(CNN) -- 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. Claire Danes and Charlie Cox star in the imaginative "Stardust." 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. The movie combines many of the archetypes of a classic bedtime story. First, there's Tristran (Charlie Cox), an intrepid young hero from the wrong side of the tracks (or so he thinks), embarking on a romantic quest to bring back a fallen star as a token of his love for beautiful, aloof Victoria (Sienna Miller).
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"Stardust" a terrific adventure
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The witty, imaginative fairy tale stars Claire Danes and Charlie Cox
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Cast features Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro and Ian McKellan
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Film based on novel by Neil Gaiman
Tristran
She's blonde and grumpy, but obviously a better bet than you-know-who -- if only @placeholder would stop mooning over the girl he left behind.
Claire Danes
Claire Danes
As usual, @placeholder radiates intelligence, but struggles with the naiveté required to offset her character's crankiness.
Michelle Pfeiffer
Apparently having the time of her life at 48 (she's already been a hoot in "Hairspray"), @placeholder clearly savors playing a woman who ages another notch with every spell she casts.
Robert De Niro
@placeholder, for his part, mans the helm of an airship that's part galleon, part zeppelin, and he smuggles lightning bolts for a living.