With only the slightest storybook setup from narrator Ian McKellen, Stardust plunges into a whirlwind adventure in which a lone shopboy braves greedy princes, wicked witches and sky pirates to save a fallen star. Though the terms of such a world will be instantly familiar to anyone who's ever indulged in the stories of Hans Christian Andersen or the Brothers Grimm, Stardust reinvents the particulars so that surprises wait around every corner.

The fallen star, for instance, turns out to be a luminous young lady named Yvaine (Claire Danes). Her savior Tristan (played by Charlie Cox, clearly another Orlando Bloom in the making) seems less interested in rescuing her than leading his treasure back to Wall, the quaint English village from which he came — so named for the unimposing stone wall that separates the town from the magical realm just beyond.

"Something there is that doesn't love a wall," wrote Robert Frost, and sneaking across the boundary has become a tradition for the men in Tristan's family. But don't forget: "Good fences make good neighbors." On the other side lies Stormhold, an enchanted kingdom ruled by Peter O'Toole where the crown goes to whichever of his seven scions is clever enough to kill his brothers and retrieve the star.

It would seem fair to ask why anyone would want to be king of Stormhold, considering what a corrupt and treacherous place it is. The land is overrun with witches, whose leader looks the way Michelle Pfeiffer might if she were made of wax, then left out in the sun to melt. By capturing the star and carving out her heart, the withered old crones stand to gain eternal youth -- giving Pfeiffer plenty of opportunity to send up her own age-defying beauty.

This description touches on a mere fraction of the cast (both Robert De Niro and Ricky Gervais supply extended cameos), which may help to explain why Stardust's advertising has been so insufficient in conveying the movie's many pleasures. How to capture the appeal of a film that doesn't sit still long enough to be categorized? It's just like that old joke about Texas weather: If you don't like it, wait 15 minutes, and it'll change.

Every few scenes, Stardust completely reinvents itself, and much of the fun is trying to keep up with the movie's imagination. The trick is in the tone (a bit dark for young children perhaps), which takes this world seriously, but fills it with humor and magic. You needn't be a fantasy aficionado to appreciate Stardust's inventive sensibility. You need only give the movie a chance to be taken under its spell.

[as featured in The Fort Worth Star-Telegram]