WARNING!!!


If you watch this movie, it will be 2 hours of your life that you will never get back!

I watched this movie because I held respect for Jim Henson. I grew up on Sesame Street and the Muppets. I enjoyed watching the Muppets movies. I thought it had to be relatively good or at least somewhat nostalgic if Jim Henson was involved. I couldn't have been more wrong.

I kept thinking that the terrible haunting circus music would eventually change, but it didn't. I kept thinking that there would be an interesting and creative twist to the plot, but it never came. This movie was nothing more than a parade of wierdness put to psychedelic circus music. The singing robots scene toward the end was a rude slap in the face to The Carpenters. If someone related to The Carpenters gave them permission to use that song in the movie, it was a move they are likely regretting. In the movie, the Dark Queen perverts the song, "Close to You," and uses it to put the main character into a mind altering trance which turns her to the dark side.

Perhaps the creatures and masks were imaginative, but there was nothing imaginative about the storyline - same old fairytail of good kingdom vs. bad kingdom with a youth that saves the day.

If you like to watch freaky wierdness with no particular point to it, this movie is for you. If not, do yourself a favor and don't watch it!

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Yawn.
I would have thought the cover of the bloomin' dvd would have clued you into the fact that this movie would be some trippy arthouse type film.
But no, it seems it didn't.

I for one love it for what it is - a weird dream-like journey through the imagination. Sure the storyline is nothing special but then again I think this is one of the few movies you can enjoy just for the visuals and characters, music and feel of the piece.

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As a fan of Gaiman and McKean's previous work, I've been meaning to watch this for years. Finally did today. I, too, loved it. It is slightly like other movies but the visuals make it quite unlike anything else too. Stephanie Leonidas and Jason Barry are both great. Amazing film!

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"I for one love it for what it is - a weird dream-like journey through the imagination. Sure the storyline is nothing special but then again I think this is one of the few movies you can enjoy just for the visuals and characters, music and feel of the piece."

For those same reasons, I think it would've worked a lot better as a short film instead. Without a solid plot to support the movie, after half an hour the average person gets tired of the whole dream-fantasy-trip thing.

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I couldn't agree with you more tintinrulz. I knew exactly what kind of film it was when i decided to watch it. And the movie was awesome if you enjoy watching off beat art movies. I did not care if the story line was strong, i just kicked back and let the movie take me on a journey. All movies are not meant to have deep meanings, or have to have a in depth story line. I think the main characters life is going through drama and this was her way of dealing with the problems. Cool effects and endearing characters make the film a good watch.


"I love famous people! They're so much better than the real thing."~baby

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"If you like to watch freaky wierdness with no particular point to it, this movie is for you."

Not sure i totally agree with that, I think this film is strongly relevant to today's mainstream era.

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I had a similiar initial emotional response to the Jim Henson Company brand attached to this. It wasn't negative, but I twigged on it fo sho. I thought it was a bit of a departure for them. Usually they present their bizarre ideas wrapped in a mainstream musical and push it on children.

Time's are changing and kids' movies are rendered on computer now. Jim Henson's crew is reaching for a more specific audience. And I think they've done it extremely well.

The film is beautiful. It's emo and artful. It's pretty intelligent but I don't think you are required to even think.

Grab some paper or your computer, put it on and think creatively. That's what it's best for. And in fact, that is what I am doing RIGHT NOW. :)

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Perhaps the creatures and masks were imaginative, but there was nothing imaginative about the storyline - same old fairytail of good kingdom vs. bad kingdom with a youth that saves the day.


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Clearly you did not understand, there was no 'bad' and 'good' kingdom, the use of the terms and imagery of light and dark was in the same sense that thee are light and dark side in Chess even though neither in inherently evil.

The actions of everyone involved was rather neutral (excepting the dark princess, although her actions were more selfish and childish than evil also). The point was to show how a balanced world can so easily be threatened bh the selfish actions of a small minority, and how those actions can often be caused by the actions of othes around them, even if those actions were done out of love.

The dark queen loved her daughter so much that she smothered her, leading to rebellion and selfishness, which in turn lead to a greater problem. It is a story of escalation.

There are also pointers to mutual destruction as both kingdoms believed that the problems thy were seeing were caused by the other.

All of this was far more important than the youth who you obviously thought was the focal point.

Sorry you got it so wrong.

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Why do people do this? You don't see me watching Bratz or Sesame Street, then hitting the baords to complain because they're not my thing. Does nobody look at movie covers or watch trailers before they view a movie?

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Remember that time I ate your family?

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sometimes people talk you into watching movies that you would not have picked on your own had you known what you got yourself into. and more often than not you only have the name to lead you on in such situations. e.g. "mirrormask is a great movie, lets watch it! *puts it on*" "...oookay?"

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I take it you never saw Labyrinth. That was a Henson film and a waste of time. I haven't finished Mirrormask (currently watching it), but they actually remind me of each other, except Mirrormask seems more watchable than Labyrinth.

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Just finished it. Infinitely more watchable than Labyrinth, though very similar in some ways. At least David Bowie wasn't in it.

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FunkyDragon,

Labyrinth was fun for me, as a kid. If this movie is 75% of the movie that Labyrinth is, that will be good enough for me. I was going to avoid MirrorMask before, but now I will have to give it a shot.

I like circus music.

-James

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"I like circus music.

-James "


LoL...

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The OP does have a point though. I too don't really like 'arthouse' films. I have something against 'art for art's sake' and a lot of this movie is clearly based on that. Lazy narrative and too much general weirdness that's supposed to have merit just because it's weird. I think with these kinds of films and many artistic endeavours in general, is that it's a case of emperor's new clothes. People will fool themselves into thinking something has merit just because that's what they feel is expected of them. In fact it's just pretentious nonsense. This film could have been good if more thought went into the actual content of the storyline, narrative and characterisation, but unfortunately it's just a few nice design elements stung together by incomprehensible gibberish.

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Said the guy who likely loves to watch Vin Diesel action vehicles for their story merits.

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You grew up on Sesame Street? Must have been interesting. Do your folks still live there?

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Holy crap, thats an over reaction, it was a really great movie, really deep, you could watch it on so many different levels and get alot out of it, maybe your just simple minded? I thought the close to you seen was great, it was the perfect song for the moment, definitely one you don't expect, but over all inspiring innovation well done!

the world is only safe when there ceases to be twilight...

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I was also dissapointed with this, i brought a three set dvd with labrynth dark crystal and this in, having not seen dark crystal before, and having not seen labrynth in years. Compared to the other two films, mirrormask was not even half as good. It lacked the charm, and the story was unorginal (and I haven't missed the point, you could claim even the most shallow story has amazing depth). Although it wasn't a bad film a lot more could of been done to make it another henson classic.

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Sure Dark Crystal and Labyrinth are good (DC more than L) but I prefer Mirrormask.
Labyrinth never did anything much for me. I loved Jennifer Connelly in it but not much else and David Bowie's tight leather pants nearly ruined it for me. That movie also didn't have an original storyline but some movies don't need one to be good. Surely you realise Mirrormask was meant to be a journey of the imagination?

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I honestly think you misunderstood the movie.

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Was that in reference to me or another poster?

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I for one loved the film, the only thing that I'd critisise are the sometimes poor graphics and cheesy jazz soundtrack. I thought the story and the actors were great.

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