
with her parents about her future plans, her mother falls quite ill and Helena
is convinced that it is all her fault. On the eve of her mother's major
surgery, she dreams that she is in a strange world with two opposing queens,
bizarre creatures, and masked inhabitants. All is not well in this new world -
the white queen has fallen ill and can only be restored by the MirrorMask, and
it's up to Helena to find it. But as her adventures continue, she begins to
wonder whether she's in a dream, or something far more sinister.
So, what do you get when you team the Henson company with
Neal Gaiman? You get an overflow of unique creativity. This fantasy film is on
another level when compared to other films in this genre. This film is actually
unique when it comes to the work of Henson because it doesn’t rely on puppetry.
I stead this film uses multiple styles of animation to create this world and its
creatures. As well the music track for this film is extremely chaotic and
experimental. It actually makes the music itself a character in this story.
Neal Giaman explores the concepts of duality as well as
identity in that uniquely Giaman way and in that way makes this one of his more
intriguing projects. This is one of Giaman’s works that doesn’t seem to get
enough love. Mainly because this film is an insane mix of style, twisted
creativity, with a strong dose of intellectuality that can be easily missed in
all buy multilayered visuals. Still, this is a film you could watch a hundred
times and still not catch everything. This one is truly one of Giaman’s best
works.
This is a film that is a must see…
