“He dies.”
The seemingly eternal child Mr. Magorium owns the wonder emporium in question and he’s decided to retire – from life. His second in command stands to inherit the wondrous toy store, but she’s not feeling like she’s up to the task.
Mr. Magorium (Dustin Hoffman) is a 240-year-old whimsical toy maker that owns a toy store that has its own share of magic inside. His assistant Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman) runs the store from day to day, as Magorium plays with the merchandise (which have a mind and magic of their own).
Magorium decides to finally hire an accountant, after a 240-year plus lack of such an office worker, and he speculates that it will be a “counting mutant” from his interpretation of the word. The agency sends the uptight Henry Weston (Jason Bateman) and he doesn’t really jibe with the freewheeling ways of the store.
Eric Applebaum (Zach Mills) is a patron of the store who has a hat for every occasion, but has little in the way of friends. Magorium reveals to the mutant that he is an avid shoe wearer and got a lifetime supply of his particular Italian footwear to last a lifetime – and the pair he’s wearing is the last pair he has.
He also tells Mahoney that he’s planning to leave life and that she’s going to inherit the store. Mahoney has been fretting over not doing anything with her life (she thought she’d be a famous composer or pianist by now) and the news of Magorium’s departure only plunges her further into her lack of confidence.
These characters have to find a way to come together, but to also keep the magical store from losing its magic since it too is taking Magorium’s scheduled departure hard as well.
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium is the directorial debut of Zach Helm, who scripted the grand Stranger Than Fiction. I mentioned that previous film as one of my “Best of 2007.” I can’t say that his directorial debut rises to the quality that I associate with his scriptwriting.
Magorium’s does have its moments and turns out to be a treatise about the nature of death. It is heady stuff for a kid’s film, but ultimately collapses in upon itself.
Dustin Hoffman plays Magorium with an odd lisp that I think is supposed to be endearing but really turns out quite silly. Natalie Portman seems to be a bit off too, especially when she’s supposed to be interacting with the CGI produced mayhem that inhabits the toy store. Zach Mills is a little too precious as the token child character and only Jason Bateman seems to have not had something to bother me. His character seems like one that really isn’t anything new.
The bit about the film being about death results in a grand speech by Hoffman about Shakespeare and King Lear that’s the best part of the film, but it comes too little too late for me.
The nearest film that I can think of that might make a companion piece for this one is Barry Levinson’s Toys (1992) - which also had a sense of whimsy but fell a little flat.
Special features include “Strangely Weird and Weirdly Strange” which is a multipart making of featurette that runs 7 minutes. The 6-minute “Eccentric Boss and an Awkward Apprentice” runs 6 minutes and is about Magorium and Molly. The 7-minute “To Meet Eric Applebaum, Start by Saying Hi” covers the child star and his character. The 8-minute “Magical Toy Store” shows how they made the wonder emporium spring to life.
The 2-minute “Fun on the Set” shows the cast and crew goofing around and having a good time. There are also trailers and a 3-minute “Inside Look” at Horton Hears a Who.
Mr. Magorium has some good points and the kids might like the bright lights and colors, but it ultimately falls short. It’s not as charming and endearing as Stranger Than Fiction and you wonder if it might’ve been better in a more seasoned director’s hands, but there is some whimsy to see – just not enough.
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a May 12th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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