The Last Mimzy
By Jane Louise BoursawAverage User Rating:
MPAA Rating: PG for some thematic elements, mild peril, and language.
Based on a 1943 sci-fi short story by Lewis Padgett, "All Mimsy Were the Borogoves," this movie tells the story of two children – Noah (Chris O'Neil) and Emma Wilder (Rhiannon Leigh Wryn) – and a mysterious box inscribed with odd markings. Inside are various devices the children think are toys, including a glass snail, an ornate seashell and a scruffy stuffed rabbit.
As the children play with these "toys," they get smarter and smarter – to the point where their teachers proclaim them geniuses. Studying spiders for a school project, Noah discovers how to use various frequencies to make the arachnids change the shape of their web. The result? A web that looks like the Golden Gate Bridge and is just as strong.
Meanwhile, Emma learns she can glimpse the future, thanks to laser beams produced via "spinners" – small objects courtesy of the box. Needless to say, all this is a little unnerving for the grown-ups in their lives. Especially when Emma tells her mom (Joely Richardson) that the stuffed bunny is named Mimzy and that "she teaches me things."
Apparently, Mimzy is a visitor from the future who must return to her time with something to rescue humanity from itself (global warming, pollution, disease, all those other bad things). A scientific scan indicates the bunny is part electronic, part organic, and when a blackout shuts down the city, the government traces the power surge back to the Wilders' home. What the heck is going on here?!
The Last Mimzy is directed by Bob Shaye, founder/ co-CEO of New Line Cinema and executive producer of, among other films, The Lord of the Rings trilogy. This movie also stars Timothy Hutton as the kids' father; Rainn Wilson ("Dwight" on The Office) as Larry White, Noah's science teacher; and Kathryn Hahn as Larry's Buddhist girlfriend, Naomi.
PRESCHOOLERS (ages 2-5): Could they have stuffed any more new-age themes into this movie? Let's see…telepathy, palm reading, levitation, crystals, time travel…nope, I think that about does it. Seriously, although the main characters are kids, preschoolers won't understand what's happening. Stick with Sesame Street or Postcards From Buster. Or maybe a Baby Yoga class for you and yours.
GRADE-SCHOOLERS (ages 6-10): This movie is ok for 9- or 10-year-olds, but younger kids might find some scenes frightening (like the FBI storming the Wilders' home a la Waco; so much for the Patriot Act). When it comes to spirituality, grade-schoolers might find anime flicks like Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle more appealing.
TWEEN/TEEN (ages 11+): One of the messages of this movie is that we're systematically trashing the earth and if we don't watch out, we'll annihilate it with our horrible habits. I dunno. Is it really that bad? Al Gore and others would have us believe it, but I'm not so sure. At any rate, older kids will like this movie because it doesn't talk down to them. And the special effects are good, although this movie isn't overly crowded with them.
As the children play with these "toys," they get smarter and smarter – to the point where their teachers proclaim them geniuses. Studying spiders for a school project, Noah discovers how to use various frequencies to make the arachnids change the shape of their web. The result? A web that looks like the Golden Gate Bridge and is just as strong.
Meanwhile, Emma learns she can glimpse the future, thanks to laser beams produced via "spinners" – small objects courtesy of the box. Needless to say, all this is a little unnerving for the grown-ups in their lives. Especially when Emma tells her mom (Joely Richardson) that the stuffed bunny is named Mimzy and that "she teaches me things."
Apparently, Mimzy is a visitor from the future who must return to her time with something to rescue humanity from itself (global warming, pollution, disease, all those other bad things). A scientific scan indicates the bunny is part electronic, part organic, and when a blackout shuts down the city, the government traces the power surge back to the Wilders' home. What the heck is going on here?!
The Last Mimzy is directed by Bob Shaye, founder/ co-CEO of New Line Cinema and executive producer of, among other films, The Lord of the Rings trilogy. This movie also stars Timothy Hutton as the kids' father; Rainn Wilson ("Dwight" on The Office) as Larry White, Noah's science teacher; and Kathryn Hahn as Larry's Buddhist girlfriend, Naomi.
PRESCHOOLERS (ages 2-5): Could they have stuffed any more new-age themes into this movie? Let's see…telepathy, palm reading, levitation, crystals, time travel…nope, I think that about does it. Seriously, although the main characters are kids, preschoolers won't understand what's happening. Stick with Sesame Street or Postcards From Buster. Or maybe a Baby Yoga class for you and yours.
GRADE-SCHOOLERS (ages 6-10): This movie is ok for 9- or 10-year-olds, but younger kids might find some scenes frightening (like the FBI storming the Wilders' home a la Waco; so much for the Patriot Act). When it comes to spirituality, grade-schoolers might find anime flicks like Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle more appealing.
TWEEN/TEEN (ages 11+): One of the messages of this movie is that we're systematically trashing the earth and if we don't watch out, we'll annihilate it with our horrible habits. I dunno. Is it really that bad? Al Gore and others would have us believe it, but I'm not so sure. At any rate, older kids will like this movie because it doesn't talk down to them. And the special effects are good, although this movie isn't overly crowded with them.
