There are some great movies out there for kids, and some bloody awful ones too, at one end you have the likes of ‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’ whilst at the other there is ‘Toys’ and others of that ilk. This effort is directed by Zack Helm and stars Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman in the central roles, with Jason Bateman and young Zack Mills as a hat collector.

At the centre of this film is not the character in the title but the Emporium itself, the set is marvellous, the colours so rich and carefully balanced along with the effects to make it a magical place indeed. This store can also shape shift, and changes itself according to it’s mood and the settings of a dial. There isn’t anything too heavily done, the toys are CGI enhanced – well they would have to be since they can come to life, but cute and fun rather than epic, and the children and adults within the shop are all similarly balanced. Molly Mahoney (Portman) is a musical prodigy cum store manager who is yearning after a new direction, but it is the 243 year old owner Mr Magorium (Hoffman) who is in the throes of moving on. I was in some ways reminded of a sense of wonder that pervaded ‘The Polar Express’, all was good and ripe for a bit of story telling.

Mr Magorium has brought in accountant Henry Weston (Bateman) who is nicknamed ‘the Mutant’ to ensure all is well with the leaving of the shop to Molly, Henry is a stereotyped form shuffler, awkward and slightly geeky but harmless. Molly is devastated and confused when she finds out that Mr Magorium is to leave, but her reaction is much less severe than that of the shop and toys, which lose their colour, ability and magic, whilst the shop itself seems to groan in a fit of pique. The story now moves on with the principle characters shifting to young Eric, Molly and Henry having to develop their potential and become the saviours of the Emporium and all it stands for, and so begin a new chapter in the book.

The set pieces are all fairly understated, the action from the toys and the children forms a backdrop of activity that is amusing of interesting in itself, but because it is pretty constant you start to think it’s natural and miss some of it. The narrative takes the form of chapters, with another character Bellini, the Bookbuilder (Ted Ludzik) illustrating the story we are watching whilst Eric performs the voiceover to chapter changes. This is all very well done, and it manages to perform all of the action without any aggression or over the top effects nor resort to visual body part or noise jokes. What it also manages, is to confront the inevitability of death in a way that allows it to seem final, but part of a bigger picture, and not with too much syrup either. The characters are a little flimsy, but they are playing second fiddle to the store, and the working of the imagination, so that does not seem too unnatural – though Portman does seem to be a little half hearted as Molly.

7.5/10, This is a decent family film, if a little limited for the characters, and the quirky twinkle, but the performances are pretty solid and the film moves at a brisk pace. It is in fact all the better for not pretending to be moralistic, it plays it in an old fashioned, simple, but charming way, and even if a little hit and miss, it has a good feel. Would have been a good Christmas release, see it with the kids!