Movie Review: Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Dustin Hoffman, theme, special effects

Cons: Not the funny fantasy I went to see

The Bottom Line:

I found this movie was

Surprisingly serious

When expected laughs

This Review is Called "Not as Magical As I Wanted."

I was looking forward to Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. The previews had really caught my attention, and I thought it would be a funny fantasy film I'd really enjoy. Unfortunately, it turned out to be much more serious then I expected it to be.

Mr. Magorium (Dustin Hoffman) is well over 200 years old. He owns a magical toy store in New York City. And when I say magical, I do mean magical. The toys come alive and play with the kids. There is a door of rooms that include a train room and a room with the biggest dodge ball you've ever seen.

Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman) is the store manager. As a child, she was a piano virtuoso, but her music career has stalled. She's ready to move on with her life, but Mr. Magorium doesn't seem to hear her.

In stead, he brings in a mutant. Okay, so it's really an accountant, but he figures the word derived from mutant at some point. Since he has never kept track of his money but saved every receipt, Henry Weston (Jason Bateman) has a huge job in front of him. A practical man, Henry just misses all the magic around him.

Yet it's Eric Applebaum (Zach Mills), a nine year old hat collector with no friends, who first notices the problem. A wall of the store is turning dark and bubbling. Could it be Mr. Magorium's decision to leave? Will the store react poorly if he follows through?

So, based on the advertisements I'd seen, I went in pretty much expecting a comedy. And the movie was funny at times. The characters continually call Henry, "Mutant," which this accountant found funny. There were some very funny sight gags and great lines.

But the movie has a very serious tone overall. I liked the theme about believing in yourself, and the ending was wonderful. But I wish I had brought Kleenex for parts of the film.

Which means the characters were well developed. My tears were not from manipulation, but an honest reaction because I had come to care for everyone so much. The movie really has four main characters, and they were all likable and all needy on some level.

And all the actors did a good job. Zach Mills has a good career ahead of him if he wants it. Natalie Portman and Jason Bateman never once looked out of place in this magical setting. But the real star was Dustin Hoffman. He was absolutely amazing as the eccentric title character. He made you believe everything that was said about Magorium. He was fun, yet played the more serious scenes perfectly as well.

And the special effects were great. They weren't nearly as big a part of the story as I expected, but when they were there, it was believable.

I can't imagine the rights issues that were involved in making this movie. The store was filled with generic toys, but there were still plenty of toys I recognized. In fact, the credits had a huge section of toy credits, so there were probably more toys I didn't realize were real in there. And I can't leave out the cameo by Kermit the Frog. That was a nice moment.

If I had known a bit more what Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium was about, I might have liked it better. As it is, my expectations weren't met, which left me disappointed. I'd give the movie 3.5 stars if I could. It's a decent film that suffered from poor marketing.