What a combination: fantasy writer Neil Gaiman, surreal comic artist Dave McKean, and creature-makers The Jim Henson Company. The expectations for their collaborative efforts are probably too high to ever realistically live up to. And while Mirrormask is an absolute visual wonder, the story and acting pale in comparison. Part of the problem is in having green actors play off of CGI backgrounds and characters; it rarely feels like anything’s truly connecting, or that anyone’s reacting appropriately to their Dali-esque surroundings. Some of the detachment may be chalked up to the adventure being a dream, but therein lies another part of the problem. How much will we worry about characters in peril when we already know it’s all just a nightmare? (Residents of Elm Street excepted.) The core of the story – a girl wants to run away from the circus to join real life – is novel, but the spectacle gets too whimsical at times to make a coherent plot. It makes me want to revisit Labyrinth, with its foam-and-felt puppets and charismatic cast.

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