Mr Magorium (Dustin Hoffman) is an ageing toy shop owner, Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman) his dependable assistant and Eric (Zach Mills) his number one customer.
When Mr Magorium announces he's leaving and Molly refuses his offer of taking on the toy shop, the toy shop gets depressed, in fact it gets angry. It starts to lose its magic, it loses its colour and the walls start to bubble. Meanwhile Magorium hires a mutant (his word for accountant) to assess the value of the business and then puts the shop up for sale. It is Eric, the boy, who notices the shop's problems and is determined to save the shop.
I don't want to say anymore, I don't want to spoil it for you, but what I can say is that this is a fantastic family film. Children will enjoy the colourful magical quality of the film and the amazing things that happen in the shop. Adults will appreciate the philosophy behind the film, being true to yourself and finding time to play and appreciate life. The mutant, Henry, is challenged by Eric. Eric wants to play but Henry doesn't have time, he's got to work - as a parent this challenged me and made me stop and think. I guess that we all need to take time to smell the roses!
Great viewing and it's a film you'll want to watch over and over.