EN 5 Second Review:

One Minute Review by Peter Veugelaers

Slight, pleasant and sentimental magical fantasy centring on the retirement of the owner, an over-200 year old man, of a “living” and animated magically-enlivened toy shop, which is handed over to the toy shop manager, a young woman with a talent for music who can’t deal with the responsibility because she doesn’t believe in herself. Main players Dustin Hoffman, as Mr. Magorium, Natalie Portman, Jason Bateman, as the stuffy store accountant, and the young Zach Mills, have clearly defined characters which provide delineation and clarity and are performed excellently. The script is well-rounded, playing like an episode in the life-of, written by Zach Helm (Stranger then Fiction). The sub-text about a child’s happiness verses wealth creation is subtlety interwoven. However, an incidental scene adds to the already established theme but not to the story itself and the story doesn’t come alive until about twenty minutes in. As well, it doesn’t quite fire on the quirky elements it introduces although there is one memorable line from Hoffman’s character which gets a laugh: “There’s a king of the planet Yahweh?” asks the accountant. “There can’t be”. “Yes, there is. You can’t blame humans for having aspirations”, Magorium concedes tongue in cheek. It might have some young ones getting restless, though it is good natured and there is enough momentum to the plot to maintain interest.

The walls of multiplex theaters may not shake and weep upon its departure, but as a holiday alternative for kids, OD'ing on Willy Wonka, you could do worse
Jan Stuart: Newsday
Alternately raucous and .reflective, "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" is a child's view of how one man attempts to put his house in order before he goes to that big FAO Schwarz in the sky....more

Writer/director Zach Helm achieves bursts of charm and whimsy, but not quite enough magic to elicit a consistent sense of wonderment
Claudia Puig: USA Today
Most of the action takes place in the vividly hued shop with eye-catching and fanciful toys and one-of-a-kind gadgets. While there are moments of sweetness in the story, the film's dazzling production design is the highlight...more