MirrorMask

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Image:Mirrormask.jpg MirrorMask is a 2005 film from the Jim Henson Company. It stars Stephanie Leonidas, Jason Barry, Rob Brydon, and Gina McKee. It is directed by Dave McKean, and written by Neil Gaiman from a story created by McKean and Gaiman.

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Characters

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Helena

Played by Stephanie Leonidas, the protagonist of MirrorMask. Helena is a young circus performer and aspiring artist, prone to daydream in order to escape the normalcy of her life. Given that her daily life is her parents' circus, the intense oddity of her daydreams is understandable. After a fight with her mother over her constant desire to "run away to real life," her mother falls ill with a disease that is never named (some lines and symptoms imply cancer.) Helena blames herself for the illness and dreams, or thinks she dreams, of a mysterious world of masked people and monsters. In the context of the dream world, is not a dream that has taken her there, but her dark alter ego, the Dark Princess, daughter of the Dark Queen, who has used a charmed mask to escape the dream world. It soon becomes apparent that Helena is in fact the creator of the dream world, it having been created from her drawings, posters, sculptures and daydreams.

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The Dark Princess (Anti-Helena)

The Dark Princess is the daughter of the Dark Queen and is identical to Helena, leading us to believe that she is the personification of Helena's darker side. She uses the MirrorMask to switch places with Helena. After escaping to Helena's world - the "real world" - she changes Helena's life, dressing like a teenage punk, "snogging" boys that Helena finds distasteful, and arguing with Helena's father. Her only connection to Helena are occasional windows in the dream world that connect to the art on Helena's bedroom walls, allowing them to see each other.

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Valentine

Played by Jason Barry, Valentine is a juggler and performer who describes himself as a "very important man," he becomes Helena's companion in the dream world, although his loyalty slips at times. Valentine is vain, cowardly, and sometimes dim, but he can be both clever and loyal when pushed into a corner. He is constantly in search of reward. He had two performance partners, but both were taken by the Dark Queen's Shadows when he first meets Helena. He is very proud of his tower, a possession that was more useful before the two of them had an argument and parted ways. Valentine, like the other characters, has an unnamed counterpart in the real world whom we meet briefly.

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History

Reportedly, it was given a green light by a studio executive who wanted another movie that would sell as well in video release as Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal:

  • "Well, in 2001, Lisa Henson phoned and said, 'Look, we've been talking with Sony, and it's become obvious that Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal, these two family fantasy movies that Henson made in the 80s, which at the time were both regarded as being flops, have gone on to have this life-forever. People love them, people remember them.' She said, 'We want to do something like that again.'" -- Neil Gaiman on [1]

The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and had been announced by Neil Gaiman to come to theaters in late 2005:

  • "The current news is -- good news, MirrorMask will be getting a wider release than was originally envisioned; bad news, it's now going to be getting to the cinemas later in 2005 than was originally planned. I think it'll be released in early autumn. More news as I get it." -- Neil Gaiman on [2]

The time of production is clearly (although incidentally) evident in the film itself: scenes overlooking the seafront of Brighton, England, where the film was shot show landmarks which provide chronological evidence of the film's production. In the scene where Helena and her father are on the rooftop, overlooking the seafront, the burned-out old Brighton pier is clearly visible, juxtaposed with the still-standing pier. The fire occurred in the early part of 2005.

The movie opened September 30 in the U.S. The official website has the theaters that are showing MirrorMask. The Landmark Theaters is one chain that is releasing the movie, however the film ultimately had only a very limited release. The North American DVD release on February 14, 2006 marked the first time this film was made available in most regions.

The movie opened on a very limited release in Australia on December 8.

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Associated Work

Tokyopop in partnership with The Jim Henson Company are planning to publish a manga-style comic based on the movie, which will be a prequel to the film. TokyoPop Press Release

A small children's book, authored by Gaiman and illustrated by McKean, has already been released and distributed. A book containing the film's complete storyboard and script, as well as some photographs and archival text by Gaiman and McKean, has also been produced and distributed.

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External links

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