As usual, I'm opposed to critics. The reviews for this movie are terrible. Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course, but it seems to me that the point of this movie was missed entirely by many people that viewed it. Our modern world is riddled with negativity and an unfortunate boredom caused by the over-indulgence. We, as a people, are like a spoiled child who no longer finds interest in anything unless it slaps us upside the head. We have become Harry Potter's cousin Dudley. Sad. Now, I've said that. Moving on.
I found this to be one of the best films for children (and most adults) that I have ever seen. Sure, it wasn't as action packed as 'Night at the Museum' (another wonderful movie), nor as comical as 'Over the Hedge', but it was filled with a genuine message, a message that most children should hear. It isn't a movie for entertainment. It's a concept, given in movie form.
In case you haven't seen this, and hate teasers, you may have to turn away. It's impossible to talk about this movie without spoiling it just a bit....
*SPOILERS* *LAST WARNING!*
Mr. Magorium (Dustin Hoffman) is an ancient man. Over 240 years old! How he came to be so is not mentioned, but he once found a phenomenal pair of leather shoes in Tuscany, and bought as many as he thought would last his lifetime. His last pair is just about to wear out, and he is leaving.
He has a wonderful toy store, that seems to have a magic about it. It is living, as are the things in it. It's a fantastical place, one that could have been built by Willy Wonka. His store manager, Mahoney (Natalie Portman), is feeling quite inadequate. She is in her early twenties, and having been a piano prodigy, she doesn't feel like she's lived up to anyone's expectations. Except Mr. Magorium. He adores her, and it appears there is no one else in his life so dear. He has decided that she will have the Emporium when he has gone. After battling with the idea of his death, she finally accepts it, but does not believe herself capable of keeping a magical store that seems to be as sad as she is over the expected loss of Mr. Magorium. All of this is intensified by the unimaginative tight suited accountant, or 'mutant', Henry Weston (Jason Bateman...who I was trying to place all along, thinking he was someone else...guess I'm not incredibly familiar with him.)
The lesson here is believing in yourself. Thinking positively about yourself. Self manifestation. Mahoney is wrapped up in her failure. She feels as if she has dawdled away the years, as if she has nothing to show for her life. Mr. Magorium on the other hand, seems to walk about in a stupor of sorts. He is a simple man. All he knows is positive thought. He knows no failure, because to him, each moment of his life is manifested as joy. He lives to love life. He lives to look on all things as a good experience, something positive just waiting to shape his life. Joy is found in simple things. Laughter in a moment.
Mahoney thinks that things can't be that way for her, after all, he is Mr. Magorium! He brings things to life, the magic seems to come from his own self. She is just a person, no magician, and so, she can not be what he thinks that she is.
Mahoney doesn't want him to go. She takes him on a whirlwhind adventure full of the simple pleasures that he enjoys, trying to convince him that he should live. At the end of the day, he tells her that all along he thought that she was giving him the 'best last day.' She becomes distressed and upset. He can't leave her there. The store will cease to be. This store is simply too wonderful to imagine, and it will not exist without him! Following this, he gives a tremendous speech, which most kids won't really understand. It's deeper than them. It's a message for adults about
really living, and letting go. I can't recant it all to you, and I wouldn't want to. It's worth a listen. There is a reference there to Shakespeare's Henry V that is undeniably wonderful.
Overall, when the movie was over, I found it to be perfect. My children had a blast and there was a learning moment afterwards in our conversations about it on the ride home. Believe in yourself. It was only when Mahoney found it in her to see more than what was there, to believe in herself, beyond her own idea of herself....it was only then that she was able to find the magic within herself.
I think the problem was that people got caught up in the 'seeing' they didn't look beyond it, beyond what you see on the screen is one of the greatest messages there is.
The message was familiar to me, because I believe in such things, and have had the blessing of having such ideas blossom in my head. I immediately thought of
Deepak Chopra's 'The Way of the Wizard' as I was watching. This movie is such an eloquent example, almost a children's version of 'The Way of the Wizard'.
To conclude, this movie is wonderful, but perhaps not for everyone. Some people see things on the surface, and others can see the wondrous things that lurk beneath simple things. In today's society, laurels are placed on the heads of fools, and true treasures are thrown into the mire and dismissed.
