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March 23, 2007
The Last Mimzy
(out of four)
What exactly is a "Mimzy"? For the average adult, watching the E.T.-like sci-fi adventure The Last Mimzy isn't likely to clear up the mystery, although there's little doubt kids will understand (and love) the floppy-eared time traveler aimed directly at their eager young intellects.
Mimzies come from the future disguised as children's toys. They contain the power to unlock complex knowledge in the minds of special kids. Vacationing at their family beach house, Noah and Emma (newcomers Rhiannon Leigh Wryn and Chris O'Neil) happen upon a box filled with strange objects: ancient-looking rocks that spin in mid-air, a futuristic prism only they can see and a stuffed rabbit named "Mimzy."
Consulting an edition of Lewis Carroll's Alice stories, the characters learn that little Alice had a Mimzy, too. The word hearkens back to a line from Carroll's nonsensical Jabberwocky poem, which, in Lewis Padgett's short story, contains key answers to the world's great mysteries.
On paper, it may sound like high-level calculus, but on screen, The Last Mimzy is perfectly charming. Like Cocoon for the elementary-school set, the box transforms Noah and Emma's lives. Noah perks up at school, winning the science fair by learning to mind-control spiders, and Emma's new talents include levitation and reading the future. Their parents are understandably freaked, a common theme in such movies. Only weirdo teacher Rainn Wilson (The Office) seems to understand, but not in time to stop the government from getting involved.
A bit intense for younger children, The Last Mimzy frequently feels like second-rate Spielberg, but then, it could certainly find worse things to imitate. Director Bob Shaye (also co-CEO of New Line) clearly identified a family-friendly project the likes of which his company (responsible for the Austin Powers and The Mask franchises) simply doesn't make and decided to do it himself.
'Twould be a shame if this really were the last Mimzy.
[as featured in The Miami Herald]
Posted by Peter Debruge on