should keep em coming! These types of channels are popping off lately so try to cash in!! I know I would watch :) Edit: and remember if someone shit talks the video that means they watched it and that's a win ;D
I'm kind of upset this movie has not surfaced for me until now. Seems like a cult classic. they never get the deserved attention. I don't understand why.
Good job. I've never heard of this but I think I'll seek it out. Oh yeah, and dont listen to that other guy that said cash in/sell out. You be you and good things will come. May the algorithm be with you
Is it that over 50,000 people who saw the movie and thought it was crap are wrong about it being a quite garbage movie, or is it that you and the very few people who liked it are wrong. The fact that you see more into a movies plot where there is nothing to see between well a bratty kid who is a constant brat that never learns a lesson ever and everything magically becomes perfect shows that you have 0 taste in reality. When you claim oh the 2 being that separate is a symbol of her parents falling out of love and separating seriously just because 2 things move away from each other does not mean its something deeper thinking. Hell seeing it that psychotic way would be like saying those 2 buildings that have a gap between them symbolizes 2 siblings who do not talk to each other anymore. You are looking for shit that is just not there. The only saving grace to the movie is the unique art style to it that is more of a rip off of Tim Burton's art style. The plot of the movie was garbage. The acting was absolute trash. The CGI was garbage for its time and now it just looks disgustingly bad. The movie was suppose to be sent world wide and I saw the movie years ago somewhat because my brother had a friend who sent it to him to watch a crappy movie. My brother and his friend were trying to find really bad movies that for some stupid reason really stupid people actually like and this one came close to winning. The movie that ended up taking the prize of being really bad was George Lucas Star Wars Christmas Special 2. This movie could have been good if they actually spent time on basically everything. The movie was only in theaters in Europe and never got any Dvd releases outside of European because it was trash. Seriously you need to go to a therapist for thinking this garbage was good. Maybe stop watching so much European crap and get rid of your countries stupid ban on free speech and watch actual good movies and you would be mortified at how garbage European crap really is.
This movie exists in a weird place in my subconscious. I saw it once when I was a kid, and it just sometimes appears in the back of my mind like some surreal dream
As a lucid dreamer I thought it actually (unlike most movies that try) feel like an actual dream. For example, when they go to visit the old woman, and at first the cats seem just cats, but then they begin to be scared of them and the music changes to "don't let them see your afraid". Then the cats, predictably, try to eat them. It makes no logical sense but that's how dreams work. The slightest negative thought can drift you into a nightmare. Amazing review, by the way. I saw the movie as a kid and didn't notice all the psychology.
I've lucid dreamed since I was 8! I'm 37. Unfortunately it screws with your everyday life. You don't want to leave. Working life. Tons of videos out there how to learn lucid dreaming. Non to tell you how to stop. Horror? Love? Pirates? High school? You never get to black out past REM. I often lucid dream and look at tapestries. Shit I could never draw but I look at the thread's. But the second you fear... things. Or concentrate too much. You either wake up and things go black or you zone out and hope that the story changes.
I only disagree that the visuals bog down the plot. The atmosphere conveys the theme and ideas subconsciously/emotionally. It's very subtle like all things Neil gaiman
I've never met anyone in person that's seen it. Whenever I meet a girl and we do a fav movie talk, I'm like Mirror Mask, 5th Element, Coraline are my top 3. I can tell if its someone I'd like if they at least know 5th Element, Coraline is kinda well known. If I ever met someone that liked to go to sleep while watching mirror mask... Perfect.
Thank you for giving the only positive review of this I've found. This movie's visual storytelling is severally underrated. It may have been low budget, but I think it adds to it's surreal magic. And I fully agree that the lead actress does a great job making it feel like she's talking to real characters. I've seen much higher budget actors do considerably worse with that.
I saw this movie when it came out and really liked it. Neil Gaiman really likes the dream world and I will go out on a limb and say the idea of mirrors, even though that was Lewis Carroll aka Charles Dodgsons thing, he seems to delve into alternative mini universes or the opposite of one reality to another. I don't think Helena's a brat so much as a typical teenager who is looking for her identity and trying to figure her place in the world and feels a bit trapped by her parent's dream which is not her own. Even though she argue's with her mother, it does not mean she doesn't love her. Then, she says something in the heat of the moment that she regrets because she really doesn't want anything bad to happen to her mom. The "doting daughter" act wasn't an act because that is how she really feels and it's like the "self" being that is her true feelings. And, she does feel guilty because she does not want that to be one of the last things she ever said to her mom. She is creative and imaginative. Imaginative can be seen as a child's thing going into teenage years to early adulthood and I agree, it is a coming of age story where she leaves her many of her childhood things behind while keeping those that she can bring into her young adult to adult life such as her story making and drawings. She is in a dream state and Freud wanted to over-analyze dreams while Jung saw them for what they are. Some are unconscious desires but having a function of integrating our unconscious with our consciousness, and I'm going off on a limb here, but didn't Jung say something about what is to be learned form them without thinking it was psycho-sexual? When her mother shows up in the dream world, she tells her that what she's looking for in right in front of her face and I think this is a more mature way to look at something when you're looking for something and the thing she is looking for is staring her or is in front of her, she just needs to recognize it. I also think that the two realities show her what is really important and she has to go through all of that to realize and understand it. I thought the imagery is beautiful.
Thank you for commenting. It means a lot, and I can see that you clearly love this film. So do I. However, you seem to have put some words in my mouth that I would very much like to clear up. Please know I mean no malice. So first off I never once referred to Helena as a 'brat'. I called her an 'obnoxious teenager' which she is for the first act of the film. It's not a bad thing. We wouldn't have a film without it, and it was intentionally done by the filmmakers. So where's the harm in calling a spade a spade? It's not like she doesn't change for the better... Second, I never said Helena's doting daughter behavior was anything other than just that: her behavior. Sorry if I gave you the impression that I thought it was an 'act' but I can assure you I never did. I understand Helena was genuinely remorseful about her callous words. Her actions and behavior towards her mother prove this. Thirdly: yes, Jung did say something about learning from dreams and using dreams to integrate our unconscious with our conscious. He referred to the process as individuation. I thought I explained that rather nicely in my review, but clearly I didn't. Fourthly, the imagery IS stunning. I like it heaps. It adds a sense of surreal silliness that makes it fairly obvious to any viewer that Helena is in a dream. Glad we all agree. As for Neil Gaiman liking dreams and mirrors...you're not wrong. In the introduction of his book of short stories 'smoke and mirrors' he had this to say about mirrors: "Mirrors are wonderful things. They appear to tell the truth, to reflect life back out at us; but set a mirror correctly and it will lie so convincingly you'll believe that something has vanished into the air, that a box filled with doves and flags and spiders is actually empty, that people hidden in the wings or the pit are floating ghosts upon the stage. Angle it right and a mirror becomes a magic casement; it can show you anything you can imagine and maybe a few things you can't... Stories are, in one way or another, mirrors. We use them to explain to ourselves how the world works or how it doesn't work. Like mirrors, stories prepare us for the day to come. They distract us from the things in the darkness." Sorry for any confusion and again thank you for leaving a comment. Sorry it took me so long to respond.
Hi, I never comment on anything on CZcams. I was just looking for clips of my favorite movie in the world and then I came upon your video. I appreciate this deep look into what psyche the writer and director must have had to create this movie. It surprised me. What I will say about the choices they made with the visuals and the repetition of actors-- I think that is for a reason. This has been my favorite movie since I was 13 and I am 26 now. I appreciate the blurriness that the visuals and the narrative provide because I can revisit it no matter how old I get. This budget and art is what I look for. It is dark, hopeful, stunning, and different. I can't find anything that comes close to this. I need weird adventure and this is the only movie that has ever delivered. Thanks!
I don’t know how many times I’ve seen this movie as a kid, and I can’t help watching it again. There’s always something new to find in this masterpiece
I think the visuals actually benefit from not having a mega budget, they are approached from an artistic point of view and work so well creating the dream like vibe. Far better than the recent Alice films.
Hard agree but people so often equate more money with better product, and I think this a perfect example of not-necessarily. If critics insist on comparing it to hits like 1960s Alice in Wonderland or the Wizard of Oz, fine, but at least acknowledge the massive discrepancy in their budgets and account for that. This film is fantastic for something that was DESIGNED to be a straight to DVD release.
Thank you so much for shedding some light on the meaning of this movie. I was so enamoured of those "Joan Miró-esque" visuals that I completely ignored the complex narrative.
There is something that I think a lot of people have overlooked in this film...the soundtrack! The story and the visuals are great and I agree with some that the low budget fx actually are better for this dream like state that Helena is in. But the music is truly something special the jazz infused with circus with electronica, it's something amazing that ties all the elements together. This is a wonderful film and should be rated up there with some of the greats like Wizard of Oz but unfortunately it will drown and most will forget about it and mostly because they can't see a vision of a masterpiece through the eyes of a budget.
You are absolutely correct about the soundtrack! It really is overlooked and I'm kind of ashamed I didn't talk about it or Iain Ballamy. I do a fair amount of research about every soundtrack for my videos, but trying to talk about them always feels so shoehorned in conjunction to everything else I'm trying to address. So I pull them out for the sake of streamlining my scripts. Which sucks because I love the amount of effort every composer puts into these films/tv show. Iain Ballamy was a perfect choice for this film given the improve nature of jazz paralleling the randomness of dreams along with his own background in circus performance. As for your other comment, call me optimistic but, I don't necessarily believe this film will get lost in the shuffle. Given how Neil Gaiman's popularity has risen in recent years what with Starz making "American Gods", Fox/Netflix doing "Lucifer", and Amazon releasing "Good Omens" plus the longevity of the "Sandman" comics in terms of being one of the absolute greats...it seems unlikely that cinephiles (such as myself) would ever forget this movie. It is my desperate hope to one day see MirrorMask being admitted into the Criterion Collection. I think it is that worthy. However, only time can tell when it comes to art transitioning from "popular culture" into "culture". Wheat from the chaff. But in my opinion it's wheat. It will rise. And it will take its place in artistic circles.
Thanks for such a sharp review of (what I consider) a very underrated movie. I confess I too missed the point the first time I saw it (at 3 am and on painkillers for a leg injury) but, even though I didn't fully understand it, I really enjoyed the aesthetics. After watching it a few more times I realized how well-crafted it is, considering its budget. I do wonder where Valentine comes from. Since he's not the animus, what is he? Helena meets the "real" Valentine at the end of the movie, so he can't be an unconscious desire. Or is he? Maybe I missed something. Again, great review!
Thank you! Yes, it's a remarkable film that gets a lot of flack for not being as epic as others. Which I think is a very unfair comparison to break on it when these people were hired to just make a film like Labyrinth. Which they did. I mean, I've said it before in other comments but MirrorMask really is a retread of the same journey just with different intentions. A girl shouts at a family member, instantly regrets it, travels to a fantasy world where she encounters a male sidekick character. They ban together to defeat an oppressive ruler but she's betrayed by the sidekick, and gets magically roofied by the ruler. The sidekick makes up for the betrayal and the girl confronts the ruler. Where being victorious in all her endeavors she wakes up in the real world where all family ties are healed while encountering some of the people she met in the other world, thus blurring the line of the real and fantastical. But whereas one film is about sexual awakening the other is about self identity. So in this regard Valentine is Hoggle. Now if you want dig deeper than that, the movie more than allows for it. He could be the animus, a romantic interest, a sidekick platonic best friend, or another presence in this expansive dream world experiencing his own individuation. And these are just a few interpretations. There are lots more!...but that's not the point. The point is, it's really subjective. Which is why I didn't go that into it in the review. I'd much rather viewers draw their own conclusions about Valentine than try and label him with my own unsubstantiated theories.
My mom loved this movie and had me watch it when i was little. It didn't scare me per say, but it definitely made me really uncomfortable. I don't remember anything about the plot, however the visuals left a mark for sure. I've been thinking about this film for the past year or so, just thinking of how I didn't really understand it but I took joy in seeing my mom get sucked into the world that was beautifully brought to life. Even if it was a small budget. I'll have to give this one another go, especially after seeing it was written by Neil Gaiman.
I’ve always felt that this movie was always more then just a coming of age story. Idk why but it feels more complex then just that one genre can cover, at least on its own.
It's a beautiful movie and I love it to bits and pieces but art isn't just one thing. It can be many things to multiple people. If you feel there's more to this movie I encourage you to explore it. However, I did a tremendous amount of research on Jungian psychology while I was writing the script. The more I explored individuation the more confident I became that this movie fit the parameters of a teenager experiencing such an event. This is my opinion only. Feel free to explore yours and if you find anything interesting let me know. Good luck.
Long story short she seen her mom as the shadow mom and she's seeing herself turning into the shadows daughter basically the teenager stage out of control. So when she sees that she's thinking into she tries to change it and she does. THE END.
remember this movie and just loved it and so glad i watched it. thank you so much for explaining it more in-depth. never compared it to the big box office parallel movies.
You're very welcome. Yeah, I think a lot of movie goers didn't cross compare but critics certainly did. I must have read at least twenty reviews for this, and every time I came across 'Labyrinth ripoff' I got incensed (clearly). Like...it was commissioned by the same studio to be in the same vein as 'Labyrinth'. How is that ripoff?! If anything it's an homage.
i Completely forgot about this.but then i just Remember it out of no where btw i've got a cartoon for you to review it's called over the garden wall it is a really good show
I watched this movie as a kid and tbh it felt like a fever dream! I went years remembering vague things about it, but I could never remember what the title was and for the longest time it drove me crazy!
I never heard any reviews from it. I watched it years ago when it came up on the TV and nothing else was on. I got hooked on the visuals. I thought the artistry was unique and amazing. I'm glad you went into detail about what the movie was really about because I never thought of the tone of "she is the queen of her world, she needs to stop relying on other people to fix it". That honestly made the memory of this movie better. I think I'm going to watch it again. :3
The scene with the Tailor Dummies was very reminiscent of the Dancing Black Dress in the movie Legend. In Legend, there is a captive, innocent princess, dressed in white, who gets seduced by a non living, animated black dress. The dress dances with her and hypnotizes her, finally merging with her. She is now wearing the black dress and her whole new appearance is darkened.
i love this movie. i love the imagery. if it had big budget effects it would have been swamped and spoilt. this review gave me some insight to things i missed. but the film for me stod solidly on its own two feet to begin with.
"the film for me stod solidly on its own two feet to begin with." It did for me as well...until I rage-read all the reviews on it at Rotten Tomatoes. So this video was (more or less) a rebuttal against the critics confusion and disregard for it.
I love this movie. My dad showed it to me and i used to watch it over again. I have to admit, i never knew truly what it was about but i just loved it for the trippy visuals
The only thing I disagree with is that the visuals bog down the plot. The atmosphere tells the story and impart the theme subconsciously and emotionally. It's subtle like all things Neil Gaiman
Feels like a movie you’d find for rent in the library as kid, but didn’t pay for it so you hid it in your pants. When the movie turns out to be a lucid dream you don’t have the capacity to realize correlation doesn’t equal causation so you get freaked out you upset the universe in your act of thievery.
I dont care what the critics say because it was the visuals that captured me in the first place as a child and even up to this day i rly do find it to be charming. I don't want it to look clean, shiny or more realistic... the low quality rendering of the world makes it look more dreamy
That was the intention. Low quality CGI doesn't mean bad film. McKean was smart and used the CGI to their maximum affect. By inviting us in and showing the audience it's a dream we accept it. That was the intent. And it works to the ability that each viewer allows it to.
I clicked on this video with low expectations but you absolutely rocked those expectations. I never realized these deeper points about the movie. I certainly will give it a watch again considering last time I watched I was a kid.
I saw this five times in theaters. I dragged my sisters, my friends, even my estranged father to indie theaters in LA and Hollywood . I love this film. I understand the flaws. But will never surpass my love. My father compared it to Brazil visually. My little sister said it was like a stylized return to Oz That's a hell of a review
I remember my dad buying me this movie as a kid and I was so obsessed with it I don't remember any previews or where he got it from and I doubt he remembers why he bought it for me (I was 5 or 6) I'm so glad I wasn't one of the only ones who actually remembered this movie and seen it because everyone else I've met never seen it or heard of it
It's a wonderful bit of strange. I find the best way to introduce this to someone is by relating it something they know. Something they've already heard of and like. Examples: 'Oh it was written by the same guy who wrote "Good Omens" and "Coraline".' That usually works. But if they're more into comics I use Batman. 'You like Arkham Asylum? Try this movie. It was directed by the guy who drew it.'
@@moviemonarch1617 oh that is awesomeeee🖤🖤 and I also found out why he bought it for me. He said he went to an old store when he was traveling and saw it sitting on the shelf and thought I would like it. He wasn't wrong
Excellent review. I don't think more budget would necessarily have helped the movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the interplay between Helena's drawings and both her worlds, and I think more money might have messed that up. It's not what studios call accessible, but something you need to think about while watching it, and again after watching it, so if it engages you at all, it engages you more deeply than common fare. It's not just bland entertainment, but food for thought.
I was speaking more out of ire for the critics than I was to the quality of MirrorMask. My meaning being MirrorMask and the Wizard of Oz were operating at two COMPLETELY different levels of expectation from their respective studios. Mirrormask was given a $4 million budget and it's phenomenal, but if I were to bring it up to the same standards I hold the Wizard of Oz at I couldn't unless I increased it's budget by at least $50 million. Would that make the movie 'better' in my estimation? I don't know. It's pretty useless to speculate because money doesn't mean a movie is guaranteed to be any good or not. Shyamalan's the Last Airbender was given $250 million and it stank. Paradoxically a lack of of a budget can push directors to new creative heights. Sam Rami's Evil Dead was funded by a bunch of dentists for crying out loud and it's fantastic. But to try and compare movies like Lifeboat with Titanic just because they share the commonality of drama and ships going down is ridiculous, yet critics do it all the time. And I'm tired of it because it's not reasonable. Here was no exception.
When i watched this as a kid I always remembered this movie as a sepia cartoon-ed movie but oh hell naw The movie was hella weirder than how i remembered and now that I've watched it again an hour ago i am happy
Thanks. I don't believe that all critics are failed directors speaking out of spite when they don't understand something. I mean it DOES happen but what irritates me the most is they get paid to look and write about art. That is an insanely privileged position of power, yet rarely do I see any examples of critical thinking beyond superficial impressions. Which I guess is the nature of the beast we call the internet. Critics have to churn out more pithy prose faster than ever before and as a result films that require a second to breathe for appreciation to make itself known completely pass them by. They don't have time to examine why something worked where it didn't elsewhere and because of that I kinda pity them. Their jobs are getting in the way of their jobs.
@@moviemonarch1617 Well said. Most reviews lack subtlety, context and, to a lesser extent, overarching message. It seems the newer generation of critics tend to gloss over the true meanings of individual films in order to appear to be glib, witty and clever. Plus there seems to be a bias personally that varies greatly from individual to individual. It just was not always the case. Are all critics’ faults monolithic in nature? Of course not. However, there does seem to be a growing gap between the true lover of cinema and the cynical non artist. The result of all things internet, like you so adeptly commented on. By the by, I recommend Waking Life. It’s not the same as this film, but it’s under the same tent of surreal presentation. Happy viewing!
@@moviemonarch1617 That’s really too bad. Ironically, I found it more pleasant to search out eastern philosophy independently because of my personal pursuits in martial arts and yoga than any western philosophy class I had in college. I just found it dry and lifeless, which is exactly the opposite of how you would describe the men and women who founded those very same principles. Ah well. Such is life.
I love Mirrormask, had no idea people criticized it a lot, and never would have thought it was remotely "low budget". And for that matter, $4 million is not low budget, that's a lot of money. I know the film industry is sky-high expensive, but when I think low budget films I'm thinking the highest threshold would be $250K. A lot of the low budget realm is defined as under $10K or maybe under $25K. Comparing to the industry as a whole really warps the ability to define the lower tiers and makes it pretty confusing. A famous indie film I really like is Primer, and that was done on $7,000 by comparison. Considering the complex art and visual effects on top of all the scenes and locations in this film, it really doesn't look low budget whatsoever.
I agree. But sadly low budget is relative, and when comparing MirrorMask to what was considered high budget in the early 2000s $4M sadly fits the bill by Hollywood standards. And since those are the ones critics measured it by those are the ones I kept for the sake of this video.
I watched this a few years after it came out and always enjoyed it. I didn't think the effects were cheap but more dream like, it wasn't supposed to look realistic and clean.
If I implied they were cheap and not worthy of the work that was never my intention. My intention was to point out how grossly unfair it is to measure this movie against blockbusters like Disney's 1960s Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz simply because they're all surrealist fantasy. I mean, you can if you want, but budget should be taken into account for things like that and more. For example: how much time a writer can spend on the script. Gaiman said he spent 2 weeks on it before he had other projects that needed his attention. 2 weeks and a couple of back and forth emails to come up with this? That's amazing! But is any credit given to that? No. This film was designed to be a direct to DVD release for the studio. By those standards it's beyond brilliant. The effects aren't bad. They're just a product of their time and budget. Which is to say if anybody thinks they'll hold up to 4K scrutiny they're out of their goddamn minds.
Loved this film as a kid, haven't watched it in years, I'm reflecting back on it and it's helping me through some things right now, sounds weird but it helps
So the entire adventure was just symbolism for her subconsciously dealing with her own emotions? Interesting, but it makes sense. So it's basically like Coraline then. Except I think what happened to Coraline was real and not just symbolism.
I blame it on Dave McKean's aesthetic. I mean have you read "Arkham Asylum"? Some of his art is pure nightmare fuel. Like, right up there with Francis Bacon's 'Study after Velázquez's Portrait'
Movie Monarch No I haven't read AA, I never read fiction. I only read books on on or about animals space and all other things real. ..but I like movies...this movie had me wale up 4am with fright
Well take my word for it then, Dave McKean's drawings of the Batman's Joker are TERRIFYING. In fact all of his artwork (to some extent) is dark, evocative, and surreal. So I still think you were just picking up what he naturally lays down but I could be wrong...
I really enjoyed this film. I picked it up because it looked like a good fairy tale. I'm really glad you mentioned Jung in your review, because that's my interest. Jungian interpretations of dreams and fairy tales and how the two come from the corresponding places within the collective and personal unconscious. And this film really does bring the two together - a fairy tale quest in a dreamworld.
I remember watching this like 10 years ago and loved the weird eeriness of it, I really like the low budget of it cos it kinda adds to the creep factor
i found this movie by accident,and was extremely difficult to find a place where i could watch it,well despite of that i think was a very interesting experience,and like you said for the pattern of an totally independent and unknow movie from 16 years ago its good and interesting,this movie deserves maybe someday a remake,neil gaiman is now making sandman on netflix,who knows one day we can see mirror mask being finally discovered by the mainstream.
I like that the Jungian thing is explored here as the character seems to be defined by their their split in persona around a lifestyle that creates conflict in it. Commonly people may talk about shadow selves or about things like borderline personality disorder, but what’s interesting about this and all of Gaiman’s work is there love for people who don’t define their persona in a way that makes them live inauthentically or unhappily or by others definition of how their persona should look and there is an exploration of identifiable difficulty and negative results people face when they are not allowed to be who they are. Don’t need to look further than youtube to see extremes of forced personas that people are unhappy living in. There should be some things that exist that appeal to who we really are or how could we be at all? Stories like this are as much to help people deal with the pain of these things in their own lives as to counter balance societies that push against people being who they are or being happy. Should be more like it.
The film is extremely well done in my opinion. It has a completely original take (yes, based on classic themes) unlike so many other works these days (the age of reboots and reimagining). It captures the surreal fantasy of Alice in Wonderland and gives you a protagonist with a slightly more mature, much darker take. The psychology is clear. The dark and light mothers and daughters, the necessity of both the dark and the light in balance (as a metaphor for personality). But the writers putting in fantastic (often creepy) visuals does not obscure the themes at all, it compliments them. Underestimating an audience and pounding home your metaphors is a certain path to mediocrity. We have seen so many arrogant writers and directors give us drivel by wasting plot time, using a sledge hammer to pound home all the themes they wish to highlight instead of writing a story that those who do not appreciate allegory will enjoy and those that do will also enjoy. Even Bugs Bunny cartoons managed this by making cartoons that were funny to kids but also to adults who saw the more sophisticated jokes embedded within. If you want to insert themes into the movie, trust your audience. No one likes to be spoon fed. Its condescending and annoying.
If you haven't already I highly encourage you to watch Nerd Critic's take on why the 90s X-Men theme song is better than you remembered. There's a quote in there about under estimating your audience that I think you'd love.
Somehow I've never bothered watching/looking up reviews for Mirrormask (perhaps cause of critics, HA), but recently I was feeling nostalgic and poking at my Art(/"Alchemy") of Mirrormask book that I /still/ haven't gone through for some reason. Pretty neat analysis, especially since I didn't know anything about Jungian psychology :V And Mirrormask has fans?? Who still talk about Mirrormask???? Wow. I sometimes tell people about this movie I was obsessed with as a child and still have the occasional dream about there being a bizarre video game based on it (LOL. i think i just want to explore helena's weird cgi dream world) and nobody's ever heard of it. As an adult though, I can see it has flaws with pacing (sorta like my other unfortunate favorite Tron 2)... and general awkwardness... but I still cherish it. You mentioned that the psychology bits were too downplayed for the film to be good enough for critics, but for me personally, I like how as a dumb kid I had just enough to pick at the parallels/symbolism things and what they meant, and now as an adult who didn't know the weird psych stuff, there was even more there than I even realized. C: McKean/Gaiman put more tidbits in it than I knew, and it's neat to discover more. So thanks for putting this out there! And a question: I noticed you picked up on the floating giants representing Helena's parents. I am not great at analysis and never really figured that out on my own, until I read the picture book version and there was a pretty blatant bit of wording in there about it (something about Helena's mother being the one keeping her father grounded; though the giants are opposite with the female one floating away and the male falling). Was probably kinda obvious though. So I guess... while making this analysis, did you ever poke around other material like the books, or was all/a lot of it simply based on the movie itself? I don't even know how much stuff analyzing Mirrormask has been discussed elsewhere--plus I just googled 'mirrormask symbolism' and result #1 is "`MirrorMask': Look, but don't bother listening - Chicago Tribune"... WTF, offended. Now I know this masochism you must have endured (and that I have been avoiding for years) (sorry for long rambly comment, also >_>)
I love rambling comments! So to answer you question "while making this analysis, did you ever poke around other material like the books, or was all/a lot of it simply based on the movie itself?" it's based off the movie. That and the extras they crammed into the DVD. Neil Gaiman was very explicit about the floating giants being an accidental metaphor for Helena's parents in the directors commentary. Yeah, if you really love something stay away from the "professional" reviews. They don't get paid to sit around and analyze movies but react to them in the most knee-jerk-y fashion. Which...sucks. For everyone but mostly creators. So, I'm happy you enjoyed my take on "MirrorMask". It means a lot to hear it. I'm just sorry my reply is so late (youtube no longer informs me when I get comments).
I'm super late to this but this is great. I've loved this movie for a long time. It's extremely nostalgic and the visual style is so immersive to me. The music is something I could listen to all day. It's fine that not everyone enjoys it, but that comes with making something truly unique and from the heart.
I wish to thank you for this astute, and insightful review. I understand the motivation for it about which you speak. There are a lot of people in this YouTubie world who hold themselves up as critics - who don't realize being a critic involves more than criticizing. The ones who faulted this movie happened to be the same ones whose reviews were filled with faults. Consider the source. That aside, I recommend this movie to young people interested in art and communication as an example of the difference between art and entertainment. People expecting to be entertained by art are always disappointed with art, as (guess what) it's often not very entertaining. Some people, such as myself, don't consider thinking to be very entertaining either. Then, I don't have much time for entertainment. I'm too concerned with enlightenment. As an example of modern art (meaning current in terms of time, not "modern" modern art that then gives dilletantes the chance to invent "post-modern"; an obvious oxymoron which they [surprise!] missed) exemplifying the role of art to provoke thought - the lie which reveals the truth - MIrror Mask is outstanding. I was honestly stunned to be watching a film of this caliber in the 21st Century, and I hope it serves as an example of what can be achieved if one overlooks (completely) pop culture, the movie industry, and the teeming minions who want to be entertained. I'm happy to see you understand this, and I'm pleased to have literally experienced your review. I don't fault the movie for the budget. As an artist I know it's folly to think we can pretend others have not gone before us, and this film draws as more from Fellini than that questionable effort Labrynth. Thanks again.
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. And while it's possible that Fellini may have had some artistic influence on Dave McKean please understand that the Jim Henson company specifically commissioned Gaiman and McKean to come up with a movie reminiscent of Labyrinth. And, I believe, they took that to heart because in the special features McKean says that he and Gaiman locked themselves in a room to watch Labyrinth a couple of times before pounding out their first draft of the script. Which shows because beat-for-beat the two movies follow the same journey: A girl shouts at a family member, instantly regrets it, travels to a fantasy world where she encounters a male sidekick character. They ban together to defeat an oppressive ruler, but she's betrayed by the sidekick and gets magically roofied by the ruler. The sidekick makes up for the betrayal and the girl confronts the ruler. Once she does, she goes back to 'the real world' where everything is set right again, but she encounters characters from the fantasy world letting her know it (the fantasy world) was in some way real. The only BIG difference between two movies (aside from budget, cast, and directors) is that one of them is about sexual awakening and the other is deals with self identity. That is, the mental reconnoitering our brain goes through when transitioning out of adolescence and into adulthood. So...yeah. I mean feel free to disagree with me but this is how I interpreted it.
I always feel free to disagree. What was that Alice In Wonderland plot again...through the looking glass? I wasn't referring to the symbolism, or the hidden meaning, as I leave those up to the individual viewer. I was referring to the visual construction, as well as the flow or movement from scene to scene. Also, the bare planes dotted with bizarre characters. There's a certain devil may care attitude about whether this, or that makes immediate, or any sense to you...WHO? Though the atmospherics are synthesized, where Fellini tended to allow the outdoors be the atmospherics. So, it gives an air that differs. Did I mention forsaking the classically beautiful actors for those who themselves are interesting as well? Well, my mind isn't as uncluttered as it once was. Thanks for responding. I feel special.
Great review - it's good to see different opinions on the work ! Thank you for it and i hope u or others dont mind if i share my own - i LOVE Dave McKean's visual work - i mean it - i even channel it in my own artwork but yeah i really was bored as could be with MirrorMask - I understood the story but i found everything just very distracting and I dont mean to insult at all but even the visuals i didn't like - which is strange bc i am the HUGEST fan of his visuals in comics. Im not shtting on his hard work and everyone involved but for sure - there is no way in hell i would ever say i like this movie - I think a lot is possibly personal too bc I did not like the music at all - I know Dave is awesome with his music but really not my taste and as a musician myself, i would ADORE tons of heavy, dark music with his nightmarish badass art. I'm an indie artist who works with much less than any1 can imagine - pocket change - so i appreciate the effort taking place. Long live the GREAT Dave McKean ! he is still one of my fav artists EVER !
Different strokes for different folks. I think the jazz lent itself well to the free form nature of dreams but you like what you like and don't what you don't. No shame in it.
It's not on any streaming platform in the US, unfortunately, but there are still some cheap copies of it available on eBay. Just be careful of where it's shipping from due to DVD region compatibility.
Used to watch this so much when I was like 6-7 and did not understand it that much but loved it always. Later in now 21 and I always thought it was just a dream of mine and that it wasn’t real. I go searching for it and what do you know it really is real lol
I've said it before in other comments but MirrorMask really is a retread of the same journey just with different intentions. A girl shouts at a family member, instantly regrets it, travels to a fantasy world where she encounters a male sidekick character. They ban together to defeat an oppressive ruler but she's betrayed by the sidekick, and gets magically roofied by the ruler. The sidekick makes up for the betrayal and the girl confronts the ruler. Where being victorious in all her endeavors she wakes up in the real world where all family ties are healed while encountering some of the people she met in the other world, thus blurring the line of the real and fantastical. But whereas one film is about sexual awakening the other is about self identity.
When I was child saw this movie it was on tv sometimes i know patents always tell is not "child " movie but i not sas scared i lovad it the athmosphere and characters impressed. I was realy young when it was on tv then i don't saw it years after years it was a foggy child Hood memory only thing i remember was Valentine's character amd the athmosphere but it was foggy too and i try Search after it and i give see this movie ágain. Then yestoday i chilled and draw and i wanted something to watch the tittle catch me and when i started to watch the memories come back i was so happy to found this movie amd its Neil Gaiman book adaptation i hope i van read too. im glad found rewiews about too it will my childhood gem and my dreams nostalgic athmosphere thank you.
First viewing I was hooked from "Black magic...marker". Although I never saw the charcoal-drawing-esqe haze over the dreamworld as an indication of lack of CGI budget to clean and sharpen the visuals up. It seemed completely intentional to me.
You're not the first person, nor do I suspect you'll be the last, to conflate my statement of the CGIs effects as a criticism. It's not. A good director uses the tools they have to make the best product they can. CGI is just another tool. One that can be objectively good or bad in quality. These effects were not good, but the way the story is constructed and shown they don't need to be. By acknowledging the dreamworld is a dream McKean paradoxically allowed us to forget we're not in Kansas anymore. Nor should we expect to be. It's a dream. However not everybody is going to be able overlook the CGI and that's what I was trying to acknowledge. It is a product of it's budget. Something the directors have VERY little control over except where it goes. I mean unless your name is Spielberg, Scorsese, or Scott chances are studios are not going to budge on the budget. Because movies are largely money eating monsters. But that's a subject for another rant. Point is low quality CGI does not mean bad movie. Not by a long shot. And I'm sorry if that's all you heard in my words. I did not mean it in that way.
A thousand apologies if I misconstrued. (Not a first or last time for me either, doing that) And I agree about there not needing to be the absolute best of CGI quality given the context and visual presentation. In fact, too good may have spoiled the result a little.
Waking Life is good but I'd argue you'd have to be in a receptive mind set to see it. First time I did was in a class where I was forced to dissect every.single.scene. It uh...ruined the film for me.
@@moviemonarch1617 dang I’m sorry to hear that. And totally understand haha. 2001 a space odyssey is my alltime favorite movie. Both cool and trippy visuals. If you haven’t seen it make sure to watch it twice. Once sober and another time on fungus or something else haha
@@asdfadfafsdfa Sadly, it was the same class and the exact same situation for 2001: a Space Odyssey. I have massive respect for Kubrick, but when forced to analyze the meaning of the monolith for pages I despised him. Fortunately Barry Lyndon and Dr. Strangelove helped me come to peace with the Kubrick again, but I will forever despise Space Odyssey due to that fucking class. It's visually stunning, has one of the greatest villains, the soundtrack is beautiful and I love how it inspired Mel Brooks World History pt 1 but star-child-space-baby can rot in the deepest pits of hell.
I’ve actually nvr seen this movie but saw the trailer on one of my older movies & I really really wanna see it like idc it looks dope af. Looks like a mixture of labrynth, Alice & wonderland & wizard of oz all in one.
Judging from this review Mirror Mask it has a lot of the same feelings as the Nightwish movie "Imaginaerum". I highly recomend it for people who like this sort of movies. Would also be awesome if you ever did a review on it as well :)
Unfortunately you can't stream it here in the USA because I think Jim Henson studios is owned by some company in Germany. I could be very wrong. Point is they don't have a deal with any streaming company even though Disney owns their most valuable asset, the Muppets. So I say bite the bullet and purchase it dirt cheap on DVD from eBay www.ebay.com/itm/384283693119?epid=50580458&hash=item597917d03f:g:Zn0AAOxy4kpQ9u1g
@@moviemonarch1617 yep, that's what I was assuming, sadly. I did buy the 3 movie collection on ebay for $17 so I'll get to see it in a week. Thanks though, it's nice to see you're still active and talking with people years later
@@WoodWisp I'll never completely abandon this channel. I may not be the most prolific poster in human history (mostly because I'm lazy and have no designs on viral fame) but I'll always try to help people who are interested in the movies I love to find ways to see them.
Thanks for that review. I'd seen the movie, in parts, not start to finish, and I always liked it, but never thought of it was much more than a dream sequence. It's far less obvious, what it's about, than similar films, like Labyrinth where the plot is unmissable. I'd always viewed it as a kind of dream sequence with the young woman dealing with complex family issues internally, with adventures and quests ahead of her. I thought it was brilliant as a work of art, and at times, a bit slow as a story, but I respect the film.
Glad you liked my video. I just find it hilarious because this movie mirrors Labyrinth beat for beat. A girl shouts at a family member. Said family member is cursed in another world. She instantly regrets and goes to the world to try and rescue them. Meets a grouchy if not lovable chap. They become friends. He betrays her to the monarch of the realm. He repents and they work together to overthrow the monarch. She wakes up and sees the person from her dreams leaving the audience to question was it real? Only difference is one is about sexual awakening and the other is about coming to terms with your parents.
I remember watching this when I was like 7 or 8, I was at this community area thingy and they had the movie room (just s room with a projector) and some kids had picked this movie, I remember being really scared, having nightmares for years xD either way I rewatched it and it was really good
It's a stunning film but not meant for kids. I was fortunate. I didn't see it until I was 22 and it was a delight. I was SO surprised by how much I enjoyed it because I remember the ad campaign for when it first came out and being SUPER confused. Was this a movie about rescuing a world? A portal? Her dream? It really didn't know how to market it. But I'm super happy you enjoyed it on rewatch.
I have a love hate relationship with reaction videos. On the one hand when I see someone genuinely enjoying what I adore--the second hand high is REAL. But on the other, people not reacting honestly to avoid backlash is sad. Made even worse when they feel they have to qualify their own tastes.
@@moviemonarch1617 I never thought of it that way. Most of the reactors I watch are pretty honest if they don’t like something, I guess I just haven’t seen the ones you’re talking about yet.
It's part of the MirrorMask Soundtrack called Puppets-Flyover. It starts at around one minute and fifty seconds into the song. Hope this helps and enjoy.
Movie Monarch thanks a lot, of I’ve been looking for it for many years since Sony had the mirror mask official website up, they had that bit on it and it was in close loop play, no flutes or other instruments, just that piano music, do you know where I could find it? I listened to the puppets flyover but it sounds like a mix,
@@PeterParker-cl1tn The piano music? No, I'm sorry I don't. The best I would be able to do is link you to the youtube playlist of the song which includes all the other bits leading up to the Flyover.
These are my opinions. Nothing more nothing less.
should keep em coming! These types of channels are popping off lately so try to cash in!! I know I would watch :) Edit: and remember if someone shit talks the video that means they watched it and that's a win ;D
I'm kind of upset this movie has not surfaced for me until now. Seems like a cult classic. they never get the deserved attention. I don't understand why.
Good job. I've never heard of this but I think I'll seek it out. Oh yeah, and dont listen to that other guy that said cash in/sell out. You be you and good things will come. May the algorithm be with you
@@dcrenshaw42 I like that 'may the algorithm be with you'
Is it that over 50,000 people who saw the movie and thought it was crap are wrong about it being a quite garbage movie, or is it that you and the very few people who liked it are wrong. The fact that you see more into a movies plot where there is nothing to see between well a bratty kid who is a constant brat that never learns a lesson ever and everything magically becomes perfect shows that you have 0 taste in reality. When you claim oh the 2 being that separate is a symbol of her parents falling out of love and separating seriously just because 2 things move away from each other does not mean its something deeper thinking. Hell seeing it that psychotic way would be like saying those 2 buildings that have a gap between them symbolizes 2 siblings who do not talk to each other anymore. You are looking for shit that is just not there. The only saving grace to the movie is the unique art style to it that is more of a rip off of Tim Burton's art style. The plot of the movie was garbage. The acting was absolute trash. The CGI was garbage for its time and now it just looks disgustingly bad. The movie was suppose to be sent world wide and I saw the movie years ago somewhat because my brother had a friend who sent it to him to watch a crappy movie. My brother and his friend were trying to find really bad movies that for some stupid reason really stupid people actually like and this one came close to winning. The movie that ended up taking the prize of being really bad was George Lucas Star Wars Christmas Special 2. This movie could have been good if they actually spent time on basically everything. The movie was only in theaters in Europe and never got any Dvd releases outside of European because it was trash. Seriously you need to go to a therapist for thinking this garbage was good. Maybe stop watching so much European crap and get rid of your countries stupid ban on free speech and watch actual good movies and you would be mortified at how garbage European crap really is.
This movie exists in a weird place in my subconscious.
I saw it once when I was a kid, and it just sometimes appears in the back of my mind like some surreal dream
excellent. it has done its job well.
OMG SAME, I HAVE NIGHTMARES/DREAMS WITH THIS MOVIE
As a lucid dreamer I thought it actually (unlike most movies that try) feel like an actual dream. For example, when they go to visit the old woman, and at first the cats seem just cats, but then they begin to be scared of them and the music changes to "don't let them see your afraid". Then the cats, predictably, try to eat them. It makes no logical sense but that's how dreams work. The slightest negative thought can drift you into a nightmare. Amazing review, by the way. I saw the movie as a kid and didn't notice all the psychology.
I completely agree , that's how most of my dreams work .... also I love that scene it's so chilling
I've lucid dreamed since I was 8! I'm 37. Unfortunately it screws with your everyday life. You don't want to leave. Working life. Tons of videos out there how to learn lucid dreaming. Non to tell you how to stop. Horror? Love? Pirates? High school? You never get to black out past REM. I often lucid dream and look at tapestries. Shit I could never draw but I look at the thread's. But the second you fear... things. Or concentrate too much. You either wake up and things go black or you zone out and hope that the story changes.
This movie is such a hidden/overlooked gem
just heard about it some days ago! I absolutly love this movie!
@@bernhardtsen74 yee
I only disagree that the visuals bog down the plot. The atmosphere conveys the theme and ideas subconsciously/emotionally. It's very subtle like all things Neil gaiman
100 percent I watched it when I was a child it's such a good movie
I've never met anyone in person that's seen it. Whenever I meet a girl and we do a fav movie talk, I'm like Mirror Mask, 5th Element, Coraline are my top 3. I can tell if its someone I'd like if they at least know 5th Element, Coraline is kinda well known. If I ever met someone that liked to go to sleep while watching mirror mask... Perfect.
Thank you for giving the only positive review of this I've found. This movie's visual storytelling is severally underrated. It may have been low budget, but I think it adds to it's surreal magic. And I fully agree that the lead actress does a great job making it feel like she's talking to real characters. I've seen much higher budget actors do considerably worse with that.
I saw this movie when it came out and really liked it. Neil Gaiman really likes the dream world and I will go out on a limb and say the idea of mirrors, even though that was Lewis Carroll aka Charles Dodgsons thing, he seems to delve into alternative mini universes or the opposite of one reality to another.
I don't think Helena's a brat so much as a typical teenager who is looking for her identity and trying to figure her place in the world and feels a bit trapped by her parent's dream which is not her own. Even though she argue's with her mother, it does not mean she doesn't love her. Then, she says something in the heat of the moment that she regrets because she really doesn't want anything bad to happen to her mom. The "doting daughter" act wasn't an act because that is how she really feels and it's like the "self" being that is her true feelings. And, she does feel guilty because she does not want that to be one of the last things she ever said to her mom.
She is creative and imaginative. Imaginative can be seen as a child's thing going into teenage years to early adulthood and I agree, it is a coming of age story where she leaves her many of her childhood things behind while keeping those that she can bring into her young adult to adult life such as her story making and drawings. She is in a dream state and Freud wanted to over-analyze dreams while Jung saw them for what they are. Some are unconscious desires but having a function of integrating our unconscious with our consciousness, and I'm going off on a limb here, but didn't Jung say something about what is to be learned form them without thinking it was psycho-sexual?
When her mother shows up in the dream world, she tells her that what she's looking for in right in front of her face and I think this is a more mature way to look at something when you're looking for something and the thing she is looking for is staring her or is in front of her, she just needs to recognize it.
I also think that the two realities show her what is really important and she has to go through all of that to realize and understand it.
I thought the imagery is beautiful.
Thank you for commenting. It means a lot, and I can see that you clearly love this film. So do I. However, you seem to have put some words in my mouth that I would very much like to clear up. Please know I mean no malice.
So first off I never once referred to Helena as a 'brat'. I called her an 'obnoxious teenager' which she is for the first act of the film. It's not a bad thing. We wouldn't have a film without it, and it was intentionally done by the filmmakers. So where's the harm in calling a spade a spade? It's not like she doesn't change for the better...
Second, I never said Helena's doting daughter behavior was anything other than just that: her behavior. Sorry if I gave you the impression that I thought it was an 'act' but I can assure you I never did. I understand Helena was genuinely remorseful about her callous words. Her actions and behavior towards her mother prove this.
Thirdly: yes, Jung did say something about learning from dreams and using dreams to integrate our unconscious with our conscious. He referred to the process as individuation. I thought I explained that rather nicely in my review, but clearly I didn't.
Fourthly, the imagery IS stunning. I like it heaps. It adds a sense of surreal silliness that makes it fairly obvious to any viewer that Helena is in a dream. Glad we all agree.
As for Neil Gaiman liking dreams and mirrors...you're not wrong. In the introduction of his book of short stories 'smoke and mirrors' he had this to say about mirrors:
"Mirrors are wonderful things. They appear to tell the truth, to reflect life back out at us; but set a mirror correctly and it will lie so convincingly you'll believe that something has vanished into the air, that a box filled with doves and flags and spiders is actually empty, that people hidden in the wings or the pit are floating ghosts upon the stage. Angle it right and a mirror becomes a magic casement; it can show you anything you can imagine and maybe a few things you can't... Stories are, in one way or another, mirrors. We use them to explain to ourselves how the world works or how it doesn't work. Like mirrors, stories prepare us for the day to come. They distract us from the things in the darkness."
Sorry for any confusion and again thank you for leaving a comment. Sorry it took me so long to respond.
Hi, I never comment on anything on CZcams. I was just looking for clips of my favorite movie in the world and then I came upon your video. I appreciate this deep look into what psyche the writer and director must have had to create this movie. It surprised me.
What I will say about the choices they made with the visuals and the repetition of actors-- I think that is for a reason. This has been my favorite movie since I was 13 and I am 26 now. I appreciate the blurriness that the visuals and the narrative provide because I can revisit it no matter how old I get. This budget and art is what I look for. It is dark, hopeful, stunning, and different. I can't find anything that comes close to this. I need weird adventure and this is the only movie that has ever delivered.
Thanks!
One of my favorites too since I was 18. I'm 34 now.
I don’t know how many times I’ve seen this movie as a kid, and I can’t help watching it again. There’s always something new to find in this masterpiece
I think the visuals actually benefit from not having a mega budget, they are approached from an artistic point of view and work so well creating the dream like vibe. Far better than the recent Alice films.
Hard agree but people so often equate more money with better product, and I think this a perfect example of not-necessarily. If critics insist on comparing it to hits like 1960s Alice in Wonderland or the Wizard of Oz, fine, but at least acknowledge the massive discrepancy in their budgets and account for that. This film is fantastic for something that was DESIGNED to be a straight to DVD release.
Thank you so much for shedding some light on the meaning of this movie. I was so enamoured of those "Joan Miró-esque" visuals that I completely ignored the complex narrative.
There is something that I think a lot of people have overlooked in this film...the soundtrack! The story and the visuals are great and I agree with some that the low budget fx actually are better for this dream like state that Helena is in. But the music is truly something special the jazz infused with circus with electronica, it's something amazing that ties all the elements together. This is a wonderful film and should be rated up there with some of the greats like Wizard of Oz but unfortunately it will drown and most will forget about it and mostly because they can't see a vision of a masterpiece through the eyes of a budget.
You are absolutely correct about the soundtrack! It really is overlooked and I'm kind of ashamed I didn't talk about it or Iain Ballamy. I do a fair amount of research about every soundtrack for my videos, but trying to talk about them always feels so shoehorned in conjunction to everything else I'm trying to address. So I pull them out for the sake of streamlining my scripts. Which sucks because I love the amount of effort every composer puts into these films/tv show.
Iain Ballamy was a perfect choice for this film given the improve nature of jazz paralleling the randomness of dreams along with his own background in circus performance.
As for your other comment, call me optimistic but, I don't necessarily believe this film will get lost in the shuffle. Given how Neil Gaiman's popularity has risen in recent years what with Starz making "American Gods", Fox/Netflix doing "Lucifer", and Amazon releasing "Good Omens" plus the longevity of the "Sandman" comics in terms of being one of the absolute greats...it seems unlikely that cinephiles (such as myself) would ever forget this movie.
It is my desperate hope to one day see MirrorMask being admitted into the Criterion Collection. I think it is that worthy. However, only time can tell when it comes to art transitioning from "popular culture" into "culture". Wheat from the chaff. But in my opinion it's wheat. It will rise. And it will take its place in artistic circles.
All fans of MirrorMask love the music too and believe it's part of the magic of this wonderful film. ❤
Thanks for such a sharp review of (what I consider) a very underrated movie. I confess I too missed the point the first time I saw it (at 3 am and on painkillers for a leg injury) but, even though I didn't fully understand it, I really enjoyed the aesthetics. After watching it a few more times I realized how well-crafted it is, considering its budget.
I do wonder where Valentine comes from. Since he's not the animus, what is he? Helena meets the "real" Valentine at the end of the movie, so he can't be an unconscious desire. Or is he? Maybe I missed something. Again, great review!
Thank you! Yes, it's a remarkable film that gets a lot of flack for not being as epic as others. Which I think is a very unfair comparison to break on it when these people were hired to just make a film like Labyrinth. Which they did.
I mean, I've said it before in other comments but MirrorMask really is a retread of the same journey just with different intentions.
A girl shouts at a family member, instantly regrets it, travels to a fantasy world where she encounters a male sidekick character. They ban together to defeat an oppressive ruler but she's betrayed by the sidekick, and gets magically roofied by the ruler. The sidekick makes up for the betrayal and the girl confronts the ruler. Where being victorious in all her endeavors she wakes up in the real world where all family ties are healed while encountering some of the people she met in the other world, thus blurring the line of the real and fantastical. But whereas one film is about sexual awakening the other is about self identity.
So in this regard Valentine is Hoggle. Now if you want dig deeper than that, the movie more than allows for it. He could be the animus, a romantic interest, a sidekick platonic best friend, or another presence in this expansive dream world experiencing his own individuation. And these are just a few interpretations. There are lots more!...but that's not the point.
The point is, it's really subjective. Which is why I didn't go that into it in the review. I'd much rather viewers draw their own conclusions about Valentine than try and label him with my own unsubstantiated theories.
Anyboy have this movie? Can you share
Found this gem at 3 am on some obscure tv channel years ago. Fell in love instantly. One of my top 5 favorite movies.
Same
Took me a long while to find this movie after that. I was starting to believe it was nothing but a fever dream of mine lol
My mom loved this movie and had me watch it when i was little. It didn't scare me per say, but it definitely made me really uncomfortable. I don't remember anything about the plot, however the visuals left a mark for sure. I've been thinking about this film for the past year or so, just thinking of how I didn't really understand it but I took joy in seeing my mom get sucked into the world that was beautifully brought to life. Even if it was a small budget. I'll have to give this one another go, especially after seeing it was written by Neil Gaiman.
let me know how it goes!
I’ve always felt that this movie was always more then just a coming of age story. Idk why but it feels more complex then just that one genre can cover, at least on its own.
It's a beautiful movie and I love it to bits and pieces but art isn't just one thing. It can be many things to multiple people. If you feel there's more to this movie I encourage you to explore it. However, I did a tremendous amount of research on Jungian psychology while I was writing the script. The more I explored individuation the more confident I became that this movie fit the parameters of a teenager experiencing such an event. This is my opinion only. Feel free to explore yours and if you find anything interesting let me know. Good luck.
Loved this movie watched it about ten times and in love with their rendition of close to you. Someone should remake that version it would be fire
“Pajama wearing ragged muffin”
Long story short she seen her mom as the shadow mom and she's seeing herself turning into the shadows daughter basically the teenager stage out of control. So when she sees that she's thinking into she tries to change it and she does. THE END.
Pretty much.
remember this movie and just loved it and so glad i watched it. thank you so much for explaining it more in-depth. never compared it to the big box office parallel movies.
You're very welcome. Yeah, I think a lot of movie goers didn't cross compare but critics certainly did. I must have read at least twenty reviews for this, and every time I came across 'Labyrinth ripoff' I got incensed (clearly). Like...it was commissioned by the same studio to be in the same vein as 'Labyrinth'. How is that ripoff?! If anything it's an homage.
i Completely forgot about this.but then i just
Remember it out of no where btw i've got a cartoon for you to review it's called over the garden wall it is a really good show
Hmm...I'll check it out but no promises.
Agreed! Over the garden wall is an animated show full of mystery and wonder with a dark undertone. Highly recommend everyone to see it
I watched this movie as a kid and tbh it felt like a fever dream! I went years remembering vague things about it, but I could never remember what the title was and for the longest time it drove me crazy!
been there. know that.
I never heard any reviews from it. I watched it years ago when it came up on the TV and nothing else was on. I got hooked on the visuals. I thought the artistry was unique and amazing. I'm glad you went into detail about what the movie was really about because I never thought of the tone of "she is the queen of her world, she needs to stop relying on other people to fix it". That honestly made the memory of this movie better.
I think I'm going to watch it again. :3
Glad to be of service. It's a wonderful film and (seriously) never ever read it's reviews. The critics were awful.
The scene with the Tailor Dummies was very reminiscent of the Dancing Black Dress in the movie Legend. In Legend, there is a captive, innocent princess, dressed in white, who gets seduced by a non living, animated black dress. The dress dances with her and hypnotizes her, finally merging with her. She is now wearing the black dress and her whole new appearance is darkened.
What a catch.
@@Trowa71 Well... I watch a lot of movies.
@@starbrand3726 It's finally paying off, friend.
@@Trowa71 I wish it were "paying. " LOL
@@starbrand3726 Don't we all. Alas, not everyone can be friends with internet superstar Rich Evans.
i love this movie. i love the imagery. if it had big budget effects it would have been swamped and spoilt. this review gave me some insight to things i missed. but the film for me stod solidly on its own two feet to begin with.
"the film for me stod solidly on its own two feet to begin with."
It did for me as well...until I rage-read all the reviews on it at Rotten Tomatoes. So this video was (more or less) a rebuttal against the critics confusion and disregard for it.
Wow , its been 4 years and you're still responding !
Wonderful in depth review , thank you for for all your work .
I love this movie. My dad showed it to me and i used to watch it over again. I have to admit, i never knew truly what it was about but i just loved it for the trippy visuals
The only thing I disagree with is that the visuals bog down the plot. The atmosphere tells the story and impart the theme subconsciously and emotionally. It's subtle like all things Neil Gaiman
Feels like a movie you’d find for rent in the library as kid, but didn’t pay for it so you hid it in your pants. When the movie turns out to be a lucid dream you don’t have the capacity to realize correlation doesn’t equal causation so you get freaked out you upset the universe in your act of thievery.
I dont care what the critics say because it was the visuals that captured me in the first place as a child and even up to this day i rly do find it to be charming. I don't want it to look clean, shiny or more realistic... the low quality rendering of the world makes it look more dreamy
That was the intention. Low quality CGI doesn't mean bad film. McKean was smart and used the CGI to their maximum affect. By inviting us in and showing the audience it's a dream we accept it. That was the intent. And it works to the ability that each viewer allows it to.
I clicked on this video with low expectations but you absolutely rocked those expectations. I never realized these deeper points about the movie. I certainly will give it a watch again considering last time I watched I was a kid.
YAY! Let me know how it goes.
I saw this five times in theaters. I dragged my sisters, my friends, even my estranged father to indie theaters in LA and Hollywood . I love this film. I understand the flaws. But will never surpass my love. My father compared it to Brazil visually. My little sister said it was like a stylized return to Oz That's a hell of a review
Glad you guys loved it
I loved that movie ever since I first watched it back in 5th grade and all throughout middle and high school I wish they made more movies like that.
I remember my dad buying me this movie as a kid and I was so obsessed with it
I don't remember any previews or where he got it from and I doubt he remembers why he bought it for me (I was 5 or 6)
I'm so glad I wasn't one of the only ones who actually remembered this movie and seen it because everyone else I've met never seen it or heard of it
It's a wonderful bit of strange. I find the best way to introduce this to someone is by relating it something they know. Something they've already heard of and like.
Examples: 'Oh it was written by the same guy who wrote "Good Omens" and "Coraline".' That usually works. But if they're more into comics I use Batman. 'You like Arkham Asylum? Try this movie. It was directed by the guy who drew it.'
@@moviemonarch1617 oh that is awesomeeee🖤🖤 and I also found out why he bought it for me.
He said he went to an old store when he was traveling and saw it sitting on the shelf and thought I would like it. He wasn't wrong
I did not expect a doctoral thesis breakdown of this movie. phenomenal
*blush* thank you
Excellent review. I don't think more budget would necessarily have helped the movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the interplay between Helena's drawings and both her worlds, and I think more money might have messed that up. It's not what studios call accessible, but something you need to think about while watching it, and again after watching it, so if it engages you at all, it engages you more deeply than common fare. It's not just bland entertainment, but food for thought.
I was speaking more out of ire for the critics than I was to the quality of MirrorMask. My meaning being MirrorMask and the Wizard of Oz were operating at two COMPLETELY different levels of expectation from their respective studios. Mirrormask was given a $4 million budget and it's phenomenal, but if I were to bring it up to the same standards I hold the Wizard of Oz at I couldn't unless I increased it's budget by at least $50 million. Would that make the movie 'better' in my estimation? I don't know. It's pretty useless to speculate because money doesn't mean a movie is guaranteed to be any good or not. Shyamalan's the Last Airbender was given $250 million and it stank. Paradoxically a lack of of a budget can push directors to new creative heights. Sam Rami's Evil Dead was funded by a bunch of dentists for crying out loud and it's fantastic. But to try and compare movies like Lifeboat with Titanic just because they share the commonality of drama and ships going down is ridiculous, yet critics do it all the time. And I'm tired of it because it's not reasonable. Here was no exception.
well said, I bought this movie just by chance and said lets give it a shot. Never regretted it and i show it to anyone who wants to watch it.
When i watched this as a kid I always remembered this movie as a sepia cartoon-ed movie but oh hell naw
The movie was hella weirder than how i remembered and now that I've watched it again an hour ago i am happy
I’m truly glad you went in depth with this review. Most critics who would slam this film are probably bitter that they can’t create anything like it.
Thanks. I don't believe that all critics are failed directors speaking out of spite when they don't understand something. I mean it DOES happen but what irritates me the most is they get paid to look and write about art. That is an insanely privileged position of power, yet rarely do I see any examples of critical thinking beyond superficial impressions. Which I guess is the nature of the beast we call the internet. Critics have to churn out more pithy prose faster than ever before and as a result films that require a second to breathe for appreciation to make itself known completely pass them by.
They don't have time to examine why something worked where it didn't elsewhere and because of that I kinda pity them. Their jobs are getting in the way of their jobs.
@@moviemonarch1617
Well said. Most reviews lack subtlety, context and, to a lesser extent, overarching message. It seems the newer generation of critics tend to gloss over the true meanings of individual films in order to appear to be glib, witty and clever. Plus there seems to be a bias personally that varies greatly from individual to individual. It just was not always the case. Are all critics’ faults monolithic in nature? Of course not. However, there does seem to be a growing gap between the true lover of cinema and the cynical non artist. The result of all things internet, like you so adeptly commented on. By the by, I recommend Waking Life. It’s not the same as this film, but it’s under the same tent of surreal presentation. Happy viewing!
@@JD37 I've seen Waking Life. It's great, but my experience was tainted by my teacher who forced me to transcribe the entire film because philosophy.
@@moviemonarch1617
That’s really too bad. Ironically, I found it more pleasant to search out eastern philosophy independently because of my personal pursuits in martial arts and yoga than any western philosophy class I had in college. I just found it dry and lifeless, which is exactly the opposite of how you would describe the men and women who founded those very same principles. Ah well. Such is life.
I love Mirrormask, had no idea people criticized it a lot, and never would have thought it was remotely "low budget". And for that matter, $4 million is not low budget, that's a lot of money. I know the film industry is sky-high expensive, but when I think low budget films I'm thinking the highest threshold would be $250K. A lot of the low budget realm is defined as under $10K or maybe under $25K. Comparing to the industry as a whole really warps the ability to define the lower tiers and makes it pretty confusing. A famous indie film I really like is Primer, and that was done on $7,000 by comparison. Considering the complex art and visual effects on top of all the scenes and locations in this film, it really doesn't look low budget whatsoever.
I agree. But sadly low budget is relative, and when comparing MirrorMask to what was considered high budget in the early 2000s $4M sadly fits the bill by Hollywood standards. And since those are the ones critics measured it by those are the ones I kept for the sake of this video.
I love this movie :,)
It is indeed a great movie. One I think deserves a bit more love and attention than what it received from critics.
I watched this a few years after it came out and always enjoyed it. I didn't think the effects were cheap but more dream like, it wasn't supposed to look realistic and clean.
If I implied they were cheap and not worthy of the work that was never my intention. My intention was to point out how grossly unfair it is to measure this movie against blockbusters like Disney's 1960s Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz simply because they're all surrealist fantasy. I mean, you can if you want, but budget should be taken into account for things like that and more. For example: how much time a writer can spend on the script. Gaiman said he spent 2 weeks on it before he had other projects that needed his attention. 2 weeks and a couple of back and forth emails to come up with this? That's amazing! But is any credit given to that? No. This film was designed to be a direct to DVD release for the studio. By those standards it's beyond brilliant. The effects aren't bad. They're just a product of their time and budget. Which is to say if anybody thinks they'll hold up to 4K scrutiny they're out of their goddamn minds.
@@moviemonarch1617 No, I didn't you were saying they were cheap. You had mentioned something about people being critical of the effects.
Thanks for this excellent review. I enjoy rewatching my old copy occasionally and this adds much to my understanding.
Loved this film as a kid, haven't watched it in years, I'm reflecting back on it and it's helping me through some things right now, sounds weird but it helps
How is this video so underated. Well put together deep dive into the metaphor and meaning of this film. Thank you!
you're welcome and thank you for the kind words
So the entire adventure was just symbolism for her subconsciously dealing with her own emotions? Interesting, but it makes sense. So it's basically like Coraline then. Except I think what happened to Coraline was real and not just symbolism.
Depends if you're talking about Coraline the movie or Coraline the book.
your voice is really nice to listen to
Glad you liked it bc I'm a real chatterbox, and have another video coming out in a few days.
This movie gave me a nightmare, and I'm a fully grown man...wtf
I blame it on Dave McKean's aesthetic. I mean have you read "Arkham Asylum"? Some of his art is pure nightmare fuel. Like, right up there with Francis Bacon's 'Study after Velázquez's Portrait'
Movie Monarch No I haven't read AA, I never read fiction. I only read books on on or about animals space and all other things real. ..but I like movies...this movie had me wale up 4am with fright
Well take my word for it then, Dave McKean's drawings of the Batman's Joker are TERRIFYING. In fact all of his artwork (to some extent) is dark, evocative, and surreal. So I still think you were just picking up what he naturally lays down but I could be wrong...
Well it’s a surreal fantasy film, what did you expect? Plus it’s written by one my favorite authors of the 20th century Neil Gaiman.
Owen Ltd I saw it when I was 7, and had nightmares years after
My young son was obsessed with this movie back in the day.
Loved and subbed, brilliant review 💗
Loved this movie when I was 5. Still love it.
This is a thoughtful and beautiful movie, much under-appreciated.
One of my favorite underrated movies
I really enjoyed this film. I picked it up because it looked like a good fairy tale. I'm really glad you mentioned Jung in your review, because that's my interest. Jungian interpretations of dreams and fairy tales and how the two come from the corresponding places within the collective and personal unconscious. And this film really does bring the two together - a fairy tale quest in a dreamworld.
I remember watching this like 10 years ago and loved the weird eeriness of it, I really like the low budget of it cos it kinda adds to the creep factor
i found this movie by accident,and was extremely difficult to find a place where i could watch it,well despite of that i think was a very interesting experience,and like you said for the pattern of an totally independent and unknow movie from 16 years ago its good and interesting,this movie deserves maybe someday a remake,neil gaiman is now making sandman on netflix,who knows one day we can see mirror mask being finally discovered by the mainstream.
I've heard the Sandman rumor so many times I won't believe it until I see it, and even then I'm not sure I'll believe it.
@@moviemonarch1617 now you can bê,its totally confirmed now
I like that the Jungian thing is explored here as the character seems to be defined by their their split in persona around a lifestyle that creates conflict in it. Commonly people may talk about shadow selves or about things like borderline personality disorder, but what’s interesting about this and all of Gaiman’s work is there love for people who don’t define their persona in a way that makes them live inauthentically or unhappily or by others definition of how their persona should look and there is an exploration of identifiable difficulty and negative results people face when they are not allowed to be who they are. Don’t need to look further than youtube to see extremes of forced personas that people are unhappy living in. There should be some things that exist that appeal to who we really are or how could we be at all? Stories like this are as much to help people deal with the pain of these things in their own lives as to counter balance societies that push against people being who they are or being happy. Should be more like it.
The film is extremely well done in my opinion. It has a completely original take (yes, based on classic themes) unlike so many other works these days (the age of reboots and reimagining). It captures the surreal fantasy of Alice in Wonderland and gives you a protagonist with a slightly more mature, much darker take. The psychology is clear. The dark and light mothers and daughters, the necessity of both the dark and the light in balance (as a metaphor for personality). But the writers putting in fantastic (often creepy) visuals does not obscure the themes at all, it compliments them.
Underestimating an audience and pounding home your metaphors is a certain path to mediocrity. We have seen so many arrogant writers and directors give us drivel by wasting plot time, using a sledge hammer to pound home all the themes they wish to highlight instead of writing a story that those who do not appreciate allegory will enjoy and those that do will also enjoy.
Even Bugs Bunny cartoons managed this by making cartoons that were funny to kids but also to adults who saw the more sophisticated jokes embedded within.
If you want to insert themes into the movie, trust your audience. No one likes to be spoon fed. Its condescending and annoying.
If you haven't already I highly encourage you to watch Nerd Critic's take on why the 90s X-Men theme song is better than you remembered. There's a quote in there about under estimating your audience that I think you'd love.
Aesthetic perfection - the dark half
I didn't like mirror mask until I watched this review. Thank you so much. Also I really liked the visuals
Happy I could help :)
The mom's foreshadowing made me realize that Becky (2020) made a MirrorMask reference.
Somehow I've never bothered watching/looking up reviews for Mirrormask (perhaps cause of critics, HA), but recently I was feeling nostalgic and poking at my Art(/"Alchemy") of Mirrormask book that I /still/ haven't gone through for some reason. Pretty neat analysis, especially since I didn't know anything about Jungian psychology :V
And Mirrormask has fans?? Who still talk about Mirrormask???? Wow. I sometimes tell people about this movie I was obsessed with as a child and still have the occasional dream about there being a bizarre video game based on it (LOL. i think i just want to explore helena's weird cgi dream world) and nobody's ever heard of it. As an adult though, I can see it has flaws with pacing (sorta like my other unfortunate favorite Tron 2)... and general awkwardness... but I still cherish it. You mentioned that the psychology bits were too downplayed for the film to be good enough for critics, but for me personally, I like how as a dumb kid I had just enough to pick at the parallels/symbolism things and what they meant, and now as an adult who didn't know the weird psych stuff, there was even more there than I even realized. C: McKean/Gaiman put more tidbits in it than I knew, and it's neat to discover more. So thanks for putting this out there!
And a question: I noticed you picked up on the floating giants representing Helena's parents. I am not great at analysis and never really figured that out on my own, until I read the picture book version and there was a pretty blatant bit of wording in there about it (something about Helena's mother being the one keeping her father grounded; though the giants are opposite with the female one floating away and the male falling). Was probably kinda obvious though. So I guess... while making this analysis, did you ever poke around other material like the books, or was all/a lot of it simply based on the movie itself? I don't even know how much stuff analyzing Mirrormask has been discussed elsewhere--plus I just googled 'mirrormask symbolism' and result #1 is "`MirrorMask': Look, but don't bother listening - Chicago Tribune"... WTF, offended. Now I know this masochism you must have endured (and that I have been avoiding for years)
(sorry for long rambly comment, also >_>)
I love rambling comments!
So to answer you question "while making this analysis, did you ever poke around other material like the books, or was all/a lot of it simply based on the movie itself?" it's based off the movie. That and the extras they crammed into the DVD. Neil Gaiman was very explicit about the floating giants being an accidental metaphor for Helena's parents in the directors commentary.
Yeah, if you really love something stay away from the "professional" reviews. They don't get paid to sit around and analyze movies but react to them in the most knee-jerk-y fashion. Which...sucks. For everyone but mostly creators. So, I'm happy you enjoyed my take on "MirrorMask". It means a lot to hear it. I'm just sorry my reply is so late (youtube no longer informs me when I get comments).
This movie was so confusing but when u explained it made sense
Thanks for this review! I love this movie a lot and it makes me sad that it's grossly underappreciated.
I'm super late to this but this is great. I've loved this movie for a long time. It's extremely nostalgic and the visual style is so immersive to me. The music is something I could listen to all day. It's fine that not everyone enjoys it, but that comes with making something truly unique and from the heart.
Love the movie since I first met it at 3 AM on television. I think is unfairly underrated.
Hard agree.
I wish to thank you for this astute, and insightful review. I understand the motivation for it about which you speak. There are a lot of people in this YouTubie world who hold themselves up as critics - who don't realize being a critic involves more than criticizing. The ones who faulted this movie happened to be the same ones whose reviews were filled with faults. Consider the source.
That aside, I recommend this movie to young people interested in art and communication as an example of the difference between art and entertainment. People expecting to be entertained by art are always disappointed with art, as (guess what) it's often not very entertaining. Some people, such as myself, don't consider thinking to be very entertaining either. Then, I don't have much time for entertainment. I'm too concerned with enlightenment.
As an example of modern art (meaning current in terms of time, not "modern" modern art that then gives dilletantes the chance to invent "post-modern"; an obvious oxymoron which they [surprise!] missed) exemplifying the role of art to provoke thought - the lie which reveals the truth - MIrror Mask is outstanding. I was honestly stunned to be watching a film of this caliber in the 21st Century, and I hope it serves as an example of what can be achieved if one overlooks (completely) pop culture, the movie industry, and the teeming minions who want to be entertained.
I'm happy to see you understand this, and I'm pleased to have literally experienced your review. I don't fault the movie for the budget. As an artist I know it's folly to think we can pretend others have not gone before us, and this film draws as more from Fellini than that questionable effort Labrynth. Thanks again.
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. And while it's possible that Fellini may have had some artistic influence on Dave McKean please understand that the Jim Henson company specifically commissioned Gaiman and McKean to come up with a movie reminiscent of Labyrinth. And, I believe, they took that to heart because in the special features McKean says that he and Gaiman locked themselves in a room to watch Labyrinth a couple of times before pounding out their first draft of the script. Which shows because beat-for-beat the two movies follow the same journey:
A girl shouts at a family member, instantly regrets it, travels to a fantasy world where she encounters a male sidekick character. They ban together to defeat an oppressive ruler, but she's betrayed by the sidekick and gets magically roofied by the ruler. The sidekick makes up for the betrayal and the girl confronts the ruler. Once she does, she goes back to 'the real world' where everything is set right again, but she encounters characters from the fantasy world letting her know it (the fantasy world) was in some way real.
The only BIG difference between two movies (aside from budget, cast, and directors) is that one of them is about sexual awakening and the other is deals with self identity. That is, the mental reconnoitering our brain goes through when transitioning out of adolescence and into adulthood.
So...yeah. I mean feel free to disagree with me but this is how I interpreted it.
I always feel free to disagree.
What was that Alice In Wonderland plot again...through the looking glass? I wasn't referring to the symbolism, or the hidden meaning, as I leave those up to the individual viewer. I was referring to the visual construction, as well as the flow or movement from scene to scene. Also, the bare planes dotted with bizarre characters. There's a certain devil may care attitude about whether this, or that makes immediate, or any sense to you...WHO? Though the atmospherics are synthesized, where Fellini tended to allow the outdoors be the atmospherics. So, it gives an air that differs.
Did I mention forsaking the classically beautiful actors for those who themselves are interesting as well? Well, my mind isn't as uncluttered as it once was.
Thanks for responding. I feel special.
Great review - it's good to see different opinions on the work !
Thank you for it and i hope u or others dont mind if i share my own -
i LOVE Dave McKean's visual work - i mean it - i even channel it in my own artwork but yeah i really was bored as could be with MirrorMask - I understood the story but i found everything just very distracting and I dont mean to insult at all but even the visuals i didn't like - which is strange bc i am the HUGEST fan of his visuals in comics. Im not shtting on his hard work and everyone involved but for sure - there is no way in hell i would ever say i like this movie -
I think a lot is possibly personal too bc I did not like the music at all - I know Dave is awesome with his music but really not my taste and as a musician myself, i would ADORE tons of heavy, dark music with his nightmarish badass art. I'm an indie artist who works with much less than any1 can imagine - pocket change - so i appreciate the effort taking place. Long live the GREAT Dave McKean ! he is still one of my fav artists EVER !
Different strokes for different folks. I think the jazz lent itself well to the free form nature of dreams but you like what you like and don't what you don't. No shame in it.
This video is gonna blowup and you'll get 10k more subscribers by the end of this years
gods I hope not.
used to watch this when i was a kid and it always left a weird feeling in me
I honestly think this movie would have worked significantly better as a video game. Even the structure is written like a video game.
The structure is completely based off of 'Labyrinth' so you're probably not wrong.
Such a cool film. I’m going to have to rewatch it now
It's been 15 years since I seen this movie. I have been trying to find it forever
It's not on any streaming platform in the US, unfortunately, but there are still some cheap copies of it available on eBay. Just be careful of where it's shipping from due to DVD region compatibility.
@@moviemonarch1617 Thanks 👍
Used to watch this so much when I was like 6-7 and did not understand it that much but loved it always. Later in now 21 and I always thought it was just a dream of mine and that it wasn’t real. I go searching for it and what do you know it really is real lol
I subbed just because of this review, This is my favorite movie in the world!
I love this movie
McKean and Gaiman working together, whether it is in comics or in movies, will never be anything but brilliant. This movie is no exception.
I absolutely adore MirrorMask. I would like everyone to see it.
Me too. Spread the word.
I just found out about this movie last night still need to finish it but I’m obsessed with it now I think it’s cause it gives me Labyrinth vibes
I've said it before in other comments but MirrorMask really is a retread of the same journey just with different intentions.
A girl shouts at a family member, instantly regrets it, travels to a fantasy world where she encounters a male sidekick character. They ban together to defeat an oppressive ruler but she's betrayed by the sidekick, and gets magically roofied by the ruler. The sidekick makes up for the betrayal and the girl confronts the ruler. Where being victorious in all her endeavors she wakes up in the real world where all family ties are healed while encountering some of the people she met in the other world, thus blurring the line of the real and fantastical. But whereas one film is about sexual awakening the other is about self identity.
I thought this movie was a vivid dream I had when I was younger. Oh boy.
well...you weren't wrong :)
A worthy review. Thank you!
You're welcome!
When I was child saw this movie it was on tv sometimes i know patents always tell is not "child " movie but i not sas scared i lovad it the athmosphere and characters impressed. I was realy young when it was on tv then i don't saw it years after years it was a foggy child Hood memory only thing i remember was Valentine's character amd the athmosphere but it was foggy too and i try Search after it and i give see this movie ágain. Then yestoday i chilled and draw and i wanted something to watch the tittle catch me and when i started to watch the memories come back i was so happy to found this movie amd its Neil Gaiman book adaptation i hope i van read too. im glad found rewiews about too it will my childhood gem and my dreams nostalgic athmosphere thank you.
Best movie ever. Honest. Second is Henson's Jack and the Bean Stalk. Third is Brazil. Maybe that is first. It's hard to say.
First viewing I was hooked from "Black magic...marker". Although I never saw the charcoal-drawing-esqe haze over the dreamworld as an indication of lack of CGI budget to clean and sharpen the visuals up. It seemed completely intentional to me.
You're not the first person, nor do I suspect you'll be the last, to conflate my statement of the CGIs effects as a criticism. It's not. A good director uses the tools they have to make the best product they can. CGI is just another tool. One that can be objectively good or bad in quality. These effects were not good, but the way the story is constructed and shown they don't need to be.
By acknowledging the dreamworld is a dream McKean paradoxically allowed us to forget we're not in Kansas anymore. Nor should we expect to be. It's a dream. However not everybody is going to be able overlook the CGI and that's what I was trying to acknowledge.
It is a product of it's budget. Something the directors have VERY little control over except where it goes. I mean unless your name is Spielberg, Scorsese, or Scott chances are studios are not going to budge on the budget. Because movies are largely money eating monsters. But that's a subject for another rant.
Point is low quality CGI does not mean bad movie. Not by a long shot. And I'm sorry if that's all you heard in my words. I did not mean it in that way.
A thousand apologies if I misconstrued. (Not a first or last time for me either, doing that) And I agree about there not needing to be the absolute best of CGI quality given the context and visual presentation. In fact, too good may have spoiled the result a little.
I watched this movie high on cough medicine… it was something else. If you enjoy this movie you will also love “waking life”
Waking Life is good but I'd argue you'd have to be in a receptive mind set to see it. First time I did was in a class where I was forced to dissect every.single.scene. It uh...ruined the film for me.
@@moviemonarch1617 dang I’m sorry to hear that. And totally understand haha. 2001 a space odyssey is my alltime favorite movie. Both cool and trippy visuals. If you haven’t seen it make sure to watch it twice. Once sober and another time on fungus or something else haha
@@asdfadfafsdfa Sadly, it was the same class and the exact same situation for 2001: a Space Odyssey. I have massive respect for Kubrick, but when forced to analyze the meaning of the monolith for pages I despised him. Fortunately Barry Lyndon and Dr. Strangelove helped me come to peace with the Kubrick again, but I will forever despise Space Odyssey due to that fucking class. It's visually stunning, has one of the greatest villains, the soundtrack is beautiful and I love how it inspired Mel Brooks World History pt 1 but star-child-space-baby can rot in the deepest pits of hell.
@@moviemonarch1617 shame on that teacher. Do they not consider that making someone dissect art will ruin that art for many? Karma will sort them out!
I’ve actually nvr seen this movie but saw the trailer on one of my older movies & I really really wanna see it like idc it looks dope af. Looks like a mixture of labrynth, Alice & wonderland & wizard of oz all in one.
Judging from this review Mirror Mask it has a lot of the same feelings as the Nightwish movie "Imaginaerum". I highly recomend it for people who like this sort of movies. Would also be awesome if you ever did a review on it as well :)
the movie when I was a kid scared me Idk why
Well, Dave McKean's artistic style is a bit...dark. But you're not alone. A LOT of people here have said that about this movie.
I know it's a positive review overall, and I'm not super smart, but it also seems kinda scathing at times haha. But foreal, new light shone, thanks.
No problem.
How can I watch this movie??? I've checked every streaming service I had and Googled it multiple times and it's not available 'in my area' (USA)
Unfortunately you can't stream it here in the USA because I think Jim Henson studios is owned by some company in Germany. I could be very wrong. Point is they don't have a deal with any streaming company even though Disney owns their most valuable asset, the Muppets. So I say bite the bullet and purchase it dirt cheap on DVD from eBay www.ebay.com/itm/384283693119?epid=50580458&hash=item597917d03f:g:Zn0AAOxy4kpQ9u1g
@@moviemonarch1617 yep, that's what I was assuming, sadly. I did buy the 3 movie collection on ebay for $17 so I'll get to see it in a week. Thanks though, it's nice to see you're still active and talking with people years later
@@WoodWisp I'll never completely abandon this channel. I may not be the most prolific poster in human history (mostly because I'm lazy and have no designs on viral fame) but I'll always try to help people who are interested in the movies I love to find ways to see them.
Thanks for that review. I'd seen the movie, in parts, not start to finish, and I always liked it, but never thought of it was much more than a dream sequence.
It's far less obvious, what it's about, than similar films, like Labyrinth where the plot is unmissable. I'd always viewed it as a kind of dream sequence with the young woman dealing with complex family issues internally, with adventures and quests ahead of her. I thought it was brilliant as a work of art, and at times, a bit slow as a story, but I respect the film.
Glad you liked my video. I just find it hilarious because this movie mirrors Labyrinth beat for beat.
A girl shouts at a family member. Said family member is cursed in another world. She instantly regrets and goes to the world to try and rescue them. Meets a grouchy if not lovable chap. They become friends. He betrays her to the monarch of the realm. He repents and they work together to overthrow the monarch. She wakes up and sees the person from her dreams leaving the audience to question was it real? Only difference is one is about sexual awakening and the other is about coming to terms with your parents.
I enjoyed this movie and I enjoyed this video thank you for making this!
And thank you for the kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I remember watching this when I was like 7 or 8, I was at this community area thingy and they had the movie room (just s room with a projector) and some kids had picked this movie, I remember being really scared, having nightmares for years xD either way I rewatched it and it was really good
It's a stunning film but not meant for kids. I was fortunate. I didn't see it until I was 22 and it was a delight. I was SO surprised by how much I enjoyed it because I remember the ad campaign for when it first came out and being SUPER confused. Was this a movie about rescuing a world? A portal? Her dream? It really didn't know how to market it. But I'm super happy you enjoyed it on rewatch.
How can you find this movie?
Trying to find it sight to site and still no sign of it.
No idea where in the world you are but if in the USA I'm pretty sure you can stream it on Roku.
I love the surreal look of this movie
I do too
I loved this movie as a kid
I remember watching this movie when it first came out. I was rather impressed with it. It was a small-budget movie that did an amazing job.
low budget doesn't mean bad. It's an amazing film that I wish had a wider audience.
I despise when people criticize critics rather than a movie.
I really want someone to do a reaction video to this movie. It is so interesting and strange that I couldn't help but like it.
I have a love hate relationship with reaction videos. On the one hand when I see someone genuinely enjoying what I adore--the second hand high is REAL. But on the other, people not reacting honestly to avoid backlash is sad. Made even worse when they feel they have to qualify their own tastes.
@@moviemonarch1617
I never thought of it that way.
Most of the reactors I watch are pretty honest if they don’t like something, I guess I just haven’t seen the ones you’re talking about yet.
@@ordinary-not2525 And I hope you never do. Like I said it's sad.
Brilliant film
i beg you please someone, give me the name of the sound track played between 0:29 and 0:34
It's part of the MirrorMask Soundtrack called Puppets-Flyover. It starts at around one minute and fifty seconds into the song. Hope this helps and enjoy.
Movie Monarch thanks a lot, of I’ve been looking for it for many years since Sony had the mirror mask official website up, they had that bit on it and it was in close loop play, no flutes or other instruments, just that piano music, do you know where I could find it? I listened to the puppets flyover but it sounds like a mix,
@@PeterParker-cl1tn The piano music? No, I'm sorry I don't. The best I would be able to do is link you to the youtube playlist of the song which includes all the other bits leading up to the Flyover.