Mirror Mask

I had started to watch this movie about a year ago, but turned it off because I really could not stand the way it was animated. To me it looked so low budget, over stylized, the colors were over saturated in a bad way, and it just looked like they tried too hard. Although I am much more a fan of traditional animation, I can appreciate computer animation if it helps the movie but in this case I think it hurt it. So I set my biases aside and reluctantly watched it again, and to be honest I still was not impressed. I am extremely picky when it comes to movies especially fantasy, to me the characters lack depth and the narrative was just low in energy. The movie is about a girl named Helana who is the daughter of circus performers. She is a very imaginative girl and when he mother became seriously ill, she finds her self in her own fantasy land that appears to be a different version of her real life. She meets a juggler who accompanies her while she tries to escape from this weird shadow that is trying to capture her. I have to say this plot is so overdone: a adolescent girl who does not want to face the reality of a situation escapes to some fantasy land where she encounters relevant situations, eventually learning valuable lessons and returns home. Two good examples of this is Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz. I just think this movie could have been pushed a lot further story wise, and could have been executed better visually.
On a side note, half the costumes in this movie were reinterpreted by Lady Gaga. I am not sure if this was done on purpose or if I am the only one to make the connection.