Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily Entertainment GuideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

The Portable Door

  • 2023
  • 13+
  • 1h 56m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
11K
YOUR RATING
Sam Neill, Christoph Waltz, Sophie Wilde, Patrick Gibson, and Jessica De Gouw in The Portable Door (2023)
Paul Carpenter is an intern at a mysterious London firm with unconventional employers, including a CEO who wants to disrupt the ancient magical world with modern corporate practices.
Play trailer1:32
2 Videos
15 Photos
Fantasy EpicAdventureComedyFantasyMystery

Two lowly interns at J.W. Wells and Co., a mysterious firm based in London, uncover a plot by their CEO to disrupt the ancient magical world with modern corporate practices.Two lowly interns at J.W. Wells and Co., a mysterious firm based in London, uncover a plot by their CEO to disrupt the ancient magical world with modern corporate practices.Two lowly interns at J.W. Wells and Co., a mysterious firm based in London, uncover a plot by their CEO to disrupt the ancient magical world with modern corporate practices.

  • Director
    • Jeffrey Walker
  • Writers
    • Tom Holt
    • Leon Ford
  • Stars
    • Christoph Waltz
    • Patrick Gibson
    • Damon Herriman
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.1/10
    11K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Jeffrey Walker
    • Writers
      • Tom Holt
      • Leon Ford
    • Stars
      • Christoph Waltz
      • Patrick Gibson
      • Damon Herriman
    • 79User reviews
    • 33Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 5 nominations total

    Videos2

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:32
    Official Trailer
    The Portable Door - Trailer
    Trailer 2:01
    The Portable Door - Trailer
    The Portable Door - Trailer
    Trailer 2:01
    The Portable Door - Trailer

    Photos15

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 7
    View Poster

    Top cast83

    Edit
    Christoph Waltz
    Christoph Waltz
    • Humphrey Wells…
    Patrick Gibson
    Patrick Gibson
    • Paul Carpenter
    Damon Herriman
    Damon Herriman
    • Monty
    Sophie Wilde
    Sophie Wilde
    • Sophie Pettingel
    Sam Neill
    Sam Neill
    • Dennis Tanner
    Demi Harman
    Demi Harman
    • Job Applicant
    Rachel House
    Rachel House
    • Professor Van Spee
    Miranda Otto
    Miranda Otto
    • Countess Judy
    Chris Pang
    Chris Pang
    • Casimir Suslowicz
    Arka Das
    Arka Das
    • Neville
    Jessica De Gouw
    Jessica De Gouw
    • Rosie
    Chris Story
    • Mr. Roden
    Lin Yin
    Lin Yin
    • Delia Bryson
    Jason Wilder
    Jason Wilder
    • Leon (Man at Fountain)
    Paul Adams
    Paul Adams
    • Print Room Worker
    Finn Treacy
    Finn Treacy
    • Humphrey (12 yrs old)
    Connor Treacy
    • Humphrey (20 yrs old)
    Karen Peart
    • Dry Cleaner
    • (as Karen Marie Peart)
    • Director
      • Jeffrey Walker
    • Writers
      • Tom Holt
      • Leon Ford
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews79

    6.111.3K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    6artetaden

    Entertaining but not logical

    This movie is a good one-time-to-watch film. You may bring your family to the cinema and you will spend a good time watching it in a relaxed atmosphere.

    However, if you expect some mind-blowing plot or unexpected twists - this film will mostly disappoint you. In fantasy movies there is always a thin ice in terms of making the plot work in some "magical" world but you still believe it, and having some absurd world. This film is closer to the second variant. Sometimes you find yourself at the point when you think "OK, this seems to be stolen from Harry Potter", sometimes you are like "What the hell? What am I watching". This film is rather naive fairytale than a Lord of the Rings style saga, that you can watch over and over again and not feel yourself as a young kid forced to believe something just because it is said so in movie.

    Thus, I would recommend going to watch this film. Just take it easy and turn off the movie critic inside of you :)
    6cliverfoskett

    A movie of 2 Halves!

    This is a somewhat contradictory movie.

    Unusually, I chose to watch it on impulse, out of the blue, with no prior knowledge of what it was about, other than it had an intriguing title and a good cast.

    From the first few minutes and on to about 45 minutes, the script, apparent plot, and acting successfully draw you in.

    Everything is set up for The Portable Door to be some intriguing, mind binding, psychological, thought provoking film for adults.

    You are being taken from the seemingly innocuous streets of London to witness what goes on behind the doors of a mysterious company run by people, Waltz and Neil, whose stated intent is the secret control of the masses, and to sell that ability to the highest bidders.

    Burton's confusion but initial happiness in getting a strange job in this mysterious company is well portrayed, as is his discovery of his hitherto unknown 'other world' abilities.

    It feels like a very dark, sci-fi, adult Alice in Wonderland equivalent, with The Portable Door being the entrance to anywhere possible, as per the rabbit hole.

    Then, just as you sense this film can really take off into deep and intriguing mind games, something happens.

    To me it suddenly changes direction, backs away from being grown up, and the second half goes completely the opposite, dumping all the careful build-up, the mystery, the intrigue, and the subtlety of leaving you wondering where is this going!

    And for me that is why it seems the whole first half, of potentially a great attention grabbing movie, appears to be dumped in the bin.

    It's as if halfway through making it, the director was told that the studio had now given permission for a good CGI budget to be available.

    So now they had to spend it.

    And that is why, the film suddenly changes from an interesting subtle mind drama to an all out, in your face, no mystery, flashes, bangs, wallops, villain chasing goodie with loads of odd other creatures hanging around kids fantasy movie.

    So the last half hour or so is what you expect to see anywhere else, and therefore the end result is pretty obvious from way out, rather than being a last minute cliff-hangar.

    I enjoyed the first half, but disappointed with the second half.

    So much potential for a really intriguing film, and then it all reverts to a flash, bang, wallop, CGI action film, which chucks all the great acting of Waltz and Neill early on, out of the window.

    IMPORTANT!!!

    Right at the end of the last credits featuring all the CGI creators etc.., there is a clip of a final scene showing Burton, as the character Carpenter.

    What happens in that scene is strangely a precise summary of what I have written above - so much potential, but at the end not much achieved.

    So do watch right to the end.

    It's a fitting summary added by the Director - very telling!
    6Eruaran

    Enjoyable but needs a new sound mix

    I haven't read the book so I can't judge this movie on that basis. It's a nice looking film with nice photography, there's no problem with editing or pacing. Its what you'd expect from this type of film. The cast was suitably solid but for me the highlight was Sam Neill: His was a stand-out performance, an absolute delight. He just stole every scene he was in and was loads of fun. However, the movie would have been better if not for serious problems with the sound mix. The music is so overwhelmingly loud it drowns out the dialogue to the point where you're struggling to discern what is being said over the sheer loudness of the music. You might as well turn subtitles on. How does such a serious blunder occur? It seriously detracts from what otherwise might have been a more enjoyable movie.
    6ma-cortes

    A pleasant movie full of fantasy, emotion and friendly characters.

    Paul Carpenter is desperately looking for a job. After a most unusual interview he ends up hired in a company, but he neither knows what they do nor does he even know his duties. Then, two lowly newcomers , Paul (Patrick Gibson) and Sophie (Sophie Wilde), at J. W. Wells and Co., a mysterious firm based in London, uncover a plot by their CEO to disrupt the ancient magical world with modern corporate practices. Nasty villains Humphrey Wells (Christoph Waltz) , the CEO of the company, and middle manager Dennis Tanner (Sam Neill) are disrupting the world of magic by bringing modern corporate strategy to ancient magical practices

    There are some similarities to 'Harry Potter' and ¨Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them¨sagas in this solid fantasy with adventures, magic and imagination. ¨The Portable Door¨ is the first book in Tom Holt's J. W. Wells & Co. Series, made up of eight books: The Portable Door (2003), In Your Dreams (2004), Earth, Air, Fire and Custard (2005), You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But it Helps (2006), The Better Mousetrap (2008), May Contain Traces of Magic (2009), Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Sausages (2011), The Eight Reindeer of the Apocalypse (2023). Following a fascinating first 30 minutes the movie loses impetus as the writer struggles to spin it out towards two-hour length. Patrick Gibson and Sophie Wilde star in this magical film playing two interns become increasingly aware that their mysterious employers are anything but conventional, discovering the true agenda of the vast corporation; alongside the winner of two Oscars for best supporting actor Christoph Waltz (Django unchained) and Sam Neil (Jurassic Park) performing two charismatic villain chiefs. This likeable quartet of protagonists are well accompanied by a wonderful supporting cast, such as: Damon Herriman , Demi Harman, Rachel House, Miranda Otto, Chris Pang, Arka Das, and Jessica De Gouw.

    It displays a thrilling and enjoyable musical score by Benjamin Speed. Likewise , a brilliant and colorful cinematography by Donald McAlpine. Along with stunning state-of-art special effects and creatures from Story Bridge Films and The Jim Henson Company. The motion picture was professionally directed by Jeffrey Walker though borrows heavily from other known stories. Craftsman Jeffrey Walker at his debut feature film, but he has directed a number of episodes of popular TV series, such as: The Artful Dodger, Bones, The Clearing , Blue heeler, H2o, Lambs of God, LA to Vegas, The Clearing, Home and away, Dance academy, The Elephant Princess, The young rock, Wild Boys , Angry Boys, among others. Rating: 6.5/10. Well worth watching.
    7VorpalJay

    Unpredictable romp

    What fun. An enchanting film. An adult fairy tale and boy meets girl rolled up into one.

    Paul's very bad day leads to an unlikely job opening at the prestigious, mysterious company, J Wells. He quickly becomes a favorite of the boss, but no one else on the hiring committee has anything good to say about him. As he proves his metal to both his new coworker and the company at large, we are taking on a fantastic journey. Imaginative sets help create magical scenes.

    Christopher Walt makes a great bad guy. The cast includes Sam Neill, who always delivers. I'm sure the primary actors are up and comers, but I'm just not familiar with them from earlier movies.

    Enjoy!

    More like this

    Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
    6.1
    Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
    Jackpot!
    5.8
    Jackpot!
    Jules
    6.8
    Jules
    Freelance
    5.5
    Freelance
    Corner Office
    6.1
    Corner Office
    Atlas
    5.6
    Atlas
    Borderlands
    4.7
    Borderlands
    Silver and the Book of Dreams
    5.5
    Silver and the Book of Dreams
    The Killer's Game
    5.8
    The Killer's Game
    Most Dangerous Game
    6.6
    Most Dangerous Game
    Back in Action
    5.9
    Back in Action
    My Spy: The Eternal City
    5.7
    My Spy: The Eternal City

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The Portable Door, the first book in Tom Holt's J.W. Wells & Co. series. Publication Order of J. W. Wells & Co. Books all eight books: The Portable Door (2003), In Your Dreams (2004), Earth, Air, Fire and Custard (2005), You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But it Helps (2006), The Better Mousetrap (2008), May Contain Traces of Magic (2009), Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Sausages (2011), The Eight Reindeer of the Apocalypse (2023).
    • Goofs
      The Union flag (the British flag) to the right on the J W Wells building is being flown upside down.
    • Quotes

      Dennis Tanner: Did I give you permission to be down here? Let me think! No. I did not!

    • Crazy credits
      The opening credits contain a fake user agreement which scrolls past really quickly. On further study the "contract" contains unusual contractual terms and funny tidbits that foreshadow the movie plot: The movie has an overarching theme about agreeing blindly to terms of service, after all.
    • Soundtracks
      Just for You
      Written by Paul Shirley

      Performed by The Paul Shirley Show Band

      Courtesy of Midnight Choir Pty Ltd

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ17

    • How long is The Portable Door?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 7, 2023 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Australia
      • United States
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • Sitio Oficial Latinoamérica
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • La puerta secreta
    • Filming locations
      • Pinnacle Studios, Helensvale, Queensland, Australia
    • Production companies
      • Stan
      • Sky
      • MEP Capital
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $801,082
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 56 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39:1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Sam Neill, Christoph Waltz, Sophie Wilde, Patrick Gibson, and Jessica De Gouw in The Portable Door (2023)
    Top Gap
    What was the official certification given to The Portable Door (2023) in France?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb app
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb app
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb app
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.