Not just your basic, average everyday, ordinary, run-of-the-mill, ho-hum fairy tale, "Stardust" is a dazzler very nearly from first to last, a live action film that rivals the best recent animated features for imagination and wit.

Indeed, at a pinch you might describe it as "Shrek" for grown-ups --- though I've a suspicion the great Japanese filmmaker Hiyao Miyazaki ("Spirited Away") may have been a more important inspiration.