Gaiman and McKean have worked together a lot in comics with a great deal of success, and a collaboration in film sounds like a good bet.
And you can definitely see the strengths in Mirrormask - if nothing else, McKean's extraordinary design sense (like it or loathe it, you can't ignore it) leaps off the screen from nearly every frame. And Gaiman's passion for myth and the rooting of story in group memory underlies the story.
Which, unfortunately, is the film's main flaw - its sources are a little too obvious, and it sometimes feels as if you're watching Alice in Wonderland / Labyrinth / Wizard of Oz with a new paint job.
But these men are not to be written off. There is far too much talent in them for that. I think, in years to come, Mirrormask will be looked at as an experimental first step into cinema for both of them - an imperfect learning experience and a clear first footstep on the path to greater work.
And you can definitely see the strengths in Mirrormask - if nothing else, McKean's extraordinary design sense (like it or loathe it, you can't ignore it) leaps off the screen from nearly every frame. And Gaiman's passion for myth and the rooting of story in group memory underlies the story.
Which, unfortunately, is the film's main flaw - its sources are a little too obvious, and it sometimes feels as if you're watching Alice in Wonderland / Labyrinth / Wizard of Oz with a new paint job.
But these men are not to be written off. There is far too much talent in them for that. I think, in years to come, Mirrormask will be looked at as an experimental first step into cinema for both of them - an imperfect learning experience and a clear first footstep on the path to greater work.