This one is obviously one of my picks, made on the basis of it being an adaptation of a Neil Gaiman novel, though it’s not one I’ve read.  It also helps that this is one of the rare fantasy film that Broken Forum users seem to like. My expectations were low however as its Rotten Tomatoes rating is only mediocre and it seems to be largely forgotten now, with not even a cult following to its name.

Charlie Cox, who today is probably best known for his titular role in the highly acclaimed Daredevil series, stars as Tristan Thorn, a young man who is thrown into the adventure of a lifetime when he seeks a fallen star to win the heart of a girl he has a crush on. To do this, he crosses the portal into a magical realm from whence, unbeknownst to him, his mother came from and where she yet lives. Unsurprisingly, many others also seek the star, who for unknown reasons appears in the form of a young woman played by Claire Danes. They include the princes of a kingdom who seek to be king as well as a trio of witches whose leader is played by Michelle Pfeiffer.

As you can probably tell by now, it’s chock-full of the usual assortment of fantasy tropes, so much so that you’d think it must be awful. One also gets the sense that it’s consciously trying to rekindle the magic of The Princess Bride, a film that I’d watched due to its glowing reputation but didn’t really like. Yet I found myself being won over with its fantastic production values, flamboyant style, imaginative visuals and most of all its eclectic cast. Part of the appeal of The Princess Bride was its meta quality, it was always making fun of the hero’s journey tropes while making use of them. That made it a hit for many people, but not for me. Stardust tends to play it more straight, resembling nothing so much as a live-action Disney adventure. It’s a bit childish but indulging the inner child in everyone can sometimes be a lot of fun.

One reason why the sense of fun is so infectious here is that you can tell that the actors themselves seem to be having the time of their lives. It’s great to watch Pfeiffer again and extra great to see her ham it up as the witch. The same goes for Robert De Niro as the obviously “whoopsie” captain of the flying ship Caspartine. Then there’s Ricky Gervais as the shopkeeper who talks so much that the witch uses magic to shut him up. I bet most people missed that Henry Cavill, the current incarnation of Superman, played Humphrey, Tristan’s rival in love. And of course, the legendary Peter O’Toole has a cameo role as the dying king. That’s an impressively star-studded cast for such a minor movie.

Watching The Princess Bride only a couple of years ago, I was let down by how cheap it looks. Stardust doesn’t have this problem. I loved how dazzlingly powerful sorcery is portrayed here and how Pfeiffer delights in using it despite the toll it takes on her. The Caspartine is everything a flying ship should be and it is all kinds of cool that its job is to harvest lightning and store it in barrels. I even liked the visual gags of magically transformed animals and the peanut gallery of ghosts of dead princes. More subtly, I appreciated all the little clever storytelling touches like how Tristan gets magical equipment upgrades but the film doesn’t dwell on them or waste exposition on them. He just uses them. Or how it doesn’t shy away from the fact that many characters die in this movie, yet it manages to keep its tone light.

I see that one of the awards Stardust won was Overlooked Film of the Year. I can certainly agree with that. It may be lightweight and sometimes a bit cheesy, but it’s a joyously fun ride of movie. If you missed it back in the day, I think it’s well worth your time to check it out.