History YMMV / MirrorMask

** The Henson Company asked Gaiman for a movie that's "[[GenreBuster whatever genre]] ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' [[GenreBuster is]]."

* FridgeHorror: With a hint of NeverMessWithGranny. The Sphinx are very heavily implied to be man-eating. [[CrazyCatLady Mrs. Bagwell has at least 30 of them in her house,]] if unwillingly. Her advice to Helena? [[PluckyGirl "Don't let them see you're afraid."]] Bit of a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for the old bird.

* UnintentionalUncannyValley: The puppets in the "Close To You" [[spoiler:brainwashing]] scene. What makes them uncanny is that though they are obviously unnatural clockwork, they have elegant motion-capture movements and perfect choreography. It's like watching wooden skeletons perform ''Swan Lake''.

* SignatureScene: The wind-up statues singing "Close To You" and hypnotizing Helena into becoming a replacement Princess. Also doubles as a BigLippedAlligatorMoment.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Has anyone noticed that the Prime Minister is literally see-through? Combined with the fact that he has less of his face covered than any other character, this may be because he's one of the top politicians in the land, and therefore needs to be transparent in the metaphorical sense for his people.

* UncannyValley:
** The puppets in the "Close To You" [[spoiler:brainwashing]] scene. What makes them uncanny is that though they are obviously unnatural clockwork, they have elegant motion-capture movements and perfect choreography. It's like watching wooden skeletons perform ''Swan Lake''.
** The sphinxes may also fall in here, though they're so goofy and cartoonish it blunts the effect.
** There's something unsettling about just about everything in the movie from characters to creatures to sets. Eventually, your brain just adapts to it. [[NightmareFuel Or doesn't]]. The above entries are just particularly notable instances since they ''still'' manage to be creepy and "off" in an entire movie set in the land of creepy and "off".

* DawsonCasting: The two main leads are supposed to be teenagers. Helen was played by 21 year old Stephanie Leonidas, and she played a 15-year-old. However, Valentine was played by 33 year old Jason Barry, and despite the portrayal, his age made him appear to be in his mid-twenties at earliest, making the sexual tension of the finale a bit uncomfortable for viewers.

* HilariousInHindsight: Creator/StephenFry [[VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet delivering a voiceover about creating an imaginative fantasy world.]]

* DawsonCasting: The two main leads are supposed to be teenagers. Helen was played by 21 year old Stephanie Leonidas, and she played a believable 16-year-old. However, Valentine was played by 33 year old Jason Barry, and despite the portrayal, his age made him appear to be in his mid-twenties at earliest, making the sexual tension of the finale a bit uncomfortable for viewers.

* FridgeHorror: With a hint of NeverMessWithGranny. The Sphinx are very heavily implied to be man-eating. [[CrazyCatLady Mrs. Bagwell has at least 30 of them in her house,]] if unwillingly. Her advice to Helena? [[PluckyGirl "Don't let them see you're afraid."]] Bit of a CrowningMomentOfAwesome for the old bird.

* CultClassic: Like ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' before it.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids

* NightmareFuel: "Why do birds / Suddenly appear?" with some intentional UncannyValley for good measure.

* Possible {{Shout Out}}/{{Freeze Frame Bonus}}: There is always someone playing with crystal spheres especially during the circus scene in the beginning and after the title goes off-screen the [[{{Labyrinth}} spheres are arranged in a triangular fashion just as Bowie had them during Sarah's dream sequence.]]
* UncannyValley: The puppets in the "Close To You" [[spoiler:brainwashing]] scene. What makes them uncanny is that though they are obviously unnatural clockwork, they have elegant motion-capture movements and perfect choreography. It's like watching wooden skeletons perform ''Swan Lake''.

* CultClassic: Like ''Film/Labyrinth'' before it.

* EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory - For real, this time. The whole thing is extremely psychological.
* FridgeHorror - With a hint of NeverMessWithGranny. The Sphinx are very heavily implied to be man-eating. [[CrazyCatLady Mrs. Bagwell has at least 30 of them in her house,]] if unwillingly. Her advice to Helena? [[PluckyGirl "Don't let them see you're afraid."]] Bit of a CrowningMomentOfAwesome for the old bird.
* NightmareFuel - "Why do birds / Suddenly appear?" with some intentional UncannyValley for good measure.

* UncannyValley - The puppets in the "Close To You" [[spoiler:brainwashing]] scene. What makes them uncanny is that though they are obviously unnatural clockwork, they have elegant motion-capture movements and perfect choreography. It's like watching wooden skeletons perform ''Swan Lake''.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids

* AccidentalNightmareFuel - "Why do birds / Suddenly appear?" with some intentional UncannyValley for good measure.

** Or if you're arachnophobic like this troper, and almost had a panic attack when the spider-eyeball creature threw itself on the Queen's face... Brrrr...

* EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory - For real, this time. The whole thing is extremely psychological.
* FridgeHorror - With a hint of NeverMessWithGranny. The Sphinx are very heavily implied to be man-eating. [[CrazyCatLady Mrs. Bagwell has at least 30 of them in her house,]] if unwillingly. Her advice to Helena? [[PluckyGirl "Don't let them see you're afraid."]] Bit of a CrowningMomentOfAwesome for the old bird.
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: The puppets in the below entry. There's just [[StepfordSmiler something about them]] that makes you wonder what's going on in their heads...

*** Note that the UncannyValley just topped it off, it wasn't by ''far'' the most disturbing part of the scene. The [[MindRape symbolism and literalism]], especially with the SoundtrackDissonance [[MagicMusic thrown in]], was the most disturbing part of the scene.

** Or if you're arachnophobic like ThisTroper, and almost had a panic attack when the spider-eyeball creature threw itself on the Queen's face... Brrrr...

* UncannyValley - The brainwashing robots. The sphinxes may also fall in here.

* EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory - For real, this time. The whole thing is extremely psychological.
* NightmareFuel - "Why do birds / Suddenly appear?" with some intentional UncannyValley for good measure.

* UncannyValley - The brainwashing robots. The sphinxes may also fall in here.