Mr. Magoriums Wonder Emporium 2007

Molly Mahoney is the manager of Mr. Magoriums 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 twentythree yearold 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 fortythree 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.

Review

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 moviegoing 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 soulcrushing stress of adult responsibility.

This movie is a nice kickinthepants 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.