Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Kids/Family and Science Fiction/Fantasy
Running Time: 1 hour, 34 minutes
Rating: G
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Jason Bateman, Zachary Mills, Ted Ludzik
Synopsis: Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium is the strangest, most fantastic, most wonderful toy store in the world. In fact, it's a magic toy store and everything in it comes to life--including the store itself. The emporium asks only one thing of its customers--you must believe it to see it.


"You must believe it to see it." I have to say that this is a much better way of saying the old phrase "Seeing is believing." I believe this phrase is at the heart of this movie's spirituality. Even more than that, the idea of having "faith like a child" is portrayed as the basis for believing.


Young Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman) was considered a child prodigy on the piano, but years later, she's feels lost as to her true purpose - living life without "sparkle". Working for the quirky Mr. Magorium, who even she admits is magic, she's seeking for meaning and purpose for her life. But when Mr. Magorium surprises her with his imminent demise and subsequent passing on of the store to her, Molly is faced with a crisis: that of losing the one person who believes in her and her feelings of inadequacy in running the "magical" toy store.


It isn't until Molly has to defend the store to a disbelieving accountant (Jason Bateman) that Molly discovers her own belief in not only the store but also in herself. She had to return to the "pre-skepticism" of childhood before she could fully see the "magic" in her life.


Surrounded by the sweetness of this movie, is the hidden message that somethings require the faith of a child. How often do we get caught up in the "reality" of every day life and forget that God is more wonderful then we could ever imagine? Have we lost our "sparkle" somewhere along the way?