Stardust the review

Saw this movie over the weekend with the family. What a delightful little movie! It's captivating in a bunch of small ways. While I've been a Gaiman fan for years, for some reason, I never read this one (something I plan to remedy this week). Since I haven't read the book, I cannot tell you how faithful it was to his original vision. What I can say is it is sweet, whimsical and magical all without being sappy. The acting, while spotty at times (I'm looking at you, Claire Danes), is good enough to not be distracting. The scenery is gorgeous, very English, as is the sensibilities of the storyline, which means it has just the right touch of droll humor. I was a bit afraid of taking the kids because it was rated PG-13. And while I can understand the rating, I have to admit, I've seen more objectionable material in some PG movies I've seen. There was no swearing at all that I recall. While there was one scene of sexual intimacy, they merely showed the couple kissing and then cut away. The biggest objection (besides some implied sexuality), would probably have been the violence. But even that was done mostly off screen. If you love fairy tales and well told stories, I highly recommend Stardust. And if you like Stardust, check out Mirrormask on DVD (another Gaiman movie). You won't regret it.