By Brandon Nolta

Family films are pretty tough to pull off. You’ve got to make sure kids can take the tone and content, but address matters in such a way that adults don’t get bored or go into insulin shock. Lots of studios try it, but only one consistently gets it right: Pixar. Other studios have done it, as there are a handful of truly family films out there (THE IRON GIANT and MILLIONS come right to mind), but it’s risky to do. Some filmmakers, however, like risk. Zach Helm, the guy that wrote STRANGER THAN FICTION, apparently is one, as his latest release, MR. MAGORIUM’S WONDER EMPORIUM, falls into that family category. Fortunately for Mr. Helm, it’s pretty much a success, despite the treacly leanings of Walden Media, the production company behind the Emporium.

Edward Magorium (Dustin Hoffman) is a 243-year-old toy inventor, whose genius in creating toys and magic is exceeded only by his whimsical joy in life. He owns an honest-to-goodness magical shop, run by a spunky musical prodigy named Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman) and assisted in all things magical by a lonely but cheerful nine-year-old named Eric (Zach Mills). While Eric’s tickled pink to be in the Emporium every waking minute, Mahoney’s true desire in life is to finish writing a concerto, but she feels stuck in life, in music and in art.

Unbeknownst to her, Magorium has decided his life is up, and wants to leave her the store when he’s gone. To that end, Magorium hires an accountant named Henry (Jason Bateman) to come and do an appraisal of the store. The store, however, is not amused by Magorium’s decision, and promptly begins to sulk. When Magorium dies and leaves the store to Mahoney, her lack of faith in herself and the store’s grieving cause toys and shutters to go dark. All that’s left of the magic is a lonely boy, a stifled accountant who everyone insists on calling Mutant (Magorium coins the moniker after a weird explanation, but it’s not malicious), and a big block of polished wood. Will it be enough?


There are lots of details, big and small, that go into creating a movie like this. Certainly technology helps; the variety of CGI and special effects used here, ranging from seamless to purposely clunky, go a long way to establishing the environment of the story. But, it’s the people at the heart of the film that make or break the story, and for the most part, it’s a successful casting trick. Hoffman was chosen probably not for the goofy accent he adopts, but for the cheer and childlike glee he invests in the character. Looking back at his career through the prism of MAGORIUM, I wonder if HOOK might have been a better film if he and Robin Williams had traded roles. Portman is not quite as successful here, mostly because Mahoney is in many ways at odds with Portman herself, but she gives it a game try and does a fair job, despite being saddled with some poorly coordinated choreography at the end. Bateman does a very good job as an accountant with much more to him than he’s allowed out; he sidesteps clichés at several points and makes smart character choices (one of my favorites is that, despite the fact that the genesis for his nickname isn’t explained to him, he never questions it, and it doesn’t seem to bother him). But, Zach Mills has perhaps the most interesting job to play, as a lonely child who probably has more than a little magic about him his own self, and the whippersnapper does good. Eric comes across as sad at times, but never pathetic, and you suspect he’ll grow up to be a man of great confidence and self-possession.

MR. MAGORIUM’S WONDER EMPORIUM is not a large Hollywood production, nor is it a targeted marketing campaign to sell more useless plastic. It is a sweet, simple picture, with a message delivered with care, yet possessing a gravity most would-be family films wouldn’t try. I went and saw this flick with my spouse and a handful of kids, and everybody left charmed and entertained; in other words, a good use of spending green.