Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (Widescreen Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Review: Underrated, a fantastic movie
Summary: 4 Stars
People didn't really "get" this movie when it came out in November, partly because it looks like a cross between Willy Wonka and Pee Wee's Big Adventure. It's actually a movie about friendship, and death. And it's really funny.Movie Review: LACKS THE MAGIC OF WONKA
Summary: 3 Stars
Take Willy Wonka out of the chocolate factory and put him in a toy story and you essentially have Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. Like Wonka, Mr. Magorium (Hoffman) is a playful eccentric with wild hair, and a penchant for bizarre behavior. His old world story is nestled between high rise building and it's no wonder as he has owned the store for over 200 years. Toys virtually come to life inside the store, playing with the customers as much as they play with the. The store has an inter-dimensional quality to it as a certain door can lead to different rooms with the turn of a dial on the wall. The large, dusty store catalog can materialize its toys from thin air just by turning its pages.
Molly Mahoney (Portman) is the store manager and we learn immediately that while she loves working there, she feels incomplete for having never pursued her dream to be a concert pianist. This is underscored when a former college classmate comments that he didn't know that she was still working at the store. For shy 9-year-old Eric, the store is a sanctuary as he has no friends his age. Because Mr. Magorium has never kept book or paid taxes (sure, like the IRS would let him get away with that for 200 years!) he hires accountant Henry Weston (Bateman) to get the books in order.
Magorium startles Molly by announcing that his time in the world is up and he intends to leave the store to her. Molly refuses to believe that's he's going to die and turns down the offer. This causes the store to lose all its magic. Its bright red walls turn black and the toys are now lifeless. Henry and Eric have to convince Molly that she has to take over the store in order to save it.
Again, the parallels with Wonka are many, even down to the owner needing to find someone younger to take over. However, while Wonka was laced with often biting commentary about the behavior of spoiled kids and their parents, Magorium has none of this conflict. Henry's unresolved issues about having friends his age remain unresolved. Molly's dreams of becoming a pianist are tossed aside. Only Henry gets to grow, realizing that he cannot be all work and no play.
The film does have some nice special effects that bring the wonder and magic of the store alive but there's not much magic in the predictable and unsatisfying script. It's riddled with clich?s which try to force the viewer into knowing when to laugh and cry and be overjoyed. On the plus side it's a film most kids, especially younger kids will adore and it is good, clean family entertainment.
Extras
The DVD does come with several featurettes:
Strangely Weird and Weirdly Strange: The Magical World Of A Wonder Emporium
An Eccentric Boss And An Awkward Apprentice
To Meet Eric Applebaum, Start By Saying Hi
The Magical Toy Store Featurette
Movie Review: Worst Movie of the Year
Summary: 1 Stars
With Dustin Hoffman being a wonderful actor and Natalie Portman being a wonderful actress, I was extremely disappointed. I would have walked out of the theater if I had known the movie was this bad. The special effects were ok but the general story line was at most yawnfully unpleasant. For most this should have been one of the straight to home video movies that no one should ever see.Movie Review: A very pleasant film
Summary: 4 Stars
It's extremely hard to find a live action movie these days that is rated G. The story is simple, Mr. Magorium feels it's time to move on and needs to find someone to take over his magical store. The film is full of fabulous color and playfull wimzy that I found to be a breath of fresh air.Movie Review: Oh my goodness, this is sad!
Summary: 3 Stars
I didn't realize quite how sad it was, but my 9 year old daughter and I were sobbing. Over than that, it's a sweet movie, but not as magical as I expected.