A few Netflix rentals have come and gone recently, and none of them have just bowled me over enough to get me to run to the computer and blog about them. Well, Mirrormask isn’t really any different, I just happen to have a few free minutes.

Based on a concept by well known graphic novelist Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, it is a classic story of a young girl fighting her good and bad impulses in tough times. Her conflict is symbolically represented in a dream world where the complex issues of the real world are reshuffled into clearly divided light and dark, black and white, a la Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Much like Dorothy she sees alter egos of people in this dream world whom she knows in real life, and they represent her deepest fears and or truths she holds about each of them such as her well intentioned but bumbling father, and her mother whom can be both cruel and loving and whose life is slipping away. The symbolism is overdone a bit to the point that a three year old couldn’t miss it. But that may be the point. I’m not sure of the target audience but I would definitely say a young adult crowd could enjoy elements of the movie.

Overall though, the storyline, acting, and script just didn’t really ever shine. The special effects, artwork overlaid upon live action video, and graphic-novel inspired cinematography were really the movie’s strongest points. If you were to mix together Cirque du Soleil, a dark Neil Gaiman graphic novel, and the Wizard of Oz cliff notes, you’d probably end up with something along the lines of Mirrormask. 2.5 out of 5 stars.