Neil Gaiman, who is much-beloved for novels such as Stardust, Neverwhere, American Gods and Coraline, has made the jump to the big screen. Though Neverwhere had been adapted to a very serviceable BBC mini-series, his work had never been translated to a real, feature film venue. He has remedied that situation all on his own by writing the screenplay for MirrorMask.
The movie's story centers around a 15-year-old girl named Helena, whose family is a group of circus performers known as The Campbell Family Circus. Helena, whose circus duties include juggling and selling popcorn, doesn't really aspire to stay with the family business. In fact, she really wishes she could run away and join the real world.
One evening, Helena has a fight with her parents about her plans for the future. Suddenly, her mother falls ill, and our heroine is convinced that it is her fault. On the night before her mother is scheduled to go in for major surgery, Helena has a strange dream - or perhaps not a dream.
She finds herself in a strange land, which is divided into the "light" kingdom and the "dark" kingdom. This unsettled new world has strange masked inhabitants, bizarre creatures and two queens who oppose one another. Adding to the problems of the society, the White Queen has become sick, and can only be cured by the MirrorMask. It becomes Helena's responsibility to find it.
Gaiman was approached to help create this project by Jim Henson Pictures executive producer Lisa Henson, who envisioned a movie that could help restore her company's cult status and aura that surrounded such films as Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. If the story is anywhere close to the brilliance of Gaiman's previous work, MirrorMask is truly a film worth anticipating. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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