How many of us can sit through a movie for children and be glad we did?  Stardust achieves this because in short is a fairy tale for grown-ups.   Like most great fantasy stories that are not remakes or Hollywood adaptations from classic novels, Stardust is brought to the big screen via the world of graphic novels, a.k.a. comic books.  Written by Neil Gaiman (DC Comics, The Sandman), Stardust is not quite a period piece, where the village of “Wall” (England) shares a walled border with a magical Kingdom of Stormhold.   Note that Neil Gaiman is far from just a hero to adult comic book readers, he has penned American God’s making him a serious novelist as well.  Some even say that J.K. Rowling stole great ideas for her Harry Potter books from Neil’s work.   True or not, the point I’m making is that for those of you that don’t understand the value of comic books (graphic novels), you are missing out on some of the best stories and writers.

There are adult concepts that very young children won’t grasp, and although I needed to lean over and explain some things to my four year old, the characters, visuals and action were balanced enough as to keep him happy in his seat.  But as I mentioned, this is an adult fairy tale, which if you think about it ...consider Grimm’s fairy tales; they had some grim situations and outcomes that can make a mom or dad squirm when read to a child.  This story is PG but as acceptable as any of Grimm’s fairy tales.

Unlike most fantasy fairy tales, this one quickly departs from prince rescues princess concept immediately despite there being a dying King, a missing princess and a contingent of princes looking to betray each other in order to occupy the throne of Stormhold.  Instead you find a host of players converging on their common quest, to reach a fallen star.

Where Neil Gaiman works his wonder is that at various points early on, characters you would assume will take on obvious outcomes, instead their fates take different paths.  Cliché instances even take not so obvious turns which keep this fairy tale fresh throughout.  For instance at one point you expect a sword fight, there is none; rather there is a well placed insult and the story returns to a great pace.  

The host of characters and their interplay make Stardust more for adults and less for children.  To begin the story a young man seeks adventure by crossing an enchanted wall leaving his home of “Wall” (England) entering the magic Kingdom of Stronghold.  He meets a girl that sells him an enchanted flower for a kiss.   He returns across the wall only to receive a baby son left for him at the walls edge nine months later.   These characters become part of a sub-plot or main plot later.  While I didn’t explain this part to my four year old, I did find myself explaining where magic worked, where it didn’t and why other characters such as the witches wanted to capture a falling star that when fallen inside the borders of the Kingdom of Stronghold became a mortal.  

The concepts are quickly grasped by adults as I’ve mentioned and equally important they are established in a way that allows for a great deal of story telling. 

The fallen star is played by Claire Danes and remarkably she played her role with understated elegance.   She has seemed stiff in prior roles but here she was quite down-to-earth (no pun intended). :) The lead character Tristan Thorn (Charlie Cox) un-rattled innocent type, played perfectly. Charlie Cox is perfect in this part and is both disarmingly friendly and believable as a heartfelt yet determined romantic just as Neil Gaiman wrote him.

There are couple messages in the film that I couldn’t help but be slightly bothered by, such as the role Robert Dinero took on as a tough pirate in the closet.   While preaching the message that we should all accept each other for what we are is great, I don’t dig having to explain to my 10 year old why a guy would want to wear a woman’s dress.  It’s good for a laugh if you want to play it that way and if someone wants to make that life choice great for them, but I don’t agree with indoctrination for children.  

Another message I rather enjoyed however.  That was love being unconditional.  Tristan, our hero of the story is on a quest to return a fallen star to his love interest played by Sienna Miller.  What he faces eventually is that his love for her is unconditional, but her love is set on conditions, she sets the condition that if he returns from the Kingdom of Stronghold with the fallen star, she will marry him.  If not, she will marry the richest boy in town.  Tristan learns the true meaning of love in that when you really love someone, they love you unconditionally.  How many of us can say we are in a relationship not based on conditions?  A great way to know if you are in a loving relationship in my opinion.

The director of cinematography gets an A for originality, there is extreme detail in each shot which are not minimized like in most modern digital settings.  You know, where you get two seconds of panning through a location to give you the gist of the location but you never get to soak it up.  Here you get more than just a flyby image, you get details; striking details and local settings are far from the same rehashed windows and doors.  From floor plans to wide expanses, the lighting is not dark, and the details are fresh and original.

I don’t want to leave out one of my most favored actresses, Michelle Pfeiffer whom plays Lamia.  While she is no longer my Catwoman of Batman fame, she is still endearing in any role, even that of a witch that is bent on youth.   In some way, as good as Michelle is playing an evil witch, her beauty is distracting as a someone to be feared.  Read the book and you would be much for afraid of Lamia.  Having said this, at one point both my ten year old son and four year old sons where up in their seats as the evil Lamia was about to achieve her ultimate goal. 

From witches to pirates, Stardust is an intricate story well told with a truly romantic ending.  The ending is classic enchanted story telling and so few movies in this modern day deliver such storybook endings.  There is no hint of a sequel, which I applaud.   The ending is great for adults and children alike and honestly the detail and depth to the story give it years of retelling.

Oh... I almost forgot yes the narration is by Ian McKellen (Gandalf/Lord of the Rings, Magneto/X-men).

While you are waiting for it to come out on DVD to add to your more favored section of movies, I suggest you pick up the illustrated book Stardust with over 150 illustrations and a broader experience with Tristan where he meets talking animals, faeries, gnomes and more.