Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

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?

This is a VERY underrated movie. In fact, one of the main points of the movie is missed by several reviewers on this site. Natalie Portman's character states that adults view things as "just a ____," diminishing their value. As an adult looking for a complex plot or social commentary, then this movie is terrible. It is "just a kids movie." But if you view it as a magical and immersive adventure into a magical toy store, you quickly get lost in the earnest performances and talented cast. This movie also has a non-aggressive or preachy way of dealing with death that makes it accessible for kids. Watching it with a 5, 8, and 9 year old boy, they understood Mr. Magorium died and his hard work (legacy) was honored and carried on. I love this movie as an adult and definitely suggest you don't write it off as "just a kids movie."

Love this film. Bought it to help my kid deal with the passing of a loved one. No preaching about an afterlife - Magorium admits he doesn't know what will happen when he "leaves"; excellent portrayal of the necessity to move onward after someone we love dies and that strength and magic always come from within ourselves rather than being given to us from our loved ones. A+++ 100% recommend. Disc arrived quickly and in excellent condition.

I hope 11 years later Zach Wells can give himself a break. This is a charming movie with solid performances and cool special effects. It’s rated G people! And unlike so many bloated fantasies, it’s heart is in the right place. I was moved by it. Thought it was based on a book because it had that literary gravitas. Very cool concept and philosophical quotes. Jason Bateman is the standout as he was beginning his best decade of solid work. His performance made we want to see him do Shakespeare. Perhaps the fool in King Lear. Twinkle. Wink. A fun, magical family tale, perfect for the holiday season.

With all the special effects technology available to feature film studios like 20th Century, you'd think they could afford to add more scrimshaw in their movies. If ever there was a candidate for scrimshaw loading, this film is it. With all the rich CGI textures and colors in this movie, all it would take is a modicum more creativity to throw in scrimshaw in key scenes to yield a rich old world ambience, and better support the plot line. I mean, Mr. Magor is supposed to be 243 years old, what says OLD better than scrimshaw, duh!Clearly the writers of this homage to Mr. Magoo could have at least reviewed old clips of Mr. Magoo and Gilligan's Island before developing their characters. if not, hire a medium to channel Backus for pointers — why dontcha.While the colorful sets and CGI were mostly fulfilling, the pit in my stomach caused by the dark scenes when the toy store is diagnosed with clinical depression was not ameliorated by Natalie Portman's feeble attempts to heal it. Clearly she is no method actor nor familiar with the Bene Gesserit weirding way, but what can you say, she was in Star Wars after all. Of course the real blame lands on the writers who composed her weak dialog and implausible character, but I like to blame actors since they are the on-screen embodiment of the artificial reality we're engaging in, and of course, if all goes well, actors are all too quick to take credit for a movie's success. So nyah!What this movie does right is effective use of the Video Toaster. I have to say the special effects department really squeezed every bit o' juice from their Toasters, and I suspect, Silicon Graphics workstations. Compare the CGI in this movie with Babylon 5 and you'll see what I mean. Kudos to the special effects wizards.While the plot left something to be desired, upon leaving my home theatre I found myself wanting to open a better version of my own magical toy store and stock up on Willy Wonka candy, so despite its flaws, I think the writer's mission succeeded.

I bought this for a student who is struggling to get the ACT score she is highly capable of achieving. Unfortunately, she seems, in my opinion, to lack the confidence to make it. This is a great movie on many counts and worth the watch even if you are a highly confident test taker. It's full of humor, and an excellent reminder to "live" your life to its fullest.

I bought this movie as a surprise for my kids. They love this movie. It shows great imagination and has a theme that reminds you that you just need to believe in what you want to do and you can succeed. This movie gets laughs every time it is turned on . It has a sad part, but it shows how people deal with departures. It's a great family movie.

Only if I could meet a girl is kind and is wonderful and as beautiful as the main female character in this film...!!Only if I could meet a friend as wonderful as the artistic character in this film...!!and only if I could meet a best friend and mentor like the owner of the shop played by Dustin Hoffman in real life...!!My life would be truly remarkable and wonderful and happy and all the pain and suffering that I have suffered at the hands of corrupt evil ignorant people with no longer exist...!!

I wanted to see this film some time ago and unfortunately never managed it. I like the cast as there is some quirkyness about them. I like the idea as movies should bring some magic in to your life. The effects are good, the styling and the look of the movie are good. The story starts a lot like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but that is ok as its not long before it goes off in its own direction. And lastly the sentiment is nice.The bad bits are that the movie claims to be a comedy but I didn't laugh, although it was light hearted and it made me smile. There could have been more focus on the special effects, there is lots of things going on in the movie but it could have done with more. Lastly, the film ended at the good bit, I was expecting more to happen and the credits rolled in.In short, this is not a bad film but its not a blockbuster either. As a family film it is easy to watch and it does deal with some issues that are in an easy format to understand, basically younger children can watch this and they wouldn't be confused by the plot. The characters are very non-threatening and there is a touch of rainman in the Hoffman character. My advise is watch this on a rainy Sunday afternoon as there is some warmth about the story, its just a shame that it could do with a bit more content.

Before I bought this film I read the reviews here. Most were very enthusiastic but a few were strangely antipathetic, suggesting that this was 'just' a movie for young children and should only be watched in the company of that demographic. Having watched it several times - without infant supervision - I find it just delightful. It was clearly made with love and that quality pervades it at every level. On third and fourth viewing it still makes me laugh out loud. It reminds me that when I was nine years old I had a wonderfully creative imagination - later in life it became amazingly destructive, but it doesn't have to be that way.The performances are excellent - Zack Mills is wonderful as nine-year-old Eric - Dustin Hoffman as Mr Magorium is delightful and seems to be channelling Ed Wynn's bumbling Fire Chief from the 1930s (the voice of the Mad Hatter in Disney's Alice in Wonderland) - Jason Bateman is convincing as Henry the grey-suited 'counting mutant' and gives us a glimpse of Dudley Moore from the 1960s when Henry tries pretending - Natalie Portman is enchanting as Molly Mahoney, pianist, composer and reluctant magical emporium proprietor, her fluid movement showing her early training as a dancer.I love the idea of a toyshop where all the toys are encouraged to play with the customers. I particularly like the self-assembly wooden dinosaur which tries to eat a Frisbee and manages to be out of sight every time the sceptical counting mutant looks round. If anyone doubts that it is a magical toy store, surely the fact that if it's upset it can turn grey and wrinkly proves it is magical.At first I felt very sorry for the authors of the unfavourable reviews and assumed they must be suffering from cherophobia or even triskaidekaphobia complicated by acute arachibutyrophobia. Now I suspect these reviews are brilliant works of parody, written in the style of Henry the 'mutant', before he learns to pretend - congratulations.For me this film's abiding message is "Your life is an occasion - rise to it" or just possibly "Please deposit additional 35 cents."

A little-known classic. Great acting, particularly from Dustin Hoffman as the eccentric title character, coupled with a funny script that has more depth than your usual kids film, this is a movie that we've watched again and again.*** SPOILER WARNING ***For very small children or those of a very sensitive nature be warned that there are themes of loss and passing, that although handled very delicately and not even mentioned explicitly in the script, some might find sad.*** SPOILER WARNING ENDS! ***This is an uplifting, funny and imaginative film that I'm surprised isn't as well known as it deserves to be.Give it a go and you'll be pleased that you did!

I've never seen the full movie, so I'm excited to watch this, glad I bought it, been looking everywhere for it.