‘The Golden Compass’

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Witches and ice bears and dust, oh my!

Sinister schemers adept at dark arts, with precious children in their clutches.

And speaking of precious, a magical golden object — lusted after by those with bad intentions — that just might be the key to an epic battle between good and evil.

No, this is not the cinematic equivalent of a mix tape featuring "The Wizard of Oz," the Harry Potter movies, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

But there are times when "The Golden Compass" plays that way.

Based on the first of Philip Pullman’s "His Dark Materials" fantasy trilogy, "The Golden Compass" serves up an amazing journey indeed, taking its plucky young heroine from academia’s ivory towers to the ice fields at the top of the world.

Not this world, of course, but a parallel planet where people’s souls — otherwise known as "daemons" — dwell not within them but alongside them, in various animal guises. It’s a realm that seems equally inspired by Charles Dickens and Jules Verne, with a heaping helping of golden-age Hollywood sparkle to lighten up what otherwise could have been a rather ominous excursion.

There’s still plenty of foreboding and dread, mind you — especially as the forces of light and dark gather for an epic clash.

In "The Golden Compass," the forces of light are the forces of scientific reason and free will, headquartered at an Oxford college exempt from the draconian interference of the planet’s monolithic governing body, the Magisterium.

Up until now, the scholars of Jordan College have been free to pursue their scientific pursuits.

But when adventurous Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig) announces an Arctic expedition to investigate a mysterious dust that may be the link to long-imagined parallel worlds, the Magisterium hierarchy gets mighty jittery.

The stakes get even higher, however, when Lord Asriel’s orphaned niece, 12-year-old Lyra Belacqua (feisty newcomer Dakota Blue Richards), comes into possession of the title object: a golden Alethiometer, a mystical truth-o-meter that, Lyra learns, enables her to "see what others wish to hide."

As Lyra also learns, plenty of people wish to hide plenty of things.

The whereabouts of multiple missing children, for example. Or why the glamorous, well-connected Mrs. Coulter (an icily glittering Nicole Kidman) has taken such a sudden interest in her.

Thus begins a perilous odyssey that takes Lyra and her shape-shifting daemon Pantalaimon (voiced by Freddie Highmore) to the ends of their earth, and into the heart of darkness.

And while the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion are nowhere to be found, Lyra and Pan do encounter a variety of nick-of-time allies, from the seafaring Gyptians to the friendly witch Serafina (Eva Green).

Naturally, as a witch, Serafina can take to the skies. For Lyra to do the same, she needs the assistance of cowboy "aeronaut" Lee Scoresby (the wonderfully grizzled Sam Elliott), who’s as sure a shot as Buffalo Bill (or Annie Oakley), even from the deck of his airship. He’s good to have around in a scrap — and so is his friend Iorek Byrnison (voiced by Gandalf himself, the grandly thespian Ian McKellen), a valiant ice bear.

Together, they just might be able to vanquish the might-makes-right villains and strike a blow for free-thinking freedom lovers everywhere.

Clearly, "The Golden Compass" has a lot on its agenda — and even more on its storyboard.

That makes writer-director Chris Weitz a curious choice to bring Pullman’s novel to the screen, considering his background in intimate romantic comedy ("About a Boy") and crowd-pleasing raunch (the "American Pie" series, in collaboration with his brother Chris).

Despite Weitz’s lack of background, however, he proves up to the logistical challenge of such a mammoth tale, keeping the story’s intricate plot threads untangled as the movie barrels from one breakneck adventure to the next.

In bringing those adventures to life, "The Golden Compass" also demonstrates a commendable matter-of-factness about its extensive computer-generated effects, treating them as just another storytelling element rather than the story itself.

It’s a lot to juggle, and Weitz seems so determined not to drop the ball, any ball, that "The Golden Compass" seems a bit rushed and forced as a result. Things happen so fast and furiously there’s little time to sit back and ponder the magic unfolding before our eyes.

Then again, if "The Golden Compass" had a bit more magic — and a bit less mayhem — we wouldn’t have to think about it at all.

Contact movie critic Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0272.