I just watched Mirrormask for the umpteenth time, but this time was the first I watched it with my kids now 10 and 13...my son, the 13 yr old, told me that all the abstracts and angularity and general obtuse nature of the film, was grating...he told me that he didn't like things that were like that, I told him that I was glad to introduce another form of seeing things into his mind. I told him that real art can sometimes make you uncomfortable because it causes you to think and question what you see and what you beleive. My ten yr old daughter was most affected by the emotional story of a girl worried about her mother. She told me that mothers are the most important people in the world and then she had to sleep in my bed because she was feeling uncertain that I would be alright.
So, this IS good art! Thanks to the creators of this movie for protraying the unknowable in such a gripping way.

Man, I need to re-watch this movie. I saw a Henry Moore sculpture when I was at the Tate a couple of months ago, and immediately saw where Dave McKean may have got his inspiration for the orbiting giants (one of my favorite scenes in the movie).