Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007)

Molly Mahoney is the awkward and insecure manager of Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, the strangest, most fantastic, most wonderful toy store in the world. But when Mr. Magorium, the 243 year-old eccentric who owns the store, bequeaths the store to her, a dark and ominous change begins to take over the once remarkable Emporium.

Director:

Zach Helm

Writer:

Zach Helm

Stars:

Ted Ludzik, Natalie Portman, Dustin Hoffman

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ted Ludzik	...	Bellini, the Bookbuilder
Natalie Portman	...	Molly Mahoney, the Composer
Zach Mills	...	Eric Applebaum, the Hat Collector
Dustin Hoffman	...	Mr. Edward Magorium, Avid Shoe-Wearer
Madalena Brancatella	...	Jessica, Who Got a Cowboy Hat
Paula Boudreau	...	Brenda, Who Wants a Mobile
Mike Realba	...	Dave Wolf, Who's an Engineer
Steve Whitmire	...	Kermit the Frog (voice)
Liam Powley-Webster	...	Andy, the Boy Who Likes to Color
Marcia Bennett	...	Lora, Who Wants a Fire Engine
Jason Bateman	...	Henry Weston, the Mutant
Oliver Masuda	...	Jordan, Who Said Hi
Samantha Harvey	...	Cassie, the Girl Chased by a Goose
Jesse Bostick	...	Derek, Who Opened the Door
Isaac Durnford	...	Jason, Who's a Little Too Curious

Storyline

Molly Mahoney is the manager of Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, the awesome toy store owned by Mr. Edward Magorium. Molly was a promising composer and piano player when she was a girl, and now she is a twenty-three year-old insecure woman that feels stuck in her job. Among the costumers of the Emporium is the lonely hat collector, Eric Applebaum, who has only Molly and Mr. Magorium for friends. When the last pair of shoes that Mr. Magorium bought in Toscana is worn, he hires the accountant, Henry Weston to adjust the accounts of the Emporium. Furthermore, he claims that he is two hundred and forty-three years old and his time to go has come; he gives a block of wood called Congreve cube to Molly and asks Henry to transfer the Emporium to her name. Molly tries to convince Mr. Magorium to stay in his magical toy store instead of "going".

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Plot Keywords:

toy store | composer | hat | accountant | piano | 

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Taglines:

If you don't believe . . . You will.

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Films [France] Official site [Germany]

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 November 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Loja Mágica de Brinquedos

Filming Locations:

Cinespace Film Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£459,734 (UK) (14 December 2007)

Gross:

$32,059,442 (USA) (7 March 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mandate Pictures, Walden Media, FilmColony

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Drew Barrymore was originally cast as Molly Mahoney.

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Goofs

The length of Natalie Portman's hair changes inconsistently throughout the movie. Dramatic differences can be noted during the hospital scene where in various shots it appears at both it's shortest and longest.

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Quotes

Eddie, the Dentist: I don't know how to catch a lemur, I'm a dentist.
Eric Applebaum, the Hat Collector: I don't know how to catch a lemur, I'm nine!

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Crazy Credits

During the end credits, unusual titles describe the various groups that worked on the film: People In The Movie People Who Helped Make The Movie People Who Followed People With The Camera People Who Created Things That Were There People Who Put Clothes On People People Who Recorded People Talking People Who Made People Look Good People Who Made Sure We Paid People People Who Put Stuff In The Right Order People Who Created Things That Weren't There More Crew People Who Made The Tunes Very Special Thanks And More Thanks

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Connections

References True Stories (1986)

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Soundtracks

"Don't Be Shy"
Written by Cat Stevens (as Yusuf Islam)
Performed by Cat Stevens
Courtesy of Universal-Island Records Ltd.
Under License from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Magic without boundaries equals visual effects without heart...

Toy store manager and one-time piano prodigy, unhappy with the direction of her life and seemingly blocked artistically, is willed ownership of the store by her boss--the magically feckless Mr. Magorium--who knows the exact day and time he will pass on to another world. Writer-director Zach Helm has obviously seen a lot of movies and knows many card tricks, but he doesn't write characters--only occupations. There's the store owner (Dustin Hoffman, channeling Ed Wynn from "Babes in Toyland"), his beautiful-yet-unmarried assistant (Natalie Portman, all doe-eyed smiles and half-laughs), the humorless accountant who learns to loosen up (Jason Bateman, pulling a Jason Bateman), and the wizened youngster (Zach Mills) who helps out in the store and knows all its incredible secrets. Turns out the Emporium really is magical, with dolls that come to life and rooms that change completely with the turn of a knob. How far did Helm want to take this scenario before it became utterly ridiculous? The filmmaker is so concentrated on the visual accouterments (and bowling his audience over with sparkly eye-candy) that he fails to develop the story. The movie opens on a sleepy bookmaker who lives down in the basement, but we rarely see him again. As for Hoffman, he doesn't really get into the personage of the happy-go-lucky toy specialist; worse, the irresponsible nature of Mr. Magorium--whose business office is awash with unpaid bills--lingers over the upbeat finale like a dark shadow. There are good moments, particularly in the budding friendship between Bateman and Mills, but if Helm was hoping for a romantic sub-plot between the man and the woman, it got lost somewhere in the shuffle. In fact, "Magorium" is all shuffle and show, and its heart is hard to find. ** from ****