MirrorMask is a one-of-a-kind head trip into the adolescent subconscious, writes Donald Clarke COMPLETE CINEMA LISTINGS PAGES 13-16

MIRRORMASK

Directed by Dave McKean. Starring Stephanie Leonidas, Jason Barry, Rob Brydon, Gina McKee 12A cert, lim release, 101 min

THE creative team behind this singular fantasy adventure deserve effusive praise for their achievements in successfully recreating the disturbing world of comic book artist Dave McKean. Jim Henson's Creature Shop, working here more with computers than Muppets, has helped McKean conjure up a string of striking images: skies alive with hurtling fish; horrid fever-dream creatures bearing bird's heads; scuttling quadrupeds whose faces are flattened into talking shields.

Infused with the same nauseating energy that powers Jan Svankmajer's animations, MirrorMask is a triumph of atmosphere. It is somewhat less successful in its storytelling. Written by McKean and his frequent collaborator, Neil Gaiman, the script follows the adventures of young Helena, daughter of circus owners, who slips into a dream world as her mother (Gina McKee) is undergoing investigative brain surgery. Within this slippery universe, accompanied by an Irish juggler (Jason Barry), Helena encounters two versions of her mother - one good, one bad - while she seeks the MirrorMask that will restore the currently disturbed balance between the forces of light and darkness.

There are reminders here of Alice in Wonderland (filmed succesfully by Svankmajer) and of more than a few animations by Hayao Mayazaki. As with those works, the tale offers any number of opportunities for comment upon the fears and dangers that accompany a child's advance into adulthood.

Unfortunately, as is often the case with fantasy entertainments, the film becomes overly concerned with the politics and social dynamics of its imagined universe and, thus distracted, fails to pay due attention to the human story. Gaiman fanatics - and there are many - will doubtless be eager to immerse themselves in the adventures of the various fantastic beings who zip about the dream universe. Those less taken with such enchantments may feel it a shame that the superb Stephanie Leonidas, who plays Helena with sensitivity and verve, doesn't get more of an opportunity to engage with human beings.

MirrorMask is an impressive technical achievement. But a little more Kansas and a little less Oz would have been appreciated.