The Last Mimzy Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
The future is trying to tell us something.
An intergalactic package from light years away unleashes an adventure beyond imagination [DVD]
The siblings Noah and Emma travel with their mother Jo from Seattle to the family cottage in Whidbey Island to spend a couple of days while their workaholic father David Wilder is working. They find a box of toys from the future in the water and bring it home, and Emma finds a stuffed rabbit called Mimzy, and stones and a weird object, but they hide their findings from their parents. Mimzy talks telepathically to Emma and the siblings develop special abilities, increasing their intelligences to the level of genius. Their father becomes very proud when Noah presents a magnificent design in the fair of science and technology, and his teacher Larry White and his mystic wife Naomi Schwartz become interested in the boy when he draws a mandala. When Noah accidentally assembles the objects and activates a powerful generator creating a blackout in the state, the FBI arrests the family trying to disclose the mystery. But Emma unravels the importance to send Mimzy back to the future.
| Chris O'Neil | Noah Wilder |
| Rhiannon Leigh Wryn | Emma Wilder |
| Joely Richardson | Jo Wilder |
| Timothy Hutton | David Wilder |
| Rainn Wilson | Larry White |
| Kathryn Hahn | Naomi Schwartz |
| Michael Clarke Duncan | Nathanial Broadman |
| Kirsten Williamson | Sheila Broadman |
| Irene Snow | Teacher in Meadow |
| Marc Musso | Harry Jones |
| Nicole Muñoz | Girl with Braces |
| Scott E. Miller | School Guard |
| Megan McKinnon | Wendy |
| Randi Lynne | Julie the Babysitter |
| Tom Heaton | Future Scientist |
| Robert Shaye |
6.50 out of 10 (6131 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Possibly one of the worst movies I've ever seen
posted on 29 Jul 2009I don't usually rate movies 1 out of 10, but this movie falls in that category. Everything about this movie is bad, from the horrible acting performances of the two lead kids to the plot that can't hold itself up. Not only was it not well made, it was not interesting whatsoever. I was trying to fall asleep but I couldn't. Not only that, though. Everyone I saw the movie didn't like it. If a group of six different people all agree that a movie is bad, they're probably right. The movie had no appeal at all to the six completely different personalities. Also to be noted is the shabby direction. Part of directing is not just planning how each scene is shot, but it's directing the actors involved in the film. It takes a good director to direct a child actor and turn it into a good performance, and the director of this movie didn't even come close. The two lead kids literally just said their lines and went through motions, without feeling. Please, do yourself a favor and see something else instead.
The Last Mimzy!!!!!!
posted on 25 Jul 2009Hear again is a film that the whole family must see. For first time child actor Chris O'Neil delvers a knock out performance. This film is about to kids brother and sister whom wind up involved in saving the future of mankind . It is a flight of fancy for any stray eyed child with an active imagination or even a stray eyed adult with a not so active imagination will get a kick out of this film. It is a true must see. I give it a both thumbs up and Sisco and Ebert would.And four stars a true Golden Globe winner, a Emmy award winning masterpiece. I would say it is as good as Harry Potter and Between you and me that is saying something! To quote a famous headmaster of Hog warts School of Witch craft and Wizardry Please Enjoy this film with the family! And a large bowl of hot buttery popcorn! yours truly Sean the Movie Guy
Found beach objects turn kids into baffling geniuses
posted on 21 Jul 2009Kids under, say, 8 years old might be confused at times, but otherwise this is a great family flick. The two kids, played by Rhiannon Leigh Wryn and Chris O'Neil, really steal the show. Seriously, Rhiannon gives Abigail Brelin a run for her money. I also really liked Rainn Wilson as the science teacher. This movie doesn't tug at your heartstrings as does E.T., but the plot is more interesting. It's also nice to see good special effects that don't involve hordes of killer robots or bloodthirsty creatures. There are some funny moments, such as when the amazing bunny is found to have INTEL etched inside on one of its nano-sized microchips (for those who don't know, IBM once arranged individual electrons on a plate that, when viewed through an electron microscope, spelled out IBM). The "mimsy" in the title refers to a word in a nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll, "all mimsy were the borogroves, and the mome rath outgrabe." Makes perfect sense to me. Say, about that mandala you just drew...
A sense of wonder
posted on 11 Jul 2009Delightful little fantasy/sci-fi movie with two precocious kids in the all dominating lead. Some fairly advanced teachers that definitely doesn't talk down to the children and a prototypical white upper middle class family complete with overworked dad, stay at home mom and happiness seemingly a given. The kids 11+6 I would guess, find a strange artifact on the beach and start developing skills and a sense of the world around them not usually found in kids these days :-) From there we get a look into Buddhism, nanotechnology, wormholes, a little environment lesson and other stuff not found in many family movies that are usually so stupid it would make you barf... If you can look past product placements that are rampant throughout, then this is one of the better family movies almost on par with E.T.
The more I think about it
posted on 05 Jul 2009the less I like it.First off - these parents didn't act like parents. They show no real concern for what is happening to their children. When the boy teaches spiders to create the bridge, especially after a lifetime as a mediocre student, I'd have him off to a psychiatrist, pronto! Secondly - the irritating science teacher!!! I despise the fuzzy, magical thinking him and his "girlfriend" espoused. Any "science" teacher spouting that crap needs to be fired.Third - the irritating girlfriend of the science teacher!!! Who honestly believes in palmistry in this day and age! Fourth - Michael Clark Duncan - really, what the heck! After everything that happened, everything he knows, he just walks away? Give me a break. In this day and age, any FBI/CIA/NSA/Men in Black operative who walked away, would be fired and charged with dereliction of duty.Fifth - the detention facility the family was taken too. Only one camera in the whole place? Nothing is secured? No guards? Sixth - a ten year-old driving a big van? In Seattle? Two kids beside the road in the middle of nowhere for an extended time. Nobody came by at all? Seventh - the science teacher and his dreams? Why the heck is he having dreams about what the kids are doing? He hasn't been exposed to the toys.Those are just some of the major problems with this mockery of the wonderful Lewis Padgett (Kuttner & Moore) story from the 1940s.
Yada... yada... yada...
posted on 05 Jul 2009I have never read the book, which this movie is based upon, so I have no point-of-reference for comparison.All in all I thought this movie was perfectly appropriate for families, although from reading reviewers comments on another website, you'd think 'The Last Mimzy' had some kind of subversive plot. One parent said it was 'liberal doctrine' and another focused on the fact that it shows people who actually believe in Eastern philosophies and practices. Wow! You mean there are other religions besides Christianity out there?! Then they must be liberal in nature and are trying to wreak havoc on the traditional, family-values we all hold so dear.I am a Christian and had absolutely no problems with the ideas proposed by other points-of-view. Maybe you might have to walk out of the theater with some explanations of how other cultures see the world and their place in it, but that's part of the magic of this movie. 'The Last Mimzy' was by no means 'liberal doctrine' unless you think showing a different perspective as a threat.Personally, the weakest parts of the movie for me was the uneven direction and the point where I asked "Why is Michael Clark Duncan in this film?" He didn't really add much to it. The kids were believable and Timothy Hutton did a decent job. The effects were all-in-all low-key, but necessary. Before you judge this film for showing the mysteries of Eastern beliefs, try watching it with an open mind. It didn't give me the same vibe as 'E.T.' or 'Close Encounters', but it did a good job as being an entertaining family film.
Think "12 Monkeys" but a bunny steps in for Bruce Willis
posted on 23 Jun 2009If I were to come up with a one sentence of "The Last Mimzy" it would be: New age tree hugging proselytizing wrapped in a children's film.Deploying a panoply of New Age pablums such as the interconnectedness of the universe and a kind of whitebread version of Far East mysticism, "The Last Mimzy" is nonetheless fun and stimulating to watch. Anything that can theoretically challenge the dumbing down of my children by the Disney Channel is, frankly, welcome.My daughter, a very bright girl if I do say so, was mentally energized after seeing "The Last Mimzy" and couldn't stop talking about it. Five points minimum right there.The visuals strike me vaguely as derivative of Bucky Fuller's concept of Synergistics or the Dymaxion, concepts which were precursors to his famous geodesic domes - the sum being greater than the parts basically.At its best, this film engages the imagination of both adults and children. The premise--a bunny sent back in time to save all of humanity--on its surface seems very silly, but somehow it works. It works because we know intuitively that children are often the only ones with the innocence and purity and that certain clarity of intelligence to communicate seemingly impossible ideas - the faith of a child in action. The people of the future still understand this too.I didn't find Mimzy's "New Agey" feel overdone and it worked cleverly for its intended premise.One thing that was very wrong about the movie was the overt product placement of Intel in a particular scene Though I suspect Intel rarely gets a chance where product placement even makes sense in a movie it was really inappropriate. Still, an extremely worthwhile film amid today's teen-oriented drivel.
Excellent Film
posted on 15 Jun 2009I have read a number of the low rating reviews and I have to conclude that these reviewers either a) didn't actually see the film or b)have an grotesquely jaundiced view of the world (Actually exactly the sort of people the film sees as 'poisoning' our environment right now). I thought all the characters responded quite accurately to the circumstances they encountered in the film and were themselves believable types from the real world. The Mimzy was a sophisticated device for identifying a subject and collecting DNA from the past. It's non- threatening approach was in tune with the elevated moral standards of a future society. All the actors did an excellent job with their roles however modest they were and the end result is a joy to watch.
Good Product Placement?
posted on 09 Jun 2009(I loved it, it was sweet, but this is a specific reply to some other comments)In fact this was an example of really good product placement in the sense that it actually carries an important plot element. It's *not* gratuitous. By showing that, at a nanotech-level, the innards of Mimzy were constructed by Intel (and then having a character who was *from* Intel saying "we're *eons* away from being able to do this) *tells* us, and the people in the story (not that many were really paying attention) that this is something sent from the future and *not* anything to do with aliens.And yet people still seem to think it's about aliens, ET and all that. Do pay attention. :-)In fact I was thinking, watching it, "Sufficiently Advanced Technology"...(Marked as a spoiler to be safe but really if you're paying attention to the prologue it's not, really.)
disappointed
posted on 03 Jun 2009i felt that this movie really should not of been compared to ET. ET was a excellent movie that you could see over and over. i went to see this on the premise that it was to be an ET alike it was not. i was bored but stayed with the movie hoping it went another way it didn't. i could not understand mimzy and it was kind of to far out there with the rabbit. ET we were able to understand him by himself. it never stop disappointing me. the characters of the mom and dad were really a bad portrayal of parents and disappointing. getting rid of something is not throwing it in the garbage by the house. using an island was really poor as we cant get to the island at nite the ferry does not run. the kids were good i loved emma she was wonderful. i don't really now what else to say but i found the movie one i would of liked if it was more like ET. i can not recommend this movie to other people sorry.
Terrific!
posted on 18 May 2009For those who loved E.T. and movies of that genre where your can lose yourselves in the movie and let your imaginations expand, you will particularly enjoy "The Last Mimzy." The children's portrayals were believable - not only in their interaction as brother and sister, but in the adventure they were pursuing. You'll be surprised how easily you are sucked into the plot, and how you want to join Emma and Noah in their discoveries.There scenery is remarkable and the special effects, as well. If you wear glasses, be certain to bring them with you.For those of you are "young at heart," you're going to find yourself quite literally immersed in this movie.
OMG this was a great movie
posted on 16 May 2009I had expected a good movie from what the adds showed but this was better than I expected. This is not just a kids SIFI movie. I can't define what kind of move it is but it was outstanding. It's great for a family. I hope there is some sort of sequel. Thank God that some good movies sneak out of Hollywood ever once in a while. I am so tired of the crappy horror, special effect, no plot, action movies the they seem to keep turning out. Hollywood listen up give us more movies like this. Even though this was a fairly long movie I wish it had been longer. Oh the cast was amazing. I only knew T. Hutton and the lady form (Crossing Jordon) before this. They all did a great job and the plot was cool. Please give us some more nice movies like this. Oh I had to pay full price to see this I almost never do that.
A Nutshell Review: The Last Mimzy
posted on 14 May 2009Directed by the current CEO of New Line Cinema, The Last Mimzy is a children's fantasy movie which goes along the grains of having its children protagonists developing special powers, communicating with one another and with an alien object that no adult (or anyone else for that matter) can, and to help save some futuristic civilization. Sounds like a typical walk in the park for any children's movie you might add.The Wilder siblings Noah (Chris O'Neil) and Emma (Rhiannon Leigh Wryn) find a mysterious box with strange markings, containing some weird toys, amongst which includes a harmless looking soft toy bunny christened Mimzy. Soon enough Noah starts developing intellectual prowess bordering on genius and like Peter Parker would do without eyeglasses, while Emma, with Mimzy clutched closely to chest, starts to exhibit powers that a psychic would, in addition to being able to play five stones that float and with a light show included.As parents and adults (Noah's schoolteacher and his wife), they have a natural tendency for disbelief and to second guess the children, as all adults would in a made for children's movie. And the authorities are hunting for them, just as they would, as targets of a resulting city wide blackout.If anything, the chemistry between the child actors playing the siblings is believable enough, and you would agree with me that Rhiannon Leigh Wryn is adorable as the kid sister whose innocence and love play a crucial role in the movie's plot. There are a few moments with injected humour, which I thought Asian audiences would identify with immediately with Kathryn Hahn's role as a "numbers" obsessed lady, and for technical geeks, watch out for that logo (I've actually had a friend who was expecting it to pop out, and to our surprise, it did!)Expect the rudimentary plot development, characters as well as special effects that are just functional rather than to wow. It should serve as pretty interesting for a kid, but for an adult, we would have already seen other more superior stories, beginning with Spielberg's ET.
Silly Rabbit, Quantum Physics is For Kids?!?
posted on 12 May 2009Upon seeing The Last Mimzy, I can't help but describe it as E.T. with a stuffed rabbit, under the influence of John Titor (look him up!). When two siblings, Noah and Emma, find a bizarre chest near the family beach house they discover that it is filled with all sorts of quantum wonders, which seemingly increase the kids intelligence, give them bizarre metaphysical powers, and alienate them from their parents.This film is very interesting, but sort of misses its target audience. In a film that explores Tibetan ideology, quantum physics, and the space time continuum, it seems very strange to have the heroes as children. This angle does allow the fillmmakers to explore theories about how children often see things beyond adults because their brains work at a higher level, but they're also pitching this theory to children who don't have enough life experience to understand any of it, and adults who, well, are operating at a lower level of brain activity than the children.The name Mimzy comes from one of the toys, a stuffed rabbit, that Emma (Rhiannon Leigh Wryn) quickly becomes attached to, and believes is telling her things. Noah (Chris O'Neil), on the other hand, becomes intrigued by the box's "engine," and soon finds that he can hear spiders and teleport cans of soda.As all of these things begin happening, a larger puzzle looms and Noah's teacher (Rainn Wilson in a typical, but enjoyable role for him) starts to believe that Noah may be a special child as indicated in certain Tibetan beliefs. The children's parents, however, are not ready to buy into any hippie mumbo jumbo and are concerned for their children who only seem to interact with each other.Add Michael Clarke Duncan as an operative of Homeland Security and you have a presumed terrorism plot that puts the children and their toys at the center. But there's nothing terrorist about it. In fact, I wouldn't have minded the children having found Mimzy at the Circle K as all of their actions in the days that follow, will effect a doomed future.As someone who loved What The Bleep Do We Know?!?, devoured the books of Carlos Castaneda at the pace of a fat kid left alone in a pastry shop, and loved the darker fairy tale elements of Pan's Labyrinth, I really enjoyed this film. Somewhere it is missing something that would make it perfect and I really believe it's the mixing of a perfectly good quantum tale with children's' fare, but I really can't think of any other way to tell the story. It has a fairy tale element and even touches upon the magic of Alice in Wonderland, as our heroes themselves seem to be following Mimzy down the rabbit hole.Feel free to take the kids and enjoy a great family adventure, but be ready for the younger set to shift and squirm, possibly becoming bored ... if it's children over 12, though, this is going to be a fun discussion-filled car ride home!
Very entertaining, but with huge plot holes.
posted on 04 May 2009I took my two nephews (13 & 15) to an advance screening just now and we all liked the movie. Although, to enjoy it requires a very high level of "suspension of disbelief". A lot of things do not make sense, circumstances that would never happen and some things that just go nowhere in the movie all led to us making fun of the movie afterward. BUT, we all still enjoyed the movie and thought it was good. It is pretty much a high grade B movie. I went after reading the comments on here and was a little cautious because all of the first comments were horrible and then the latest ones were all perfect so I figured "people" were fluffing the votes to get people to go see it because of it's release next weekend and that is why I am posting this. You might want to wait for DVD or go to a twilight viewing(we paid $4 each), but I would not have been mad if I had paid full price. Sorry for the uneven review (kind of like the movie itself), it is my first.
A Great Family Film
posted on 18 Apr 2009There are not many movies you can take the whole family to see these days. Our ten year old son really wanted to see The Last Mimzy so we went to a sneak screening last Saturday night. I was very pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the film as much as I did. My wife liked it even better. Our two other kids (daughter 12, youngest son 7) along with our son had a great time.Kids will really be able to identify with the brother and sister in the movie. They seemed very real. The kids' lives at school and their relationships with their parents and teacher seemed true. This is a story about a regular family with all the ups and downs of everyday regular life.Then, the story takes off. I don't want to give away anything about the plot because the surprises that gently unfold are what you and your family will enjoy about the movie. There are elements of science fiction and fantasy with nothing extremely intense to scare the kids. It's an interesting story told well with characters you care about. The visual effects are well done.I liked that the movie does not talk down to kids to get its ideas across. My wife and I also liked that the language and situations were truly appropriate for a family film. My kids all want to see the movie again and the movie is definitely good enough to see a second time.
Get anyone this feeling???
posted on 16 Apr 2009As a movie, you know the criteria of a movie, screenplay, producing, directing, art directing... This movie have all of this at an average note of 8. BUT... All the time I've been in a very familiarly pleasure... Like listening the Shine on You Crazy Dimond... And, after the movie was finished I was understanding that feeling. Roger Waters have a score at the end. Nothing more... The movie was very good crafted on the story, and the story was, and the plot of the backstory, stratificated very good in the movie. Cool small CG's, relevant actions in the cutting, good photography, good directing. The boy was terrible, with the small accent, the small girl was very sweet... The story it revealed it self very smoothly in time... It is a good movie, family movie, peacefully movie... I enjoy it very much!
Delightful and Refreshing
posted on 12 Apr 2009The siblings Noah (Chris O'Neal) and Emma (Rhiannon Leigh Wryn) travel with their mother Jo (Joely Richardson) from Seattle to the family cottage in Whidbey Island to spend a couple of days while their workaholic father David Wilder (Timothy Hutton) is working. They find a box of toys from the future in the water and bring it home, and Emma finds a stuffed rabbit called Mimzy, and stones and a weird object, but they hide their findings from their parents. Mimzy talks telepathically to Emma and the siblings develop special abilities, increasing their intelligences to the level of genius. Their father becomes very proud when Noah presents a magnificent design in the fair of science and technology, and his teacher Larry White (Rainn Wilson) and his mystic wife Naomi Schwartz (Kathryn Hahn) become interested in the boy when he draws a mandala. When Noah accidentally assembles the objects and activates a powerful generator creating a blackout in the state, the FBI arrests the family trying to disclose the mystery. But Emma unravels the importance to send Mimzy back to the future."The Last Mimzy" is a delightful and refreshing sci-fi story and a great family entertainment. Seven years old Rhiannon Leigh Wryn and thirteen years old Chris O'Neal are excellent in the lead roles of smart siblings but the adult support cast have many disappointing lines and attitudes. The screenplay discloses since the very beginning that Mimzy was sent from the future to save the human race, therefore there is no surprise or twist in the end. I did not have a great expectation in this adventure, and I had a wonderful surprise. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Mimzy, A Chave do Universo" ("Mimzy, The Key of the Universe")
The Easter Bunny phones home
posted on 04 Apr 2009"The Last Mimzy" is such a shameless and unabashed rip-off of "E.T.-The Extra Terrestrial" that Steven Spielberg ought to sue its makers for the blatant copyright infringement of his own material.Noah and Emma Wilder are two Seattle youngsters who discover a mysterious box floating in the ocean. Upon opening it, the children find it contains several abnormal objects including an odd stuffed-animal rabbit that calls itself Mimzy and speaks in a garbled, incomprehensible language to the little girl. In addition, the children themselves become endowed with strange preternatural knowledge and extrasensory powers as a result of their encounter with the material. The first part of the movie is dedicated to the kids' efforts to hide the secret from their parents, while the second involves the government scientist's typically clumsy efforts at studying the bizarre phenomenon.Virtually every major idea from "E.T." manages, at some point or other, to find its way into this film, starting with the basic alien-from-outer-space-being-hidden-by-adorable-children scenario, then heading on from there. The other similarities include the psychic connection between alien and child, the frightened, uncomprehending adults, the threatening government officials, the seemingly dying alien, and the kids' stealing of a vehicle in an effort to outrun the authorities. This is certainly not the first movie to try to siphon off some of "E.T."'s irreproducible charms for its own benefit ("Short Circuit," "The Iron Giant" and "The Indian in the Cupboard" come first to mind), but it is definitely the creepiest and most New Age-y of the lot. Then, after all is said and done, the screenplay gives us an anticlimactic epilogue so convoluted and muddled that Stephen Hawking himself would have trouble comprehending it.As Noah and Emma, Chris O'Neill and Rhiannon Leigh Wryn don't exactly set the screen on fire with their performances, but they are at least adequate to the task they are called on to fulfill - which is more than can be said for Timothy Hutton, Joely Richardson, Rainn Wilson and Michael Clark Duncan who are stranded in poorly written roles as the various adults on hand.Forget about phoning home; E.T. should be calling his lawyer.
Nice...but not a home run.
posted on 29 Jul 2009Okay, I like the message of "The Last Mimzy." I like the gentleness and purity of the basic story. So I really wish I could say this was as good as "ET" or "The Wizard Of Oz" or any other great movie that appealed to both kids and adults...but nothing about it really fits.The story has promise -- Toys from the future are sent back to the past. They're found by a couple of very average kids living in Seattle, who use them to see the universe in new ways as they help the toys achieve their goal of finding some way of saving the future from the ruination of the past. There are moments of pure magic -- like when Noah, the ten-year-old boy, learns sounds can affect how a spider builds its webs, and when Emma, his five-year-old sister, sets the "spinners" going the first time.But nothing about this movie quite works. Not completely. Oh, the kids -- Chris O'Neal and Rhiannon Leigh Wryn -- do a good enough job of acting, especially considering how young they are and it's the first time they've been in front of a film camera. Rhiannon is startling natural in many ways, and Chris closely matches her. And Timothy Hutton, Joely Richardson and Michael Clarke Ward do well enough with poorly written roles. And therein lies much of the problem -- the script and choice of director.Bob Shaye has produced dozens of movies, so he probably thought he'd learned something about pacing and the shaping of an exciting story that is true to its universe. Instead, he comes across as a beginner. He's so focused on keeping the action going, he forgets to let the story breathe and grow. Maybe that was the way the script was written, but I doubt it. It seems like entire scenes have been cut because they didn't "move things along" in the way some action-adventure genre film might need. I especially miss the development of Noah going from a "C-" drub to a genius science engineer. All we're given is him looking at that spider, doing something on a computer and then BANG -- he's got a science project about bridges across the universe. It's like Shaye didn't know how to dramatize it, so just didn't. And many of the scenes' pacing is off -- like with the kids in the school. Boys tend to jump over each other, verbally, when they're talking; they don't talk, wait for you to talk, then talk. And the kids in this script don't use the same vocabulary as regular kids. Even the scene where the Feds break in -- usually a slam-dunk -- is done so amateurishly, it's disconcerting.Of course, the dialog IS what came out of the script, and much of it's lame. Simplistic. Unreal. The scene where Rainn Wilson and his fiancée meet with Joely to discuss Noah is brutal evidence of this. Nothing about it comes across as real or human...and that's the scriptwriting, not the acting or directing.The special effects are nice if a bit cheap. I love the look of Seattle and its environs as a way of showing what we're about to lose if we don't wise up. There are a couple of nightmarish moments that may scare kids under eight, but they work within the context of the story.Y'know...if they'd just had someone who knows kids' stories do a pass on the script and let someone else direct this movie, it would've been hit out of the park. Instead, I'm willing to give it a double for effort and intent. But man...why couldn't it have been a home run?