While it certainly is a sketchy film, and the sum of the good parts – nice over-the-top acting, well-crafted artisanal special effects, smart-yet-stupid jokes – doesn’t really add up to a truly satisfying movie, it’s hard to deny Munchausen’s overwhelming joie de vivre and Gilliam’s fantastic imagery – certainly if you, like me, experienced it through a child’s eye the first time you saw it. And that magic will never truly dissipate.