If we think we've seen something like this before in a melodramatic, sci-fi-saturated ripping yarn, well, we haven't -- not exactly. Which is what writer-director Kerry Conran has in mind. His shimmering zeppelin of an entertainment, born of his own cinematic and technological obsessions, is, as they say in crossword puzzles, a oner-as singular in its vision and wit as Wallace & Gromit or The Road Warrior is. Sky Captain is the very opposite of a committeemade Hollywood production. It's the creation of one talented guy making his first feature film who has been given once-in-a-lifetime, big-budget backing and cartoonishly famous movie stars to make his dream come true. The investment is optimistic and wise; Sky Captain is a gorgeous, funny, and welcome novelty.

"Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" is even more fun than it sounds like. In its heedless energy and joy, it reminded me of how I felt the first time I saw "Raiders of the Lost Ark." It's like a film that escaped from the imagination directly onto the screen, without having to pass through reality along the way.