Gaiman and McKean have created a fabulous fairy tale that playfully deals with familiar archetypes, such as Sphinxes, while creating brand new ones like the Monkeybirds. Mirrormask should satisfy both children and adults because there is plenty of action and some mild frights. Gaiman wrote the screenplay from their story with plenty of input from McKean along the way. McKean directed the film, which is coming out this fall from Sony Pictures, but has no release date.

The Illustrated Film Script contains the screenplay matched with McKean's storyboards, including the deleted scenes that are sure to appear on the DVD. There are also stills from the sets and behind the scenes that show the final realizations of McKean's vision. They look marvelous and should be a wonder to behold on the big screen. I was worried about the effect reading the script would have on me in regards to seeing the film, but Mirrormask is so imaginative and its story and visuals are so compelling that the book increased my interest in seeing the film. I highly recommend the book for fans of film and fantasy and certainly understand if you choose to see the film first before reading it. The screenplay format might be tough to read for young children who like the film

Appendices in the back show the transformations the Mirrormask story made as Gaiman and McKean emailed back and forth with ideas and alterations and what-ifs. They write mutual-admiration letters and the book closes with the lyrics to the song over the end credits, which were written by Gaiman.