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Derek Malcolm's rating
It's Dustin Hoffman in Toytown
By
Derek Malcolm
13 Dec 2007
Edward Magorium, the owner of the toy store (Dustin Hoffman) is well over 200 years old, the manager (Natalie Portman) is concentrating on writing a piano concerto while the toys fling themselves about like dervishes in pursuit of pure magic. That's the scene-setting for Zack Helm's directing debut, which is always pleasant to look at but a bit of a mess otherwise.
The drama comes when Magorium, who has never filed for his taxes, looks like being forced to sell. He thinks it's finally time to leave this earth anyway. Jason Bateman's lawyer is brought in to sort things out and, not believing in magic, finds the emporium a surprising place. It's his job to save it.
Dramatically, the film frequently stalls but Hoffman produces the kind of shrewdly whimsical performance he can do standing on his head and Portman attempts a wide-eyed innocence with some skill.
Thank goodness, however, that we never get to hear more than a few bars of her concerto. But the toys are the thing, and the movie definitely has its heart in the right place.
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