Official MirrorMask Site Online

[lowercasegods]

Superherohype.com just posted this. It's the link to Mirrormask's official website. Just thought it'd be of interest to anyone who may have thought this project was dead in the water. Obviously it is gonna happen, so I'm extremely excited! Anyway, check this out:

http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/mirrormask/

MirrorMask centers on Helena, a 15 year old girl in a family of circus entertainers, who often wishes she could run off and join real life. After a fight with her parents about her future plans, her mother falls quite ill and Helena is convinced that it is all her fault. On the eve of her mother's major surgery, she dreams that she is in a strange world with two opposing queens, bizarre creatures, and masked inhabitants. All is not well in this new world - the white queen has fallen ill and can only be restored by the MirrorMask, and it's up to Helena to find it. But as her adventures continue, she begins to wonder whether she's in a dream, or something far more sinister.

[Muppetsdownunder]

Sounds good! Thanks for the link.

[Fozzie Bear]

Cool. I'd like to see this!

[LifeWithMuppy]

I hate to make it sound like I'm insulting the writers for MirrorMask...but am I the only one who notices strong similarities between it and the Neverending Story?

[Uncle Deadley]

I've been excited about this project for a long time. Mirror Mask is written by the great Neil Gaiman, best known for his comic THE SANDMAN. It's directed by Dave McKean who did all of the covers for SANDMAN, a very talented artist. I hope this will be the beginning of a long collaboration for Gaiman and the Henson company. I'm hoping they will eventually make a movie together of Gaiman's Stardust .

[lowercasegods]

Actually, at least five years ago, the Henson Company was in the beginning stages of bringing Gaiman's "Neverwhere" novel to the big screen. I'm not certain why that project never came about, but I figure "Mirrormask" is a result of that previous collaboration. Knowing how Gaiman stays loyal to his creative collaborators, it's likely at least one more project will arise between he and the Henson company, though it's difficult to speculate what it would be. Maybe "Neverwhere" will resurface.

And to the person who spoke of similarities between "Mirrormask's" plot and "The Neverending Story," you're probably right, but I doubt it's intentional. If you read Joseph Cambell's book, "The Hero With A Thousand Faces," he points out how common universal themes dictate the plot, characters and action of all mythology, from ancient stories to modern cinema. In essence, it means that it's unavoidable to have a story like "Mirrormask" have a plot similar to "Neverending Story" since the dying mother/lost child on a fantastic journey plot is so classic and common in mythology.

No matter how original a person thinks their story is, inevitably it's still derived, voluntarily or not, from a proven formula that's older than time. It doesn't mean, however, that a story, In this case "Mirrormask", won't be original and will just be a knockoff. Gaiman is a self proclaimed student of mythology and folklore (as his "Sandman" comic illustrates beautifully) and always manages to envoke an original voice into the most familiar of folk tales in his retelling. He's a great writer, and it's highly unlikely that he'd allow the story of "Mirrormask" to be just another knock off of "Neverending Story." Your concerns are valid, though, and with a lesser writer, I'd say we all would have something to worry about. But trust me, Gaiman won't let us down.

And on a similar note, when "Labyrinth" came out, just months after "Return to Oz", a lot of people saw connections there and labled it a rip off of the works of L. Frank Baum. However, I think we all know how great and original "Labyrinth" truly was (and is), and know that such comparisions were pretty off the mark. Just try to keep that in mind as we all anticipate the arrival of "Mirrormask."

[Green Gelfling]

...its almost reminds be vaguely of the Hugga Bunch movie back in the 80s. but then again most stories are passed down from generation to generation...everyone hears them..so they are bound to be rewritten or used for inspiration for newer stories.

btw..i already love the costume design!

[lowercasegods]

Oh man, I remember that Hugga Bunch movie! I thought the puppets were pretty cool, even if they weren't Muppets. Too bad the toys weren't nearly as cool, though.

[LadyHyde]

I know Gaiman's "Death" is being turned into a movie as well. It's about the spirit of Death (Who looks like a normal goth girl) who tries to show a suicidal boy that life is worth living. I wish it was "Death: At Death's Door" by Jill Thompson where a rift between heaven and **** kicks out all the souls and they crash at her apartment. There's a funny love story in there about Edgar Allen Poe falling in love with Despair, a dumpy spirit with low self esteem.

[Buck-Beaver]

Originally Posted by lowercasegods

Actually, at least five years ago, the Henson Company was in the beginning stages of bringing Gaiman's "Neverwhere" novel to the big screen. I'm not certain why that project never came about...Maybe "Neverwhere" will resurface.

Actually, according to Neil's blog that's his next project with Henson. There has already been one version of it produced - made-for-TV I believe - in the UK. I think it's available on DVD.

Originally Posted by lowercasegods

And to the person who spoke of similarities between "Mirrormask's" plot and "The Neverending Story," you're probably right, but I doubt it's intentional.

I'm not so sure...the JHC specifically asked them to come up with something in the same vein as Labyrinth and the Dark Crystal, but you're right it's a story as old as time.

[Buck-Beaver]

Word is that Dave McKean is in the process of "cleaning up" the Mirrormask preview that was shown at Comic-Con so it can be posted online soon. Until then Comic Book Resources has a recent interview with Mirrormask's executive producer Michael Polis.

[dancingmandygrl]

Originally Posted by LifeWithMuppy

I hate to make it sound like I'm insulting the writers for MirrorMask...but am I the only one who notices strong similarities between it and the Neverending Story?

it also sounds like Alice in Wonderland.. which makes me want to see it even more now.! (alice is my fave book/movie.)

[lowercasegods]

Originally Posted by Buck-Beaver

I'm not so sure...(the Jim Henson Company) specifically asked them to come up with something in the same vein as Labyrinth and the Dark Crystal, but you're right it's a story as old as time.

I wasn't exactly sure what you were trying to say here, but I respect your postings on this site and would probably agree with you under different circumstances. What I was saying, in response to someone who'd earlier mentioned that the Mirrormask plot sounded like a retread of Alice in Wonderland, is that it was doubtful that the Henson company set out, intentionally or otherwise, to borrow ideas from Alice or any other classic literature for the purpose of making this film.
However, I pointed out that, in several volumes of research on the subject, it's proven that all great works of fiction can be inevitably traced back to age-old, classic themes (read Joseph Campbell's "The Hero With A Thousand Faces" for further explanations). Unavoidably, common links are often found in these works, but that does not mean or prove that they are intentional rip-offs. Obviously such plagiarism does exist, but it's not in the Henson company's nature to employ such underhanded tactics.
So getting back to your quote, you're right, the plot of Mirrormask does harken back to a theme that's as old as time. I just don't see what your point was regarding the Henson Company telling Gaiman to write Mirrormask's story with Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal in mind. Are you saying that the Henson's are, in a sense, plagiarizing themselves? I don't think that's technically possible, and I just can't see how that can be compared to borrowing plot ideas from classic literature.
Bascially, Mirrormask's plot, unless otherwise specified by Gaiman or the Henson's, is a work of their own, free of any blatant outside influence from classic folklore. Were it indeed inspired by Labyrinth or Crystal is irrelevant to the argument, since they are also the Henson's creations, free of outside literary influence.

[lowercasegods]

I owe an apology to Buck Beaver in that I misquoted my own argument. I was, in fact, contesting the idea that Mirrormask's plot was intentionally ripping off The Neverending Story. In my earlier post, I had mentioned Alice in Wonderland, as well as The Wizard of Oz, so in the process of replying I must have got my wires crossed. All the same, my argument stands that the Henson's did not, intentionally or otherwise, swipe any ideas from fiction, be it written or cinematic.

[lowercasegods]

I just discovered that Neil Gaiman has posted a couple of images from "Mirrormask" on his website (www.neilgaiman.com). It's not much, but it is interesting.