Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

source: Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Pretty bad movie. Lots of hype, no substance. Have to say this is one of the worse yet this year. My 8 and 3 year old never got interested in it at all and they love most all movies. Sad. Feel ripped off and wish I could get money back. Oh well, live and learn. The plot is all over the place. Tries to make some sort of connection between man and girl and it fails. I still don't know what the plot was about actually. Was it about the store being magic? The girl being the reason for magic? The mutant being the helper. I just don't get it. They called an accountant a mutant all through the movie and he seemed to not care being called a name of hate. I just have nothing good to say about this. And I usually can say something good about all movies.

I went to see this film with my 4 year old cousin and we both decided that Mr Magorium was a "Stupid head" Which should give you some idea to what the conclusion to this review will be. The story is simple the shop is magic (we never really find out why)and so is Mr Magorium (Hoffman) and the future of the shop is under threat. The fact that the shop doesn't really seem that magical and is filled with all your kids favourite brands and passed Christmas crazes. Is the films first short fall. I was expecting to see a modern version of Toyz with Hoffman instead of Robin Williams. What i got was a series of product placements that moved. Instead of the outlandish and over Sized and some times surreal inventions that Toyz had. The second short fall are the cast who seem to have no idea what there doing in a kids movie or even seem to be happy that there in a kids movie.Portman Patranises as the shops manager who doesn't know what to do with her life and seems to spend the whole film with a vacant grin on her face and manages to give a seemingly emotionless performance. The only member of the cast that seems to give half a damn about there part is Hoffman but he still comes off as generic and bland. The third short fall is the plot the fact that there really isn't one being the big problem. Yet another example of Hollywood trying to turn a quick buck out of how entertained a child will be at the idea that a toy can move by itself and have something trying to be a personality. Im guessing they thought we'd all forgotten about toy story. There's loads of great family films around that really love the genre they are depicting but this isn't one. Don't pay this Movie the complement of seeing it

Seeing the trailer, I imagined a dreamy, whimsical story where I could lose myself in the lost days of my childhood. Director Zach Helm certainly aspires to create something like that, but it doesn't quite work. This is undoubtedly a kids' movie. Watching this movie with anything else in mind will ruin it for you. It's simple, with a little moral, but it has some great visuals. Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium is a magical toy store, run by an eccentric old man named Mr. Magorium (Dustin Hoffman). Its manager is Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman) who was a piano prodigy as a child but is too nervous to take it any further. Eric (Zach Mills) is a lonely kid who has trouble making friends (except for Molly and Mr. Magorium). There's also Henry Weston (aka The Mutant) who is hired to take care of the financial business, but he has no imagination and no sense of fun. These are the central characters in the movie. When Mr. Magorium suddenly says he's leaving and is giving Molly the store, Molly doesn't know what to do. I think Zach Helm wanted to make a whimsy adventure like "Toys," only better. The effects and visuals work...to a point (the potential for magic in Hot Wheels cars only goes so far). There's a lot of color and feeling, but it all leaves something to be desired. The acting is not spectacular, but the actors do what is called for. The only actor who really sticks out in my mind is Jason Bateman, who displays a wide range of acting ability. "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" is a solid effort, but won't go down in history as a classic family movie.

What a great concept, a magical toy store. Couple that with an excellent performance by Dustin Hoffman. Unfortunately the positives stop there. This film was horrible written. Conflicts are introduced, plod along and then are never resolved. I'm not talking about leaving something hanging to open the door for a sequel. Several plot lines were just dropped cold. It's as if the writer saw the stacks of pages and said "Wow, I've to wrap this up now". The magical toy shop has so much potential but never shines. It could be a character in the story but is just an extra in the background. Portman's character is supposed to conflicted, even coming-of-age but just comes off as whiny. Her worst performance to date. Bateman's character adds little to the story yet receives major screen time. Just as he's being framed as the man who learns to play again, the film ends, unresolved. Did the character learn anything? Has he changed? Or is he just humoring Mills's character? Who knows? And no, this isn't a film where conclusions are left to the audience. It's a bridge built 3/4 across a river than just stops. My nomination for this year's Razzie.

Like a bad combination of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Toys," the Robin Williams turkey from 1992, this dud not only made me put aside all belief in magic, it had me questioning my very faith, among other things. Dustin Hoffman, an actor about 180-years old plays Edward Magorium, a doddering character 243-years old (we're given no reason WHY he is 243-years old, by the way), who happens to own a magical toy store in the middle of New York City. And even though thousands of kids and their parents visit the establishment annually, no one (especially the media) seems to know of the wonderful things that go on inside. Nor does any customer seem to think it's at all unusual. Helping out is Natalie Portman as Mahoney, who seems perfectly at ease with her Hillary Swank "Boys Don't Cry" haircut; but, for some reason (despite several years of working at the store and seeing supernatural occurrences constantly), she refuses to believe the store is magic when Edward tells her he will soon depart (i.e. die). Aiding Mahoney is a weird loner kid, Eric, who collects hats and seems to have channeled the spirit of Morrissay. He mopes around in a state of constant depression and then wonders aloud why he has no friends (hey, I've got a clue, it's because you collect hats and mope around all the time!) The store is even a character in this film, getting so angry that Magorium is going to "depart" (i.e. get his ticket punched), that it "throws a tantrum." The problem is, it throws a tantrum by making things fly about the building, much like what goes on at the place everyday. Enter the film's everyman character, accountant Henry Weston (Jason Bateman), who signs on to help the senile Magorium do his books so he can "depart" (i.e. kick the bucket). Of course, since Weston represents us, he sees nothing unusual going on in the store. But, we do, so maybe he doesn't represent anything. Maybe this movie doesn't represent anything, either. I still cannot figure out the message here, friends. Is it that we have to believe for magic to be real; or is it that only our dreams are real and the magic never dies: or is it that the power of the magic and our dreams will live on if we believe? I have no idea. All I know is the writing is pathetic, the jokes stink (Magorium uses the "avid shoe-wearer" line about five times), the direction consists of aiming the camera at things and then leaving it there (like the same lame toys over and over and over), the "special" effects weren't, the acting is laughable (except in one tearful scene), it's boring and Hoffman's character is a vapid and irritating cross between "Rainman" and "Tootsie" with none of the charm or intelligence of either. Is it safe, Dustin? Not with "Magorium" haunting the box office. Better to rent the "Mystery Science Theatre 3000" version of "Merlin's Shop of Magical Wonders," get a few laughs and save some money. That's my Christmas gift to you.

99 words or less: Well-intentioned, but the writer/director Zach Helm has no faith in the audience, nor in film as a visual medium. There is no wonder here, only great swells of music where it says in the script. What little he has to say is spoon fed to you by the dialog and the voice-overs. Colorful SFX can't compensate for the walking clichés that replace real characters: Magical Guy. Blocked Artist. Lonely Child. Boring Accountant. Yeah, it's a Kid's Movie. Cap'n Krunch is Kid's Cereal. Does that make it good? I feel better now.

I guess Mr. Magorium's Magic Emporium would have been an ordinary direct-to-DVD feel good fantasy movie if the characters were played by a bunch of unknowns. But we have movie legend Dustin Hoffman in the main lead. His role seems a mix of Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka and his own famous role as Raymond Babbitt (from Rainman). And of course there's the always lovely Natalie Portman as the charming but insecure heroine Molly. She wants to quit her job as store manager and pursue a career in music. But obviously things don't turn that way. The story of Mr Magorium is rather simple. Mr Magorium is an eccentric 243 year old who wants to let go of life. In order to do so he wants to give his magical toy store to his loyal shop manager Molly. When the toys hear of his plans to quit they all object, driving all the customers away. But Mr Magorium is determined. Will Molly accept her destiny? And is she able to bring back the magic into the store? This movie is filled with nice special effects (the scenes in the magical store), but it's very surprising that the story is what it is. It's all about Molly finding back the magic in herself to take over the business. The moment she has found that, the movie is over. No epilogue. No love story. In a sense that's surprising. Being a movie made for the Christmas holiday you'd expect that the finale is about choosing life (remember It's a wonderful life?). Mr Magorium thinks he has lived enough and wants to die. Molly tries to convince him to cling to life by showing him how much fun it can be. But Mr Magorium is determined. Enough is enough. He sits down, dies and never reappears. Strange. There's no suspense in that. If he dies that easily the chances are great that Molly will find the strength in herself just that easily. Too bad the screenwriter didn't find any elements to make this story more exciting. In the end Mr. Magorium's Magic Emporium is a sentimental and often corny movie about finding the kid (and magic) in yourself. Both Dustin Hoffmann and Natalie Portman do what they can to keep it entertaining. Even when they make fools out of themselves (the exaggerated accent of Mr Magorium!) and seem to overact in some scenes, they're always nice to look at. Kids will like the movie because of the nice special effects and magical scenes in the store. Adults will also be pleased because the message fits perfectly in the Christmas spirit (and there's no gun nor nudity in this one). Even though there are two heavyweights on the starring bill, this is a very light and friendly family movie. But with Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman on the movie poster I somehow expected a little bit more than just that.

We all really enjoyed Mr Magorium. It has a wonderful sense of magic about it and very good solid performances from the leads. Most of all it is the Emporium, the toy store that provides much of the wonder: real care, thought, and a real sense of wonder pervade the set. The story is lovingly done, and never too schmaltzy. We came away talking about our favorite bits the kids remembered lots of small details: a sure sign they really did lose themselves in the movies. Overall I would say one of the better films for kids that doesn't try to be anything other than it is: it reminded me of 1970s Disney, simple, innocent, magic.

Twenty five years ago, the young son of my theater directing professor, Mr. Valeriu Moisescu, while watching at the TV an extremely boring and tasteless comedy, remarked: "Daddy, this movie is sorta stationery" (in Romanian: "stätätor", as he said). "I mean, it's not climbing up, like the beanstalk... It's missing a marble." Exactly the same is true for this completely unwonderful, unwondrous and unwondering "emporium". The script seems written by the worst dilettante (it's chaotic, messy and totally unconvincing). The direction is primitive and static, lacking spirit. Dustin and Natalie are as good as two junior high drama instructors playing next to their pupils. As to the kids themselves, they look amorphous and robotic. The only quality of the whole production is the colorfulness - rich, tasty, endearing. Don't you think it's a bit too little?