Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium – DVD Review

We’ve finally gotten into a run of really good children’s movies. Since the fall of 2005 when we saw the release of Wallace and Grommit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Chicken Little, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, children’s film has progressively improved. Especially recently with the release of such family entertaining films as Hairspray, Enchanted, and Martian Child to name a few, this is the best time in a long time for good quality films that the entire family can enjoy. Remember the 80’s when there were films like The Goonies, The Last Starfighter, and Flight of the Navigator and the whole family would gather around in the family room to watch them together? While the generation now graduating high school grew up with such child-only fare as Pokemon and all the subsequent movies, Barney and all the subsequent movies, and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and all the subsequent movies, the generation in early elementary school will actually have fond memories of films that they enjoyed just as much as their parents.



Mr. Magorium (Dustin Hoffman) owns a magical toy store, but will be retiring soon and leaving the business to his only other employee, Molly (Natalie Portman). He hires Henry, an accountant to stabilize his finances before he leaves and nobody is happy about any of it, especially not the store itself. It throws temper tantrums.



Dustin Hoffman is enchanting as Mr. Magorium. Just as he has transformed into wonderful characters such as Captain Hook and Raymond Babbitt, he does it again here. He’s simply adorable! He has such emotion in everything he says. You really believe that he’s been alive for over 450 years. You really believe him when he says that his toyshop is magical. You really believe him when he says that he’s “leaving.” Not “retiring,” not “dying,” but leaving. Isn’t that a nice idea? This concept was strange yet comforting upon the first viewing of the movie, and it only gets more touching when given a second viewing. Mr. Magorium handles his departure like normal business, trying to soothe those he will be leaving behind by instructing them to continue his legacy in the Emporium. When someone shows sadness, he merely wipes away their tears and provides such encouraging and empowering words such as, “Might I suggest you stun the world?” or “Your life is an occasion: rise to it.” Now if that isn’t great children’s storytelling, I don’t know what is.



Natalie Portman as Molly Mahoney is just as magical as Dustin Hoffman as Mr. Magorium. Molly is a sweet girl in her early twenties who doesn’t seem to know what she wants in life. She used to be a pianist and has always dreamed of being professional, but finds herself stuck in the toy shop, not quite ready to move forward. When Mr. Magorium announces his departure, she is truly sad despite her dreams to leave the toy store. The relationship between Molly and Mr. Magorium is so sweet and innocent, very father/mentor to her daughter, it shakes her world when he says he is leaving. She always thought he’d be around. It forces her to realize where she really belongs. It’s the wake-up call she needed.



Jason Bateman rounds out the recognizable cast as Henry the accountant. Mr. Magorium says that the word accountant is made up of two words: account and mutant. So, they all lovingly call him Mutant throughout the movie. Unfortunately, Bateman doesn’t receive nearly enough screen time as he deserves, so his character just seems like it was thrown in at the last minute to be an adversary/unlikely love interest. He does eventually provide companionship to the child star of the film, Eric Applebaum played by newcomer Zach Mills. Eric is a loner of a child who doesn’t seem comfortable with other children. He seems scared to make friends with them, but he spends the majority of his day as a helper in the Emporium. Zach Mills is another very talented child actor who I’d like to see more of. I’d like to see some of the roles going to Freddie Highmore to be offered to Zach Mills. They have a similar charm about them.



The special effects in this film are what appeal to the target audience, and they are spectacular. The colors are beautiful and the toys really to seem to come to life. It’s just as captivating to an adult as it is to a child. Some of the shots are simply breathtaking as well, such as the scene where Molly and Mr. Magorium take over an unsuspecting mattress store, and where Molly and Mr. Magorium dance in the park over bubble wrap. The movie is simply magical.

The DVD comes in Dolby Digital surround, which would be a must for this movie. All of the bounces of the bouncy balls and the whizzes of the paper airplanes, not to mention the beautiful score by Alexandre Desplat and Aaron Zigman, come through beautifully. The video is presented in 2.35:1 aspect ratio and the presentation is stunning. The colors are as vivid as they were in the theater. The movie is a feast for the eyes.

Strangely Weird and Weirdly Strange: The Magical World of a Wonder Emporium contains the following:

Supposedly the Mind of Zach Helm – Interviews with writer/director Zach Helm about his vision for the movie.

The Sock Monkey – A really cool short about making the sock monkey. He’s one of the only characters who isn’t human and who must display many human characteristics.

Mortimer the Zebra – This one is all about the zebra that is randomly called for in the script. It simply states that Mr. Magorium has a zebra in his apartment. So in the movie, Mr. Magorium has a zebra in his apartment that he talks to like a roommate. It’s very cute and adds to the magical feel of the movie.

Lincoln Man – This short featurette is about designing the amazing statue of Abraham Lincoln that Eric makes in the movie out of Lincoln Logs. The statue is really made out of Lincoln Logs.

The featurettes continue with:

An Eccentric Boss and an Awkward Apprentice – Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman talking about their characters. The cast and crew talk about the two as well. It’s especially cool to hear about how much everyone loved Dustin Hoffman’s character. (Run Time 6:43)

To Meet Eric Applebaum, Start By Saying Hi – What did I tell you? This kid is amazing. He’s wise beyond his years and apparently, the rest of the cast agrees with me. There’s a really cute part of this one where they talk about some practical jokes that they pulled on set. (Run time 7:03)

The Magical Toy Store – This featurette is about designing the store and all of the things that went into making it come to life. There are some really great toys in there! Jason Bateman actually says that his trailer is full of stuff that he’s stolen from the set. (Run Time 8:04)

Fun on the Set – A montage of clips of the cast and crew playing around on set. (Run Time 2:00)

Previews on the DVD include: a behind the scenes look at the new family adventure film Nim’s Island starring Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin, the direct to DVD sequel Dr. Doolittle: Tail to the Chief, and the DVD release that my kids have been waiting for Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Also included is a full scene from the new Jim Carrey/Steve Carrell film, Horton Hears A Who.

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium opened back in November to some pretty dismal reviews. Despite these poor critical marks, the film is pure magic, sure to bring out the kid in everyone who watches it. If you can believe it, you can see it.

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20th Century Fox presents Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. Directed by Zach Helm. Starring Natalie Portman, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Bateman. Written by Zach Helm. Running time: 94 minutes. Rated PG. Released on DVD: March 4, 2008. Available at Amazon.com.