Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
Release Date:
November 16, 2007
Movie of the Day for Saturday, September 29, 2007
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On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 21/33 |
John Seal |
Charming but underdeveloped fantasy |
First-time director Zach Helm (who also wrote the film) brings Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium to the screen. Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium concerns a bizarre and whimsical toy store owned by the 243-year-old Mr. Magorium (Dustin Hoffman). When Mr. Magorium passes the store on to the manager, Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman), the store begins to change for the worse. See, here's the thing: the store requires that you believe in it for it to be magical and whimsical.
You must obviously believe in whimsy, or it's just someone (or thing) being annoying. From the sound of the storyline, if there are wacky dwarfs making toys and/or a tour for possible heirs involved in addition to the main story, Roald Dahl's estate is gonna sue somebody. Natalie Portman has historically (well, in Garden State) been impressive in comedy and Dustin Hoffman is probably going to be very good as a slightly more whimsical and wacky version of Dustin Hoffman.
The film is one of a new slate of movies being developed by Walden Media intended for G or PG ratings and younger audiences. Walden Media produces The Chronicles of Narnia series and has a three-film deal with Fox for Magorium, The Dark is Rising and City of Ember. (Les Winan/BOP)
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