Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium - The Toy Store to Die For (Film Only) (Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium (DVD))

Name: lobourse

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Product:	Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium (DVD)
Date:	03/01/08 (154 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very enjoyable family film, very good special effects

Disadvantages: Thin plotline, Natalie Portman disappoints

We went to see Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium just after Christmas, as we were looking for something we could go to as a family with three young children (9,6 and 3). We hadn't heard of it before we got to the cinema, so we went without any expectations.

==== PLOT SUMMARY ====

Mr Magorium (Dustin Hoffman) is the 243 year old owner of a toy shop with a difference (the Wonder Emporium), since he has imbued it with his magic, his emotion and his sense of wonder. In short, it is the sort of toy shop that is the stuff of dreams. The store manager is Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman), an insecure 23 year old, whose promise as a child prodigy pianist has been dissipated and who has rather lost her way, and does not really know how to find it again.

Mr Magorium wants to hand bequeath the store to Mahoney, so calls in an accountant, Henry Weston (Jason Bateman), to do all the necessary paperwork. The other main character is a 9 year old misfit, called Eric (Zach Mills), who hangs round the toy shop and tries to befriend the workaholic Weston.

The film follows the last few days of Mr Magorium's life before he hands the shop onto Mahoney, who struggles to see this as something she can or even wants to do.

==== EVALUATION ====

This is quite an unusual film in that there is not a lot of plot to it. You obviously have to suspend disbelief more than normal to accept that Mr Magorium could really be that old, yet still full of the same imagination, enthusiasm and vitality that makes his store so magical. However, once you accept the basic premise, aided by the zebra in the living room, the story moves you along as you get to know the characters. Magorium is eccentric but sets the rules, Mahoney is unsure, but lovable, Eric is there to help, even if he has no real friends, and Weston is the accountant, as drab and dull as the popular impression of accountants would sometimes have us believe. This is summed up when Magorium is asked what an accountant is, and he replies, "it's a cross between a counter and a mutant", from which point on Weston is only referred to as Mutant.

The special effects are really good. The thing that I particularly liked was the way in which the toy shop is brought to life. It is done so that the toys come to life in a way which brings out their essential nature and therefore do not overwhelm the film, but enhance it. One particular soft toy, a monkey with a mournful face) is a good case in point. The big book which contains all the products in the shop is a particularly memorable and clever effect.

The character of the Mutant is drawn out sympathetically and realistically, with the burgeoning friendship between him and Eric amusing and touching. You can feel the pathos when Eric asks if he'd like to play checkers when he finishes work, to which the Mutant replies "I never stop work". Equally, it is the unlikely friendship between the Mutant and Mahoney that is the catalyst for self-belief.

Interestingly, the main sub-theme of the film is death and coping with it. I think it rather passed over the heads of our children. Magorium approaches his impending death as the most natural thing, and makes preparations accordingly, without becoming maudlin or showing any signs of ill-heath, which causes not a little confusion. The references to King Lear were particularly thought-provoking, where Magorium says after 5 acts of the ultimate drama, Shakespeare merely says, 'he dies' - the point being that it is a simple departure. Although the shop and Mahoney mourn for Magorium, the next chapter remains to be written.

The film is structured as chapters from a book of the life of Magorium and the shop. This is a helpful device for breaking up the different episodes, which otherwise could have felt too bitty, not least because the plot is so light.

Other downsides include the character of Mahoney. I couldn't understand why someone who was a concert pianist, who could play Rachmaninov's 2nd concerto as a part piece when she was 12, would be in this shop, and Portman's portrayal seemed to convey a similar lack of conviction. Some of the events are too twee and too saccharine for my taste, but I guess you have to accept these in this type of film.

Overall though, my immediate reaction was that I had really enjoyed what I thought was a nice film. It is a good family film, and the two older children were completely entranced by the toy shop, although my 3 year old's attention wandered at times. I liked the old-fashioned feel to the credits, with clever faux-simple ideas, eg special effects is described as "people who put in things which weren't there". The Mutant's performance was warm and human, and Eric the 9 year old is played with aplomb. Dustin Hoffman's Magorium has too much of Lewis Carroll's Mad Hatter for my taste, and I found Portman disappointing. All in all, a very enjoyable family film, but nothing totally overwhelming or earth-shattering.

This film is currently at the cinema, and I have not been able to find out the release date for the DVD.

==== PRACTICAL DETAILS ====

Mr Magorium - Dustin Hoffman
Molly Mahoney - Natalie Portman
Henry Weston (The Mutant) - Jason Bateman
Eric - Zach Mills
Bellini, the Bookbuilder - Ted Ludzik

Director - Zach Helm
Producers - Joe Drake, Nathan Kahane, Richard Gladstein
Screenplay - Zach Helm

Running time - 94 mins
Certificate - U
Website - www.magorium.com

Personal rating - 7/10

Summary: The Toy Store of your dreams, with a little storyline tacked on - good family fare