Theatrical Review of Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

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On first glance, a movie centering on a magical toy store and with a title like "Mr. Magorium´s Wonder Emporium" should be, well, thrilling. Don´t get me wrong: the store and its eccentric owner-the titular Mr. Magorium, complete with unkempt hair sprouting out of his head like Albert Einstein-is full of wonder and whimsy, but the story takes a decidedly dark turn in its final stages turning what should be a family film into something which needs to be explained to the kids. Instead of a "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" for a new generation, this is more like "The Rescuers." We expect more.

Mr. Magorium (Dustin Hoffman, clearly having a blast in the role) is a 243-year-old man who, among other things, has an IOU from Thomas Edison sitting in his office. "Thanks for the idea." Apparently, Edison got the idea for the light bulb from Magorium. He´s full of energy and life, always with a smile on his face. So when he brings in an accountant, Henry (Jason Batman), to value the store, manager Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman) becomes suspicious. It turns out the eccentric is "going away"-in other words, he´s dying-and Mahoney is next in line to take over the store. But between her reluctance to continue in the role and a sad store, maybe it´s time to close it down.

Initially, at least, "Mr. Magorium´s Wonder Emporium" lives up to the name. It is a brilliant store in which kids and their parents feel at home playing. In fact, one boy (Eric, played by Zach Mills) spends every day at the store. His mother only makes cursory attempts at being an actual mother. Not that it really matters; the movie takes place in a world where life is rather simple. The city hasn´t figured out Magorium has never paid taxes; the bright, multi-colored store sits between massive skyscrapers…and no one seems to mind one dang bit.

Writer/director Zach Helm allows both sides to play out on screen: the kid in us (Magorium and Mahoney) and the adult (Henry). Magorium is so full of joy and fun, the attitude becomes infectious. Even when he begins to scold the building for turning sad, it´s not with the sense of a parent versus a child. It´s with a child talking to another child. There´s no malice in his voice. Even when he´s in the position of explaining himself to Mahoney, they act like friends instead of boss to employee…or even 243 year old to 25 year old. There´s a simplistic joy in the way Hoffman portrays the character.

Each of the three main characters personifies a different aspect of human growth. Magorium, obviously, is the child in all of us. Then there´s Mahoney, who isn´t sure she actually wants to take over the store. She´s going through a crisis, something everyone her age experiences. What does the future hold? Is she supposed to do something bigger and better than a "toy store?" Then there´s Henry, solely concerned with paperwork and forms, wills and accounting. He´s the adult who has let go of all childish pursuits and needs someone to remind him how to have fun.

Because of his stodginess, he is the butt of most of the jokes, especially a recurring definition of "accountant": a counting mutant. In fact, Henry is called mutant through most of the film without any thought to his real name.

Then the story moves from the wonder and excitement we expect to a darker story. When Magorium leaves-we´re never really sure how it works--the entire movie turns gray, seemingly lost without his spirit. The fun is zapped from the proceedings. I realize this is the point, that someone else has to supply the awe at the emporium. The whimsical film we´ve been watching morphs into a depressing outing, complete with lawyer talk, realtors and a general malaise.

I realize there´s a need for a dramatic conflict in the story. But was this really the best way to go? Couldn´t the conflict have been teaching Henry…sorry, Mutant…to embrace the kid inside? That, at least, is more in line with what we see previously. And a painful scene in which Eric and Mutant play in the boy´s room, eventually found out by Eric´s mother, would have been excised.

But let´s talk about the ending for a moment. (Beware spoilers ahead.) It´ll come as no shock Mahoney decides to keep the store and finds a way to bring the magic back. In that scene, featuring Natalie Portman in a Disney princess-like ballet around the store, is laughable. It´s either bad directing by Helm or hideous overacting to something which isn´t there by Portman-who otherwise is quite good in the film. And an aspect of the visual effects doesn´t look quite right, as if they´re rushed just a bit.

Which is a shock, considering Portman´s role in the FX heavy "Star Wars" prequels.

In some ways, "Mr. Magorium´s Wonder Emporium" breaks the social contract the film makes with the audience. It´s one thing to add a new aspect to the film or twist a concept on its ear. It´s something completely different to sell a "magical" movie and then abandon a lot of the magic to add a decidedly adult storyline to the mix. What would the "Harry Potter" films be like if, in the middle, any sort of magic was jettisoned to explain the relationship between the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts?

I can´t be completely upset with the film, though, for any zigs or zags it takes. The three leads are more than capable of being riveting while they´re on screen and the look of the store makes your eye dart from corner to corner so as to not miss details. "Mr. Magorium" is something of an anomaly: it´s a movie designed for the entire family without asides for the adults. There´s no snarky "Shrek" pieces of dialogue that try to be cute or be double entrendes.

"Mr. Magorium´s Wonder Emporium" rates a 6 out of 10. The ending still irks me in a lot of ways, especially the memory of Portman looking completely out of place during the finale. Still, the film continues a very good year for fantasy movies at the theater this year.

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