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Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007)

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82 comments in total

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58 out of 84 people found the following comment useful :-
Really enjoyed this movie!, 17 November 2007

Author: archangel1022 from United States

I took my family to watch this movie, and really enjoyed it! My three year old was captivated throughout the movie as was my 10 year old daughter. I thought Justin Bateman did a great job with his character and the Special effects were top notch. Of course the story was fantastical, but I go to see these movies to escape reality for awhile, and this is a great one to share with the family. I had read some negative reviews prior to seeing the movie, but I decided to see it for myself. After seeing the movie, I feel that some of the previous reviews I read were unfair and in some cases a little mean spirited and thus not really helpful. Lastly, while watching the movie, I noted that many people were laughing and making joyful comments at some of the details they were noticing, and, the audience applauded at the end.

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53 out of 76 people found the following comment useful :-
An Actual Kid's Movie, 18 November 2007

Author: Spaxtersback from United States

I'm not sure I've quite seen anything like it in about two decades... an actual kids movie. Not a part kids movie, part something for the adults, something for the teens. It just tries to do one thing and be what it is. There's nothing questionable about it. It doesn't try to be current or trendy, which is why this movie is bound to be timeless. The casting is perfect. It is like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory only without Roald Dahl's childhood trauma created creepiness seeping in.

The story follows a small cast characters and how their lives come together and change each other for the better. There is the owner of the shop who claims to be over 200 yrs old and owns a pet zebra. There is the young shop manager who was a music prodigy as a child but now feels she is not living up to her own potential. There is the mutant... I mean, accountant, who only see's the world as it really is. Finally there is the boy with lots of hats, but no friends. They are bound together by the shop, who is just as much a character (in every since of the word as they are.)

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66 out of 107 people found the following comment useful :-
MOMS: Great movie, but toddlers and husbands will be bored, 19 November 2007

Author: DaynaSu from New Hampshire

My husband and I brought our 4 year old daughter to see this movie last night. We'd already seen (and ADORED) THE BEE MOVIE, and nothing else seemed age appropriate. Despite horrible reviews, we gave it a shot.

I loved this movie. It's not often that a kid's movie can move me to tears, but this one had a powerful (yet simple) message...LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT.

My daughter was bored to the point of BEGGING us to leave. This from a kid who sees movie-going as the ultimate treat. While it was visually stimulating overall, there could have been more in the way of special effects.

Jason Bateman was surprisingly good in his role as the accounting mutant. Some of the most moving moments in the film were created by little more than the expression on his face.

Natalie Portman was radiant and lovable and...androgynous? ;) She could easily have been mistaken for a thirteen year old boy throughout most of the film, to the point where it seemed that she had her chest bound up to appear that way. But it's not about the boobies, and it's not a romantic love story, which I greatly appreciated.

No sex. No violence. No profanity. My husband hated it.

There is love...lots of love. Pure love. The kind of love you feel when you're a child, and your mind has not yet been bogged down with the soul-crushing stress of adult responsibility.

This movie is a nice kick-in-the-pants for anybody who needs to be reminded that you don't have to be a kid to see the potential in yourself and the world around you. You just have to relax a little and believe in magic.

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37 out of 58 people found the following comment useful :-
A delightful and gentle movie for a family outing., 18 November 2007

Author: anniecat50 from United States

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium is a delightful and gentle movie for a family outing. This probably won't win any industry awards -- except for the outstanding graphics in the credits-- but it will touch a few hearts.

Reminders of how precious and magical life is and the frequent use of up beat idioms encompass most of Dustin Hoffman's dialogue. The chemistry between the cast is engaging, so much so that all the "walk on" roles seem to interrupt the more important moments for the principal actors. The ending/beginning is a bit abrupt. The characters of Bellini, the Bookbuilder and Eric's mother make you really wonder what they add to the story because you know somewhere in the script they have to have more depth. They get lost here.

If you have even the remotest curmudgeon leanings in your personality and scoff at sentimental movies, stay away from this film. If you still love the holidays and see magic in snowfalls and sunsets, enjoy!

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35 out of 57 people found the following comment useful :-
Magical, 17 November 2007

Author: GodsButterfly from United States

I had seen a preview or two and the occasional poster for this movie, but hadn't really been dying to see it. Once I did see it, I was amazed. This is a great movie! I left the theater wanting to see it again! Not everyone will like this movie, if you're boring, only amused by perverted jokes, or forgotten what it's like to be a kid, this movie is not for you. I had a huge smile on my face for the majority of this wonderful story. It's simply innocent and good and silly. Dustin Hoffman was magical, and perfect for this role. Natalie Portman did a great job of showing her attachment to her dear friend, she didn't want him to leave, though deep down, she knew he had lived every moment to it's fullest. This was the first time I'd seen Zach Mills, he has very pleasant charicteristics to his personality and expressions. Very cute kid. I called all my friends afterwords and told them they absolutely had to see this movie. I highly recommend this movie... it made me sparkle.

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19 out of 27 people found the following comment useful :-
The only review you need to read, 7 March 2008

Author: kickboxgrrl from Seattle, WA, USA

I am amazed by the unbelievably DENSE comments and reviews I've read, apparently written by folks who have completely missed the point. These people did not have the courage for 90 short minutes to suspend their cynicism, disbelief, and cowardly need for proof or substantiation of every little thing. (Big ol' raspberry to them!)

A kid's movie? "Just" for children? Heck no. Rather, this movie is "just" for those, regardless of physical age, who have been fortunate enough to retain any portion of their own childlike -- notice, I did not say childISH -- appreciation and pure unclouded understanding of wonder, simplicity, love, and of magic found in the everyday.

If your heart was not touched, even in some intangible microscopic way, by this movie - are you sure you still have one?

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44 out of 77 people found the following comment useful :-
NOT just for kids! I was uplifted, and found my own SPARKLE!, 20 November 2007

Author: bopdog from Cardiff, Wales

I expected a "kid" movie. And an insipid one at that. Treacly and dumb. So why did I go? Well, I'd seen everything else, and I really like Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman. I like Jason Bateman, too. So I took a chance. And it was really GOOD! True, kids will like this movie. But the theme of belief in one's self, and "possibilities," and all that metaphysical stuff appeals to me. Granted, the story line was about a toy store, but the real story underneath that, and which came shining through the juvenile aspects, was one of TRUE magic and possibility for all of us. The cast played their parts well, and the mechanics of the movie were good--- nice colours, nice sets. The animation, or puppets, or whatever the moving toys were, was believable.

At one point, Natalie Portman asks Jason Bateman if he sees "sparkle" in her. He has to say "no." But later, after the plot unfolds, admittedly predictably, the sparkle finally shows up. It showed up in me, too! The SPARKLE was there throughout the movie.

Whether you have kids or not, if you are in the mood for something light yet meaningful, check this out. It has the wonder of a Harry Potter movie, without the vapid and stupid plot of those films. This movie is brave enough to be simple, and true enough to be.... well, true. I feel better having sen it. And that's a worthy accomplishment for ANY movie!

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10 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
Entertaining for people of all ages, 13 January 2008

Author: Gordon-11 from Hong Kong

This film is about a magical toy store that can make anything and everything happen.

This film is really magical. Right from the beginning, the amazing toys brings viewers into all the sweet memories of childhood! The vibrant colours and the plentiful magical toys are captivating to say the least. The characters are lively and engaging, particularly Eric (the weird one out) and Henry (the non believer). The plot is innovative, as I could never have imagined a toy store that could throw temper! Apart from the fantasy elements, the emotional subplot is also engaging and touching. It is a great family film. It entertains people of all ages, and it also reminds us to believe in ourselves.

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14 out of 25 people found the following comment useful :-
A "stationery" movie, 7 December 2007

Author: Mihnea_aka_Pitbull from Romania

Twenty five years ago, the young son of my theater directing professor, Mr. Valeriu Moisescu, while watching at the TV an extremely boring and tasteless comedy, remarked: "Daddy, this movie is sorta stationery" (in Romanian: "stätätor", as he said). "I mean, it' not climbing up, like the beanstalk... It's missing a marble." Exactly the same is true for this totally unwonderful, unwondrous and unwondering "emporium". The script seems written by the worst dilettante (it's chaotic, messy and totally unconvincing). The direction is primitive and static, lacking spirit. Dustin and Natalie are as good as two junior high drama instructors playing next to their pupils. As to the kids themselves, they look amorphous and robotic. The only quality of the whole production is the colorfulness - rich, tasty, endearing. Don't you think it's a bit too little? Mihnea aka Pitbull

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Kind of a letdown, 8 April 2008

Author: moviesleuth2

Seeing the trailer, I imagined a dreamy, whimsical story where I could lose myself in the lost days of my childhood. Director Zach Helm certainly aspires to create something like that, but it doesn't quite work.

This is undoubtedly a kids' movie. Watching this movie with anything else in mind will ruin it for you. It's simple, with a little moral, but it has some great visuals.

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium is a magical toy store, run by an eccentric old man named Mr. Magorium (Dustin Hoffman). Its manager is Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman) who was a piano prodigy as a child but is too nervous to take it any further. Eric (Zach Mills) is a lonely kid who has trouble making friends (except for Molly and Mr. Magorium). There's also Henry Weston (aka The Mutant) who is hired to take care of the financial business, but he has no imagination and no sense of fun. These are the central characters in the movie. When Mr. Magorium suddenly says he's leaving and is giving Molly the store, Molly doesn't know what to do.

I think Zach Helm wanted to make a whimsy adventure like "Toys," only better. The effects and visuals work...to a point (the potential for magic in Hot Wheels cars only goes so far). There's a lot of color and feeling, but it all leaves something to be desired.

The acting is not spectacular, but the actors do what is called for. The only actor who really sticks out in my mind is Jason Bateman, who displays a wide range of acting ability.

"Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" is a solid effort, but won't go down in history as a classic family movie.

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