What Do The Critics Say?

"it's a pleasure to see the warm rapport Hoffman and Portman conjure in this sweet, short story." John Wirt ADVOCATE "A delightfully engaging character performance from Dustin Hoffman." Joshua Tyler CINEMABLEND "I am utterly charmed by its imagination and sweetness, by its clever wizardry and inspired bizarreness." Eric D Snider ErICDSNIDER.COM "There isn't anything terribly exciting or original.. there's nothing offensive either." Lou Lumenick NNEW YORK POST "With fine performances from Hoffman, Portman, Bateman and the sad-eyed Mills, and some ever-true observations about imagination and possibilities, Mr Magorium is likely to work his magic given a chance." Terry Lawson DETROIT FREE PRESS

"People have told me they really liked it, so go for the score and sets, stay for when it finally grabs you: be prepared for an uphill climb to the intended transcendence." Karina Montgomery CINERINA "Writer and first-time director Zach Helm makes Magorium's offbeat world seem not just sensible but entirely logical." Sean Means SALT LAKE TRIBUTE "As gentle and sweet as it may be, this movie's a treat, but not a treasure." Alex Markerson E! ONLINE "It's a little sentimental, and the finale feels rushed, but along the way it's great fun." Rich Cline SHADOWS ON THE WALL "Delightfully silly, and if you can get past its wrinkles, it should tap into your inner child." Kevin Carr 7M PICTURES

The Inside Story The Wonder Emporium of Mr Magorium, not surprisingly, was born in the mind of a talented young writer, and now first-time director, who previously worked in a toy store himself. Zach Helm, who recently came to the fore with his screenplay for the innovative, narrative-bending comedy "Stranger Than Fiction," starring Will Ferrell and directed by Marc Forster. While studying acting at Chicago’s DePaul University, Helm found himself spontaneously inspired by his part-time job in an especially fun-filled toy boutique, which put him in mind of the spellbinding powers of pure, imaginative play. Director and writer Helm recalls, "The toy store I worked at was similar in its eclecticism to Magorium’s Emporium but it was much, much smaller. Then, on one particularly slow, rainy, afternoon when nobody was coming into the store, I just started writing in my journal. That’s when I came up with the basic outline of a toy store owned by a two hundred and fourty three year old man, a story that stayed in my notebook for a long, long time." It was years later, if only a minute in Magorium time, when Helm was in Hollywood looking for an idea to spark his first screenplay, that he returned to the concept of the Wonder Emporium. "The idea always stood out to me," Helm says. Now, as he started to write it in earnest, he found inspiration coming at him fast and furious, from all manner of unexpected and diverse sources: from the surrealism of René Magritte, to the madcap humor of the Marx Brothers, to the work of such reality-exploring playwrights such as Samuel Beckett, Tom Stoppard and Harold Pinter, to the wild, kinetic inventiveness of Rube Goldberg devices, all the way to the sheer joy and furry whimsy of The Muppets. Helm sums the movie up as "a cornucopia of all the things that I love and that I find exciting, thrilling and playful." Mandate Pictures, who had just produced Helm’s highly successful 2006 NBR Best Original Screenplay Award winner "Stranger Than Fiction", stepped up to the plate to bring the story to the screen. They also offered Helm what he had always dreamed about: the chance to direct his own script. "They gave me a fantastic opportunity to be able to visually express everything that I was being inspired by while I was writing it," says Helm. "And it was nice to see it all come to life without ever having to wonder what the writer was thinking about when he wrote it!" Meanwhile, to help put the project on the fast-track, producer Richard N Gladstein ("The Bourne Identity", "Jackie Brown" & "Reservoir Dogs") came on board. Already a fan of "Stranger Than Fiction", he was attracted by the screenplay’s non-stop sense of imaginative fun. "I absolutely loved how the 'Magorium' screenplay presented a whole new take on magic and the idea that you have to believe in yourself for magic to happen. I also loved the humor and the whole tone, which felt so fresh and unique. There are so many wonderful things for both kids and adults to enjoy in this story." Helm was especially appreciative of all that Gladstein brought to the production. "Jim and I learned so much from Richard, from getting the shooting script ready to casting to particular shots and frames," says Helm. "Everything in this movie has been highly influenced by Richard’s depth of experience in producing films." The story of "Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium" has at its heart the toy store’s creative and not-quite-ready for the real world manager, Molly Mahoney. Once a musical prodigy, Molly loves the marvels and merriment of her present job but she’s frustrated by the fact that she has never finished anything she’s ever started. The filmmakers were all in complete agreement as to who the number one choice for the role would be in a perfect world where dreams come true: Natalie Portman. To Zach Helm’s utter delight and amazement, Portman jumped in right away with a yes. "The very first person I ever mentioned that I would love to have play Mahoney was Natalie Portman," muses Helm. "If I remember correctly, we sent the script to her on a Thursday and by the following Monday she said she would do it. We were ecstatic. A really big piece of our puzzle was in place." "Zach sent the script to me wrapped up like a present with a big red ribbon around the box," recalls Portman. "Inside was the most beautiful letter asking me to read the script. Well, I had already read "Stranger Than Fiction" which I really loved so I sat down and read 'Mr Magorium' and fell in love with his writing all over again." "Natalie became the linchpin for the entire movie," says producer James Garavente. Two time Academy ® Award winner Dustin Hoffman was cast as Mr Magorium. Portman’s collaboration with Dustin Hoffman brought their relationship bursting to full-color life, sparking an authentic sense of awe and excitement in Portman that transfers onto the screen. "Dustin is much like his character in that every single second he’s using the utmost of his creative powers," Portman observes. "To see someone squeezing that much joy and effort out of every second was pretty inspiring." "Since the character is 243 years old, we talked about needing an actor who could play the age from his soul, from his wisdom, from his life experience," recalls Gladstein. Almost collectively they all said: "Then let’s get Dustin Hoffman." "There was certainly an element of six degrees of separation when it came to Dustin," notes Gladstein, "but he was truly our first choice for Magorium no matter what history any of us may have had with him." Helm also notes, "He is so dedicated, so imaginative, so willing to play and at the same time so very, very precise. He cares about every shot, every action, every word and he was determined to realize as much of this character as possible." "At the beginning of any project, I never really know what the character is going to come out like," Hoffman explaineds. "I like to take in the imagination of the director, the costume designer and the hair and makeup team and then find it with their help." According to Hoffman, much of the credit for finding Mr Magorium goes to his wife of thirty years, Lisa. Hoffman, who was scintilating as Professor Jules Hilbert in "Stranger Than Fiction", was full of praise for twentry three year old Helm's writing skills. "Zach wrote this screenplay at age 23," says Hoffman, "which I find remarkable. For someone so young to be exploring the themes of time, mortality and legacy was just astonishing to me." Magorium, who was born in 1764 and opened the his Wonder Emporium one hundred years ago, in the hopes of bringing thrills, laughter and the art of the impossible to kids of all ages, has decided it is time to leave. But first he needs to have everything prepared for a handover to Mahoney. He brings in an Accountant named Henry Weston, who he nicknames 'The Mutant'. Henry is played by Jason Bateman, who recently came to the fore in "Arrested Development" playing the comic role of Michael Bluth. Bateman recalls finding out he got the role while in typical LA traffic. "My phone rang and it was my manager and agent saying that I was going to be doing a movie in a matter of weeks with Natalie Portman and Dustin Hoffman. That’s when I hit the first car," he joked. "I hit the second car when they told me that the writer-director was Zach Helm." Of his character Bateman says, "Henry is a pretty uptight guy, and he’s very skeptical of any notion of magic and fantasy. He just wants to work on the books, until things start to happen for which there’s no other explanation except magic." The Wonder Emporium has one small but vital employee: nine year old Eric Applebaum, a brilliant but shy young loner who’s trying to come out of his shell. Eric proved to be the hardest part of all to cast, sparking a nation wide search for a little boy with these unique mix of qualities. "We probably saw close to two thousand kids in an exhaustive coast to coast effort," says Garavente. "We needed a someone who could come off as the smartest person in the room; yet, at the same time, wasn’t bratty, impudent or even precocious; just really intelligent in the best way." Finally, they saw Zach Mills, who was born in Lakewood, Ohio and recently moved to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. The hunt came to an abrupt end. "As soon as we saw his audition tape I knew we had found our Eric," recalls Helm. "There was no doubt in anyone’s mind. He is so expressive and focused. Many child actors are trained with very unreal affectations, but Zach has none of those. He is such a natural. Plus, he’s got a great head for wearing hats!" Costume designer Christopher Hargadon revealed the production went on a hat-buying frenzy. Set designer Clive Thomasson procured an additional four hundred hats of astonishing varieties for Eric’s bedroom wall. "What could be more fun for a kid than to be in a movie about a magical toy store?" Mills wonders. "I mean, everyday I would walk on set I’d see some new toy I hadn’t seen the day before. There were so many toys and books just everywhere; it was great. Everyone was so nice to me especially, Natalie and Jason, because they were both actors when they were my age so I think they were looking out for me." Portman was especially thrilled with Mills, saying: "I thought he was amazing. He’s also a very sweet, smart kid who’s polite and kind and a great actor. He spoiled me because then other kids would come in and I’d see how hard it can be for them!" Synopsis

When Mr Magorium, the store’s extraordinary 243 year-old proprietor, announces that he will at long last hand over the reigns of his wonder-expanding store to his unconfident young manager, Molly Mahoney, the store decides to throw an unusual tantrum. As a skeptical accountant named Henry comes in to audit the Legos ® and Lincoln Logs ®, not to mention the Whodathoughts and Whatchamacallits, the once sparkling, color-saturated Emporium is suddenly embattled by mysterious changes. The store too, has decided to throw a tantrum of its own. No-one including the toys, want Magorium to leave, but Magorium's time to leave has come. The once playful toys are all still there, but they’ve turned gray and quiet, and only Mahoney and Henry can revive them if, with the help of a superdexterous friendless nine year old Eric year-old, they can find the source of magic inside themselves.

The Verdict "One of those films where there is no middle ground. You'll either love it or loathe it. While the cast all perform reasonably well, there's nothing in "Mr Magourium's Wonder Emporium" to rave about. The initial introduction to the emporium is the sort of overkill that doesn't impress, no does it inspire, while the final scenes seem forced and the ending is rather abrupt. Like "Bee Movie" this is not for the 'ankle biters', but rather aimed at bringing out the child in adult cinemagoers. 3 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "MR MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM" stars .......
Two time Academy ® Award winner Dustin Hoffman ["Meet The Fockers", "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events", "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" and "Stranger Than Fiction"]; Zach Mills ["Dream Of An Angel", "Hollywoodland" and "The Santa Clause 3"]; 2005 Golden Satellite & Satellite Award winner Jason Bateman ["Love Stinks", "Starsky & Hutch", "The Break-up", "Smokin' Aces", "The Kingdom" and TV'S "Arrested Development"]; Ted Ludzik ["Absolon", "Resident Evil: Apocalypse", "Land Of The Dead" and "Hairspray"] and 2005 Golden Globe winner Natalie Portman ["Mars Attacks!", "Cold Mountain", "Garden State", "Closer", "V for Vendetta" and "Paris, je t'aime"] as Molly.
"MR MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM" was .......
directed by Zach Helm ["Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium"]; screenplay by 2006 National Board of Review Award winner Zach Helm ["Stranger Than Fiction"]; art direction by Brandt Gordon ["Shanghai Noon", "Mean Girls" and "16 Blocks"]; costume design by Christopher Hargadon ["New York Minute" and "The Pacifier"]; production design by 1997 Sundance Film Festival Award winner Thérèse DePrez ["I Shot Andy Warhol", " Going All the Way", "Hedwig and the Angry Inch", "American Splendor" and "The Door in the Floor"]; set decoration by Clive Thomasson ["John Q", "Bulletproof Monk", "Four Brothers" and "Man of the Year"]; cinematography by Roman Osin ["The Sheep Thief", "The Warrior", "Pride & Prejudice" and "Far North"]. Who's Who?

Dustin Hoffman Natalie Portman Zach Mills Jason Bateman Ted Ludzik Madalena Brancatella Paula Boudreau Mike Realba Steve Whitmire Liam Powley-Webster Marcia Bennett

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Mr Magorium Molly Eric Applebaum Henry Bellini the Bookbuilder Jessica Brenda Dave Wolf Kermit the Frog Andy Lora

Run Time 95 minutes Rated G [AUST] Copyright ©2007 - Walden Media - All Rights Reserved ©2007 All Rights Reserved - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - Protected by Australian & International Copyright. Trademark Laws Apply.