Has anyone seen this movie? What do you think?

I haven't seen the movie, but I thought it would be something the kids would like. However, after reading some interviews with the writers, I'm not so sure. I have picked my screenplay back up, dusted it off, and am setting to work, and I'm just now catching up on my industry reading.

The Last Mimzy is based on a 1940's short story by Lewis Padgett, the pen name for a couple of people who wrote short stories for the pulps of that time. Unfortunately, the story the movie is based on ("Mimsy Were the Borogroves") ends rather suddenly (the kids disappear into the alien world. The End!) so the original writer (Bruce Joel Rubin) of the screenplay was pressed into service not only to adapt the work, but to give it a suitable Hollywood ending. That was 8 years ago, and the project languished as a few other writers were brought in to give it a try.

Finally, Rubin hit on a winning formula: Buddhism. It seems that in Eastern philosophy, toys have a metaphysical meaning and are not just playthings; they are linked to reincarnation in some way. What that way is, I don't know, as I have not studied it extensively (or even bothered to check Wikipedia). The movie was purposely written to incorporate as much of this Eastern Mysticism as possible.

I just checked the review of the film on the Focus on the Family site, and they picked up on those elements as well.

Any thoughts?

BTW, "Mimsy", originally from the Lewis Caroll poem The Jabberwocky, means "miserable and flimsy". I think I've found a new word for Happy Meal toys!

Labels: Family Life, movies