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Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium Our rating: Rate this movie   MPAA rating: G Genre: Family Theater release: November 16, 2007 by Twentieth Century Fox Directed by: Zach Helm Runtime: 1 hour 34 minutes Cast: Natalie Portman (Molly Mahoney), Dustin Hoffman (Mr. Edward Magorium), Jason Bateman (Henry Weston), Zach Mills (Eric Applebaum) Related: Talk About It/Family Corner

Unlike most of the films made by Walden Media, the family fantasy Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium is not based on a beloved children's classic book. But that's exactly how it feels with its nostalgic mood, old-fashioned storytelling, childlike innocence, quirky delight, simple morals, and poetically bizarre dialogue like "It's strangely weird and weirdly strange!"

Unfortunately, it feels like a childhood favorite that didn't translate perfectly to the screen—like one of those stories where your young imagination's own take on this fantastic world could never truly be captured on screen. Watching Mr. Magorium, I was tempted to think, I bet that character is so much more developed and full in the book. You can only do so much in a movie.

Dustin Hoffman as the strangely fun Mr. Magorium

But this wasn't ever a book. So while this original and often charming story has much to say about wonder, belief, and death, something's lost in "translation."

The movie is narrated like a storybook by a fascinating and eccentric 9-year-old named Eric (Zach Mills), who collects hats and spends most of his time as a sort of junior assistant at the magical toy store of the film's title. Eric is one member of a sort of dysfunctional "family" at Mr. Magorium's—four characters who share a neat bond in a wonderful display of friendship. If they were better defined, they'd be like a kids' version of the close-but-messed-up family in Little Miss Sunshine. The patriarch is Mr. Magorium (Dustin Hoffman), the mysterious and eccentric 243-year-old owner. The foursome is completed by store manager Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman) and the newly hired accountant Henry (Jason Bateman). When Mr. Magorium announces he will soon leave, he wants Molly to take over the store, but she's too insecure to believe she can run the business. She finds it easy to believe in a magic toy store, but not in herself.

Zach Mills as Eric Applebaum the narrator and a regular at the store

Like a movie that can only but scratch the surface of a deep, lush, wondrous book, this story feels like a sketch drawing of a more wonderful painting. There seems to be so much more behind the characters, the wonder and the magic of the story—but it's out of reach.

Part of the problem is that the film tries too hard to combine nostalgic charm with magical wonder. Lost in that tension are the characters and story. Instead, what you get are toys that kids supposedly find thrilling, but wouldn't be touched by real kids. Seriously, we all used to get bored with marionettes and tin tops after about five minutes every Christmas morning; will today's kids even be interested in seeing these toys in a movie? Sure, many of the film's imaginative creations seem "strangely weird and weirdly strange" at first, but then you realize they're kind of lame—like a mobile of real fish or a room of hula-hoops. Who really wants a mobile of real fish? What toy store couldn't fill a room with hula-hoops? Even with toys that come alive and special surprises like flying airplanes that fly forever, the movie doesn't sell the fact that anybody would really dig Mr. Magorium's old toys. The store feels like a cross between Willy Wonka's chocolate factory and Night at the Museum's living exhibits—but with the wonder in insignificant things … or else a wonder that's just talked about.

Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman) is Mr. Magorium's store manager

This doesn't mean there aren't charming moments and fun surprises. Mr. Magorium's does house creative wonders that stir the imagination and make you wish you could walk into this world. But interestingly enough, it's the little touches, simple pleasures and quiet eccentricities of the characters and store that are most endearing and fascinating. There's a sweet, sad little sock monkey who quietly reaches out for hugs—but always just misses. All the characters repeatedly call Henry "the mutant," and he never bothers to ask why. A lemur gets loose in the store and Mr. Magorium is more concerned with what a lemur is than catching it. And Mr. Magorium always introduces himself as an "avid shoe lover" and questions people about hot dog buns. In the offbeat role, Hoffman is like Rainman crossed with Willy Wonka.

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