Toys on the Side

Based on Lewis Padgett's short story "Mimzy Were the Borogoves", which takes its name from Lewis Carroll's "The Jabberwocky", the equally problematically-titled "The Last Mimzy" is the story of mysterious toys sent from the future to a pair of precocious children in modern day Seattle. A veritable bouillabaisse of pop culture, "Mimzy" contains references to "Alice in Wonderland", Tibetan mysticism, Buddhism, palm reading, telepathy, telekinesis, and some sort of "spider speech". Plus, you're not likely to find better product placement in any recent film than the one afforded to Intel here. Still, despite (or because of) all this, "Mimzy" never achieves its goal to be this generation's "E.T.", though it's probably diverting enough for the little ones.

Newcomers Chris O'Neil and Rhiannon Leigh Wryn star as Noah and Emma Wilder, the two children who find a strange, furturistic box on a beach by the family vacation home. Inside, the kids find mysterious objects which they instinctively hide from the grown-ups. Among the "toys" are a set of stones that, when spun correctly, form a swirling vortex of color, and a stuffed rabbit (that's Mimzy) which mumbles unintelligibly in Emma's ear. As the children spend more and more time with their toys, they begin to develop a seemingly higher level of intelligence (which comes in very handy for Noah at the Science Fair). While their obligatory oblivious parents, Joely Richardson and Timothy Hutton, struggle to understand their children's secrecy, Noah's hippie science teacher (Rainn Wilson, in another fine supporting role) notices mystical patterns in Noah's doodling.

Though this all loosely adds up in the end, it seems that the writers, Bruce Joel Rubin and Toby Emmerich, were content to explain a great many plotholes with "it's just a kid's movie". Why else, for example, would scientists in the future send such an oblique message back in time? Why do the government agents have worse security than the local Denny's? And why are the parents so completely incapable of seeing what's right in front of them? At one point, the children cause the blackout of, seemingly, the entire western seaboard when one of their gadgets emits a near sonic boom. Afterwards, the parents explain, "It's a blackout. Did you hear that strange noise?" Hear it? It shook the theater!

Naturally, there's a final rush to save Mimzy which is meant to evoke the kind of reaction that a certain bicycle chase did in 1982 (it's no coincidence that little Mr. O'Neil bears more than a passing resemblance to Henry Thomas). But nothing in "Mimzy" bears the emotional weight of our favorite Extra-Terrestrial. Still, the children are endearing enough, and you'd have to be from some future where hearts are made of stone not to feel enchanted by young Ms. Wryn, especially during her many close-ups when the camera all but pinches her cheek.

"Mimzy" marks New Line Cinema's founder and co-CEO/chairman Bob Shaye's return to the director's chair for the first time since 1990's "Book of Love". "Mimzy" takes a while to warm up, but once it gets going it eases into some familiar territory. While it may not hit the emotional heights to which it aspires, the film has an admirable message. With all the gadgetry and external stimuli in the world, children are becoming more and more disconnected. They're apt to spend more time with their PSPs or on their cell phones than with other kids. While sitting in a dark theater watching this movie won't solve any of those problems, it's a step in the right direction.