Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium | |
---|---|
Directed by | Zach Helm |
Written by | Zach Helm |
Produced by | Richard N. Gladstein James Garavente |
Starring | Dustin Hoffman Natalie Portman Jason Bateman |
Narrated by | Zach Mills |
Cinematography | Roman Osin |
Edited by | Sabrina Plisco Steven Weisberg |
Music by | Alexandre Desplat Aaron Zigman |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox (United States/Canada) Mandate Pictures (International) [1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
Countries | United States Canada |
Language | English |
Budget | $65 million [2] |
Box office | $69.5 million [3] |
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium is a 2007 children's fantasy comedy film written and directed by Zach Helm, produced by FilmColony, Mandate Pictures, Walden Media, Richard N. Gladstein and James Garavente, and with music composed by Alexandre Desplat and Aaron Zigman.
The film stars Dustin Hoffman as the owner of a magical toy store and Natalie Portman as his store employee. A cameo by Kermit the Frog was the character's first major theatrical appearance since 1999's Muppets from Space .
Theatrically released 16 November 2007 by 20th Century Fox, it received mixed reviews and grossed $69.5 million worldwide. Helm subsequently disowned the film in later years.
Molly Mahoney, a former musical prodigy suffering from artist's block, is an amateur pianist and an employee at "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium", a magical toy shop run by 243-year-old Mr. Edward Magorium. Besides Molly and Mr. Magorium, store bookbuilder, Bellini, a strongman, is also employed. Eric Applebaum is a boy who comes to the store daily and functions as an employee despite his age.
Mr. Magorium gives Molly the Congreve Cube, a block of wood, and tells her it will guide her to a new life if she has faith in it. Molly wants to become a concert pianist and composer, but has not been able to complete her first concerto.
Mr. Magorium announces that he intends to "leave", and is giving the shop to Molly. In preparation of his departure, Mr. Magorium hires an accountant, Henry Weston, to organize the shop's paperwork and determine his legacy to Molly. Henry does not believe the toy store is magical.
When Molly becomes upset about her inability to properly run the store, the Emporium "throws a tantrum", assaulting everyone inside with the toys until Mr. Magorium calms it down. Molly realizes that Mr. Magorium is going to die, so she rushes him, to a hospital until he is discharged the next day. She attempts to prevent Mr. Magorium's departure by showing him the joys of life. Back at the store, Mr. Magorium uses the stage notes of Shakespeare's King Lear to make a point about the natural simplicity of death, before dying. Believing herself to be incapable of owning a magical store, Molly puts the Emporium up for sale, and the store loses all its magic.
Henry meets Molly to draw up the sales papers. He sees the Congreve Cube and asks her about it. When Molly confesses her complete faith in the store, the block flies around the store. Witnessing this, Henry faints with shock. When he awakes and questions Molly, she tells him that it was a dream. He learns that Molly made the cube fly, and he believes in her, realizing Molly can be anything if she believes in herself. The store returns to its former glory as Molly's confidence increases.
Photography was from 31 March 2006 to 6 June 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [4] The film was produced by FilmColony's Richard N. Gladstein and Gang of Two's James Garavente, and financed by Walden Media, and Mandate Pictures's Joe Drake and Nathan Kahane.[ citation needed ]
Written by Suzanne Weyn, the novelization was published in 2007 by Scholastic Inc. [5] [6]
The film was released in the United States and Canada 16 November 2007 by 20th Century Fox, under their "Fox-Walden" joint-venture with Walden Media. International sales were handled by Mandate Pictures. [7]
The premiere of Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium, attended by Natalie Portman and Dustin Hoffman, also doubled as a fundraising event with tickets having been made available to the public. Funds raised at the event were donated to the Barnardo's children's charity and other charities based in the United Kingdom. [8]
To promote the film, the Los Angeles Times ran a scratch and sniff advertisement with a frosted cake smell. [9] [10]
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray 4 March 2008 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
The film grossed $9.6 million in 3,164 theaters on its opening weekend, ranking #5 at the box office. [11] It went on to gross $32.1 million in the U.S., and a further $35.4 million in the rest of the world, which gives the film a box office total of $67.5 million. [3]
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 39% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 126 reviews, with an average rating of 5.20/10. The consensus reads, "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium's title is much more fun than the film itself, as colorful visuals and talented players can't make up for a bland story." [12] On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 48 out of 100, based on 26 reviews. [13] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. [14] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone declared the film the year's Worst Family Film on his list of the Worst Movies of 2007. [15]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 stars out of 4 and wrote: "This isn't quite the over-the-top fantasy you'd like it to be, but it's a charming enough little movie, and probably the younger you are, the more charming." [16] In recognition of the fact that it was "aimed directly at very young children", William Arnold of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer observed its "unforced and exceedingly gentle humor, its imaginative but never-quite-excessive production design and its ingratiating and surprisingly detailed performances –especially by Portman and Bateman –gradually break down one's cynical defenses". [17]
Writer-director Zach Helm later disowned the film, calling it "a trainwreck", after the film was referenced in an episode of the AMC drama Breaking Bad . [18]
For his performance in the film, Zach Mills was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor.
The film has won two awards: the Heartland Film Festival Truly Moving Pictures award; and the Dove Foundation Seal of Approval, whose presenters felt it was "a delightful family film". Shawn Edwards of Fox called it "the most magical film of the year".
Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Golden Trailer, IFMCA Award and Young Artist Award | Best Animation/Family, Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction Film and Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor | Alexandre Desplat, Aaron Zigman and Zach Mills | Nominated |
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray 4 March 2008 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in the U.S. [19] It was also released on DVD and Blu-ray by Icon Home Entertainment in the UK.
The score was composed by Alexandre Desplat and Aaron Zigman, and was released 13 November 2007. [20] The album includes the song, "Love the World You Find", performed by the Flaming Lips.
In the penultimate episode of the hit AMC series, Breaking Bad (Season 5, Episode 15; "Granite State"), Walter White's off-grid New Hampshire residence contains only two DVDs, both of which are Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium.
In the Season 1, Episode 7, of the HBO Max series Close Enough , a flashback scene in which Josh and Emily's first date shows Josh explaining to Emily why he feels the Academy Award for Best Picture might go to Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium.[ citation needed ]
Natalie Portman is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving multiple accolades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.
Garden State is a 2004 American romantic comedy-drama film, written and directed by Zach Braff and starring Braff, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, and Ian Holm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman (Braff), a 26-year-old actor/waiter who returns to his hometown in New Jersey after his mother dies. Braff based the film on his real life experiences. It was filmed in April and May 2003 and released on July 28, 2004. New Jersey was the main setting and primary shooting location.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 high fantasy film directed by Andrew Adamson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ann Peacock and the writing team of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, based on the 1950 novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in the children's book series The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. The film is the first installment in The Chronicles of Narnia film series. It was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.
Fantastic Mr. Fox is a 2009 American stop-motion animated comedy film directed by Wes Anderson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Noah Baumbach. The film is based on the 1970 children's novel by Roald Dahl. The cast includes George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, and Owen Wilson. The plot follows the titular character Mr. Fox, as his spree of thefts results in his family, and later his community, being hunted down by three farmers known as Boggis, Bunce, and Bean.
Scratch and sniff technology is the application of a fragrant coating to items such as stickers or paperboard, so that when the coating is scratched it releases an odor that is normally related to the image displayed under the coating. The technology has been used on a variety of surfaces from stickers to compact discs. Gale W. Matson accidentally invented the technology while working for 3M in the 1960s. He was attempting to create a new method for making carbonless copy paper using microencapsulation. The technology to infuse microcapsules and paper was submitted to the US patent office on November 18, 1969, and the patent was granted on June 23, 1970. Despite the technology being invented by Matson in the 60's and its subsequent success in the 70's, the first patent for a translucent fragrance releasing version of microcapsules wasn't issued until January 15, 1985, to the 3M corporation.
Alexandre Michel Gérard Desplat is a French film composer and conductor. He has received numerous accolades throughout his career spanning over four decades, including, two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three César Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Grammy Awards. Desplat was made an Officer of the Ordre national du Mérite and a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres both in 2016.
Zach Helm is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He's known for his work on the films Stranger than Fiction (2006) and Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007), as well as the stage play Good Canary and its 2009 screen adaptation.
Because of Winn-Dixie is a 2005 American family comedy-drama film based on Kate DiCamillo's 2000 novel of the same name, with the screenplay written by Joan Singleton, produced by Trevor Albert and directed by Wayne Wang. It was produced by Walden Media and released by 20th Century Fox. It stars AnnaSophia Robb, Jeff Daniels, Cicely Tyson, Luke Benward, Dave Matthews, Eva Marie Saint, Courtney Jines, B.J. Hopper, Nick Price, Elle Fanning, Harland Williams, and John McConnell. It premiered at the USA Film Festival on January 26, 2005 and was theatrically released on February 18, 2005. It received mixed reviews from critics and earned $33.5 million against a production budget of $14 million. It was released on DVD and VHS on August 9, 2005, by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
College Road Trip is a 2008 American family comedy film directed by Roger Kumble and starring Martin Lawrence, Kym Whitley, Raven-Symoné, Brenda Song, Margo Harshman, and Donny Osmond. The film centers on college-bound teen Melanie Porter (Raven-Symoné), who goes on a road trip to different universities with her family, including her overprotective father. The film was released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on March 7, 2008. The film garnered negative reviews from critics.
Zachary Mills is an American former actor. He is known for his roles in the films, Hollywoodland (2006), Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007), Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008), and Super 8 (2011).
The discography of the Flaming Lips, an American rock band formed in 1983, consists of 16 studio albums, 18 extended plays, 15 singles, 10 compilation albums, four video albums and an array of various other appearances.
"Jennifer Juniper" is a song and single by the Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan, released in 1968. It peaked at number 5 in the UK Singles Chart, and at number 26 in the Billboard Hot 100. AllMusic journalist Matthew Greenwald noted that "capturing all of the innocence of the era perfectly, it's one of his finest singles".
Suzanne Weyn is an American author. She primarily writes children's and young adult science fiction and fantasy novels and has written over fifty novels and short stories. She is best known for The Bar Code Tattoo, The Bar Code Rebellion and The Bar Code Prophecy. The Bar Code Tattoo has been translated into German, and in 2007 was nominated for the Jugendliteraturpreis for youth literature given by the German government. It was a 2007 Nevada Library nominee for Young Adult literature and American Library Association 2005 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium is a 2007 novelization of the film of the same name. The novelization was written by American fantasy author Suzanne Weyn. The novel, or "Magical Movie Novel", as it is named on its cover, was released on October 1, 2007. The film was written and directed by Zach Helm.
Dutch FilmWorks B.V. is a Dutch film distributor founded in 1998, based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, focusing on Benelux rights mainly to release films theatrically, on DVD, Blu-ray and VOD. They are also a publisher and distributor of books and magazines.
Mandate Pictures was an independent full-service film production company acquired by Lionsgate in 2007.
Hesher is a 2010 American comedy drama film written and directed by Spencer Susser in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay by Susser and David Michôd, and based on a story by Brian Charles Frank. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rainn Wilson, Natalie Portman, Piper Laurie, and Devin Brochu, the film follows the titular rebellious metalhead and his misadventures with a depressed teenage boy coming to terms with the death of his mother in a car crash.
Julianna Baggott is a novelist, essayist, and poet who also writes under the pen names Bridget Asher and N.E. Bode. She is an associate professor at Florida State University's College of Motion Picture Arts. She is a 2013 recipient of the Alex Awards.
Ilaria Stagni is an Italian voice actress.
Production will begin at the end of the month in Toronto.