There was a time when family entertainment was about more than CG animation, fart jokes, pop culture humor and a pop song soundtrack.
The Last Mimzy remembers that time. Anyone who grew up on family films that were truly about discovery and adventure are sure to appreciate this film. The fact that this is an intelligent deep film that involves such topics as Tibetan mysticism, advanced cultures and time travel might make this a hard sell for children. The movie takes its time in unraveling its premise, and for the first hour or so, the audience is left kind of in the dark as to what to expect. But, that also is what gives the movie its sense of wonder. For very patient children (and adults) who are looking for something different,
The Last Mimzy is sure to fill the minds of its audience with more captivating ideas than any other family film in recent memory.
When 10-year-old Noah (Chris O'Neil) and his younger sister Emma (Rhiannon Leigh Wynn) discover a mysterious box on the beach during Spring Break, how could they realize what was in store for them? The box contains some shining rock-like objects that seem to hold mysterious powers and a seemingly-ordinary stuffed rabbit named Mimzy that somehow can communicate with young Emma in a language that only the girl can hear and understand. Unsure of just what they've found, the two children vow to keep their discovery a secret from their parents. As the kids spend more time around the objects, they find that their intelligence increases substantially, and they eventually begin to even develop telepathic powers. When Noah starts drawing bizarre patterns in class, his Science teacher Larry White (Rainn Wilson) and his fiance (Kathryn Hahn) recognize them as ancient symbols from lost cultures long ago. As everyone involved tries to uncover the mystery behind these items, the children eventually learn of an advanced race far into the future that is on the brink of destruction. How this box of objects and the children are tied into all of this, I will leave for the viewer to discover on their own.
For a family film,
The Last Mimzy is certainly a large gamble for any major studio. The film contains no easy laughs or jokes, taking itself almost completely seriously from beginning to end. The movie constantly has a tone of mystery to it, and takes it's sweet time in letting the answers be revealed. The fact that the founder and CEO of New Line Cinema, Robert Shaye, not only found it appropriate to green light a film like this, but to also direct it himself is quite also remarkable. I can only hope that audiences are willing to give this film as much of a chance. The screenplay by Bruce Joel Rubin (
Jacob's Ladder,
Ghost) and Toby Emmerich (
Frequency) is a throw back to such films as
E.T. and
Explorers. It is a movie about two very real and likeable children who are thrust into something they don't understand. The movie never once talks down to it's audience, or tries to simplify things. For most of the film's running time, we find ourselves just as lost as the characters are as to what everything means. But, we are also intrigued. The film constantly tantalizes and intrigues us in just about every scene, so that we want to go along for the ride and discover what's going to happen next. The movie knows how to keep us in the dark without confusing us so we don't lose interest. We never become frustrated, and we're certainly not bored. And when the answers do start coming, it was certainly nice for a change of pace to see a movie live up to the wonder it initially promised. With so many films having great set ups and disappointing pay offs, this was welcome.
The movie is fortunately also able to understand that without identifiable and human characters, the audience is going to not be able to feel any sense of attachment. The premise may be whimsical and out there, but the characters are wonderfully down to earth. Noah and Emma behave like real children, not the smart-mouth sitcom kids we see so often. Despite all the craziness going on around them, they remain real throughout, and are written as such. The adult characters that surround them are fortunately written with just as much care. Their parents are not the types that are disbelieving of the things going on around them to the point of idiocy. The teachers who get wrapped up in the mystery are also written in a realistic fashion, and are highly intelligent instead of buffoons. The only adult character that comes across as underwritten is a Homeland Security officer (played by Michael Clarke Duncan) who gets involved after one of the mysterious objects causes a state-wide black out with its powers. The movie treats its premise with the same amount of respect as its characters. Though certainly far-fetched, the story never gets so ridiculous that we find we can't believe in it anymore. This is important, considering we are watching a movie that is driven by a stuffed bunny rabbit that is actually alive and may slowly be dying the longer it stays in our time. To say that this a movie that is not easy to explain is an understatement. But when and if you see it, you will understand.
In the roles of its young heroes, relative newcomers Chris O'Neil and Rhiannon Leigh Wynn are real finds. This is O'Neil's first acting job ever, and young Miss Wynn's only other major film appearance was a brief role in 2003's
Hulk movie. They bring a definite sibling quality to their performance and in their chemistry with one another. Wynn gets most of the best and difficult scenes in the film, and she is quite impressive, considering she was only 6 when she made this movie. In the key adult roles, Joely Richardson and Timothy Hutton are likeable but ultimately unmemorable as the parents of the children. They don't play a huge role in the story, but they are believable whenever they are on screen. Rainn Wilson from
My Super Ex-Girlfriend holds the best adult performance as Noah's Science teacher who is haunted by mysterious dreams that may be connected to the childrens' mission. He gets some cute moments with Kathryn Hahn as his fiance. I especially liked the way she kept on hoping his mysterious and seemingly psychic visions could reveal some winning Lotto numbers.
The Last Mimzy is a very strange movie that could have been disastrous if even the slightest thing went wrong. Fortunately, everyone involved cared about the project enough to make it work. And, so it does. How it will play with audiences, I am not so certain. This movie may be too laid back and dialogue-heavy for children weaned on some of Disney and Dreamworks recent animated features. This is the kind of movie that rewards you the more time you spend with it. It doesn't seem like much at first until you discover there's a lot more than there at first appears beneath the surface. This movie made me believe that a seemingly-normal stuffed rabbit toy could not only share a secret language with its owner, but could also hold vast technological secrets within that could be the key to saving other societies. That's no small feat, let me tell you.
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There was a time when family entertainment was about more than CG animation, fart jokes, pop culture humor and a pop song soundtrack. The Last Mimzy remembers that time. Anyone who grew up on family films that were truly about discovery and adventure are sure to appreciate this film. The fact that this is an intelligent deep film that involves such topics as Tibetan mysticism, advanced cultures and time travel might make this a hard sell for children. The movie takes its time in unraveling its premise, and for the first hour or so, the audience is left kind of in the dark as to what to expect. But, that also is what gives the movie its sense of wonder. For very patient children (and adults) who are looking for something different, The Last Mimzy is sure to fill the minds of its audience with more captivating ideas than any other family film in recent memory.
When 10-year-old Noah (Chris O'Neil) and his younger sister Emma (Rhiannon Leigh Wynn) discover a mysterious box on the beach during Spring Break, how could they realize what was in store for them? The box contains some shining rock-like objects that seem to hold mysterious powers and a seemingly-ordinary stuffed rabbit named Mimzy that somehow can communicate with young Emma in a language that only the girl can hear and understand. Unsure of just what they've found, the two children vow to keep their discovery a secret from their parents. As the kids spend more time around the objects, they find that their intelligence increases substantially, and they eventually begin to even develop telepathic powers. When Noah starts drawing bizarre patterns in class, his Science teacher Larry White (Rainn Wilson) and his fiance (Kathryn Hahn) recognize them as ancient symbols from lost cultures long ago. As everyone involved tries to uncover the mystery behind these items, the children eventually learn of an advanced race far into the future that is on the brink of destruction. How this box of objects and the children are tied into all of this, I will leave for the viewer to discover on their own.
For a family film, The Last Mimzy is certainly a large gamble for any major studio. The film contains no easy laughs or jokes, taking itself almost completely seriously from beginning to end. The movie constantly has a tone of mystery to it, and takes it's sweet time in letting the answers be revealed. The fact that the founder and CEO of New Line Cinema, Robert Shaye, not only found it appropriate to green light a film like this, but to also direct it himself is quite also remarkable. I can only hope that audiences are willing to give this film as much of a chance. The screenplay by Bruce Joel Rubin (Jacob's Ladder, Ghost) and Toby Emmerich (Frequency) is a throw back to such films as E.T. and Explorers. It is a movie about two very real and likeable children who are thrust into something they don't understand. The movie never once talks down to it's audience, or tries to simplify things. For most of the film's running time, we find ourselves just as lost as the characters are as to what everything means. But, we are also intrigued. The film constantly tantalizes and intrigues us in just about every scene, so that we want to go along for the ride and discover what's going to happen next. The movie knows how to keep us in the dark without confusing us so we don't lose interest. We never become frustrated, and we're certainly not bored. And when the answers do start coming, it was certainly nice for a change of pace to see a movie live up to the wonder it initially promised. With so many films having great set ups and disappointing pay offs, this was welcome.
The movie is fortunately also able to understand that without identifiable and human characters, the audience is going to not be able to feel any sense of attachment. The premise may be whimsical and out there, but the characters are wonderfully down to earth. Noah and Emma behave like real children, not the smart-mouth sitcom kids we see so often. Despite all the craziness going on around them, they remain real throughout, and are written as such. The adult characters that surround them are fortunately written with just as much care. Their parents are not the types that are disbelieving of the things going on around them to the point of idiocy. The teachers who get wrapped up in the mystery are also written in a realistic fashion, and are highly intelligent instead of buffoons. The only adult character that comes across as underwritten is a Homeland Security officer (played by Michael Clarke Duncan) who gets involved after one of the mysterious objects causes a state-wide black out with its powers. The movie treats its premise with the same amount of respect as its characters. Though certainly far-fetched, the story never gets so ridiculous that we find we can't believe in it anymore. This is important, considering we are watching a movie that is driven by a stuffed bunny rabbit that is actually alive and may slowly be dying the longer it stays in our time. To say that this a movie that is not easy to explain is an understatement. But when and if you see it, you will understand.
In the roles of its young heroes, relative newcomers Chris O'Neil and Rhiannon Leigh Wynn are real finds. This is O'Neil's first acting job ever, and young Miss Wynn's only other major film appearance was a brief role in 2003's Hulk movie. They bring a definite sibling quality to their performance and in their chemistry with one another. Wynn gets most of the best and difficult scenes in the film, and she is quite impressive, considering she was only 6 when she made this movie. In the key adult roles, Joely Richardson and Timothy Hutton are likeable but ultimately unmemorable as the parents of the children. They don't play a huge role in the story, but they are believable whenever they are on screen. Rainn Wilson from My Super Ex-Girlfriend holds the best adult performance as Noah's Science teacher who is haunted by mysterious dreams that may be connected to the childrens' mission. He gets some cute moments with Kathryn Hahn as his fiance. I especially liked the way she kept on hoping his mysterious and seemingly psychic visions could reveal some winning Lotto numbers.
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