Review of Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007) by Johnny T — 20 Apr 2015

Hoffman has countless characters inside of him, and this is one of his nicest. Twenty or 30 minutes into Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium the urge to flee may rise within you like an oceanic tide. But stick with it. The film is very sweet--in fact it represents the dawn of a new sport, Extreme Whimsy. Its cotton-candy fantasy of a story line is definitely aimed at very young children. But it's well made, and adults likely will find themselves yielding to its gentle, whimsical charm. At its best, the movie makes you feel like a kindred spirit. Helm gets huge bonus points for noticing everything that's annoying about modern children's films and including none of those things in his movie. Credit production designer Therese DePrez and set decorator Clive Thomasson for the marvelous setting, a charmed building with a life of its own. The trailers make the movie look like the ickiest kind of whimsy, accompanied by obstreperous special effects, but the film itself is gasp-worthy. Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium isn't the awful experience so many movie critics labeled it. Most of all, it's a pleasure to see the warm rapport Hoffman and Portman conjure in this sweet, short story. This children's tale of magical whimsy miraculously avoids even toying with violence - while confronting the finality of death head-on.

VERDICT: "High-Quality Stuff" - [Positive Reaction] This is a rating to a movie I view as very entertaining and well made, and definitely worth paying the full price at a theatre to see or own on DVD. It is not perfect, but it is definitely excellent... (Films that are rated 3.5 or 4 stars).