The Last Mimzy

Infobox Film
name = The Last Mimzy


caption = US Promotional poster for "The Last Mimzy"
director = Bob Shaye
producer = Michael Phillips
eproducer = Justis Greene
Sara Risher,br />Bob Shaye
aproducer = Jonna Smith
writer = Short Story:
Henry Kuttner
C.L. Moore
writing together as Lewis Padgett
Screenplay:
Bruce Joel Rubin
Toby Emmerich
James V. Hart
Carol Skilken
starring = Rhiannon Leigh Wryn
Chris O'Neil
Rainn Wilson
Joely Richardson
Timothy Hutton
Michael Clarke Duncan
Megan McKinnon
Marc Musso
Kathryn Hahn
music = Howard Shore
Roger Waters
cinematography = J. Michael Muro
editing = Alan Heim
distributor = New Line Cinema
released = United States:
March 23 2007
runtime = 96 mins
country = United States
awards =
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
amg_id = 1:348997
imdb_id = 0768212

"The Last Mimzy" is a 2007 science fiction family film directed by Bob Shaye and adapted from the acclaimed 1943 science fiction short story "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" authored by Lewis Padgett (the pseudonym of husband and wife team Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore). "The Last Mimzy" centers on two children, Noah (Chris O'Neil) and Emma (Rhiannon Leigh Wryn) Wilder, who develop preternatural powers when they encounter a mysterious box containing strange devices, presumed to be toys.

Plot

Presented as a flashback, "The Last Mimzy" is the story of a distant future's attempt to find a solution, through time travel, to a catastrophic ecological disaster that has destroyed their world. High tech devices, masquerading as toys, are sent back in time into the hands of Noah and Emma, two children who live with their parents Jo (Joely Richardson) and David (Timothy Hutton) in early 21^st century Seattle. The "toys" are mostly incomprehensible to Emma and Noah, except for what appears to be a stuffed rabbit named Mimzy. Sensing the strangeness of the devices, the children initially keep their discovery a secret from their parents.

Interaction with the devices causes the children to develop increased intelligence and psychic capabilities, including teleportation of objects, telepathy, levitation, telekinesis, and the ability to communicate with arthropods. Emma becomes emotionally attached to Mimzy, from which she learns how to further operate the devices. The children's unusual abilities and Emma's obsessive attachment to Mimzy soon alert their parents and schoolteachers to the devices; later, a power black-out of the entire Pacific northwest caused by the toys alerts the FBI to their activities as well. The family is held for questioning, and it is revealed that Mimzy is actually an advanced form of artificial life utilizing nanotechnology created by Intel Corporation. Mimzy has brought a message from humanity's future, which Emma explains to mean that pollution has corrupted humanity's DNA. Many rabbits like Mimzy were sent to the past, but none had successfully returned; Mimzy is the last one remaining. Mimzy explains to the children that they must use the toys as a time machine to return her to the future with uncorrupted 21^st century DNA, which the people of the future can use to correct the damage to their DNA caused by the ecological problems.

Despite attempts by an unbelieving FBI to hinder them, Noah and Emma use their psychic powers to escape with Mimzy and the other objects and are able to initiate the time transport by which Mimzy can return to the future. Fortunately, Mimzy carries with it a tear of Emma's, thus providing the pure DNA required to prevent the disaster. In the new future, Emma is revered as the "mother" of all the present generations, and the children exhibit the same psychic gifts that Emma had developed. The world has become a more beautiful place, where it is presumed that humanity has integrated better into the natural ecosystems.

Main cast

"The Last Mimzy" features an ensemble cast that includes Timothy Hutton, Joely Richardson, Rainn Wilson, Michael Clarke Duncan, Patrick Gilmore, and newcomers Rhiannon Leigh Wryn and Chris O’Neil as the children, Emma and Noah. Well-known string theorist Brian Greene has a cameo appearance as an Intel scientist. Combined, the cast and production team feature six Academy Award winners.Fact|date=November 2007

*Rhiannon Leigh Wryn as Emma Wilder, who discovers the "toys"
*Chris O'Neil as Noah Wilder, Emma's elder brother
*Timothy Hutton as David Wilder, father of Noah and Emma
*Joely Richardson as Jo Wilder, David's wife and mother of the children
*Rainn Wilson as Larry White, Noah's science teacher
*Kathryn Hahn as Naomi Schwartz, Larry's fiancee
*Michael Clarke Duncan as FBI Special Agent Nathaniel Broadman
*Kirsten Williamson as Sheila Broadman, Broadman's wife
*Marc Musso as Harry Jones, Noah's best friend
*Irene Snow as Lena, future teacher
* Kimberly as the cat

Development and production

"The Last Mimzy" is loosely based on the classic science fiction short story "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" by Lewis Padgett, the pen name of collaborators Henry Kuttner & C. L. Moore; the story appeared in John Campbell's magazine "Astounding" in 1943.cite web | last = Norwood | first = Rick | title = Review: The Last Mimzy | work = | publisher = SF Site | date = 2007 | url = http://www.sfsite.com/04b/lm246.htm | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-10-19] Both the film's and short story's titles are derived from third line of the nonsense verse poem "Jabberwocky" in Lewis Carroll's novel "Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There". The adapted screenplay is by Bruce Joel Rubin ("Ghost, Deep Impact") and Toby Emmerich ("Frequency"). [cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Movie Review: The Last Mimzy | work = | publisher = Hollywood.com, Inc. | date = | url = http://www.hollywood.com/review/The_Last_Mimzy/3671874 | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-09-07] The film’s production team also included editor Alan Heim ("All That Jazz, The Notebook") and sound designer Dane Davis ("The Matrix"). Visual effects were created by [http://www.theorphanage.com/ The Orphanage] , and location filming was done in Vancouver, BC and Collingwood School. [cite web | last = Bielik | first = Alain | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Last Mimzy: Magical Reality VFX | work = | publisher = AWN, Inc. | date = March 23, 2007 | url = http://www.vfxworld.com/?sa=adv&code=319b255d&atype=articles&id=3218 | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-09-07]

One result of the adaptation process is that — relative to the short story — the movie is aimed at a younger audience and is more about emotions; the short story is more about ideas. Rick Norwood (The SF Site) writes, "The Last Mimzy has carefully expunged all of the ideas from the story, and replaced them with the New Age nonsense that passes for ideas these days. They have also taken a very personal story about one family and a box of toys from the future and turned it into an epic story in which childlike innocence saves the human race."

Response

Critical response to "The Last Mimzy" ranged from saying it holds appeal for family audiences — especially children — to describing the storyline as cluttered and distracting. Jeannette Catsoulis of "The New York Times" called it, "Wholesome, eager entertainment that doesn't talk down", agreeing with Ken Fox of TV Guide's "Movie Guide" who said it was "a thoughtful and sincere interpretation that might actually get kids and their guardians thinking and talking." ["cite web | last = Catsoulis | first = Jeannette | title = Box to the Future | work = | publisher = The New York Times | date = March 22, 2007 | url = http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/03/22/movies/23mimz.html | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-10-22] ["cite web | last = Fox | first = Ken | title = The Last Mimzy | work = | publisher = TV Guide | date = | url = http://www.tvguide.com/movies/mimzy/review/286671 | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-10-22] Calling the film "lightweight", the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" rated it a "small gem". ["cite web | last = Ringel Gillespie | first = Eleanor | title = A gentle fantasy that takes its cue from "E.T." | work = | publisher = Atlanta Journal-Constitution | date = | url = http://www.accessatlanta.com/movies/movies/etc/getCriticReview.jspd?criticReviewId=2301 | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-10-22] Many of the critics found the plot burdened with irrelevant, distracting elements, saying it "simply collapses under the considerable weight of its many bewildering plot elements". ["cite web | last = Anderson | first = John | title = The Last Mimzy | work = | publisher = Variety | date = February 5, 2007 | url = http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=features2007&content=jump&jump=review&dept=berlin&nav=RBerlin&articleid=VE1117932552&cs=1 | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-10-22] ["cite web | last = Stax | first = | title = An overstuffed mess | work = | publisher = IGN | date = March 22, 2007 | url = http://movies.ign.com/articles/773/773895p1.html | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-10-22] "The Chicago Sun-Times" went as far as to say "The Last Mimzy" is an "emotionless empty shell" compared to "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial". ["cite web | last = Budasi | first = Teresa | title = 'Mimzy' whimsy comes up flimsy | work = | publisher = The Chicago Sun-Times | date = March 23, 2007 | url = http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/movies/309146,WKP-News-mimzy23.article | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-10-22] Critics diverge about the scientific validity of the film. Reviewer Susan Granger said, "There’s some validity to the challenging science depicted in the film, according to Dr. Brian Greene, Columbia University physics professor, and Dr. Susan Smalley, UCLA neurobehavioral genetics professor" [cite web | last = Granger | first = Susan | title = The Last Mimzy | work=| publisher= Alliance of Women Film Journalists| date= | url = http://awfj.org/2007/03/22/susan-granger-reviews-the-last-mimzy/|format=|doi=|accessdate=2007-12-11] .

oundtrack

The soundtrack for the film was composed by Howard Shore, the award winning composer behind the scores of "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy. Former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters also collaborated on a song called "Hello (I Love You)". "I think together we've come up with a song that captures the themes of the movie - the clash between humanity's best and worst instincts, and how a child's innocence can win the day" Roger Waters commented.cite web|title="Hello(I Love you)" article|url=http://www.pr-inside.com/waters-records-film-tune-with-oscar-winning-r37315.htm|author=PR Inside|accessdate=2007-01-16]

Track listing

#"The Mandala" – 1:37
#"Whidbey Island" – 3:21
#"Under The Bed" – 2:46
#"Cuddle" – 1:28
#"Beach" – 1:59
#"Scribbles" – 2:39
#"Blackout" – 3:17
#"Palm Readings" – 4:12
#"I Love The World" – 0:52
#"Help!" – 1:20
#"I Have To Look" – 4:20
#"Can I Talk?" – 5:26
#"Eyes" – 2:15
#"The Tear" – 4:07
#"Through The Looking Glass" – 5:03
#"Hello (I Love You)" (with Roger Waters) – 6:16

References

External links

* [http://www.mimzy.com/ "The Last Mimzy" Official Movie Site]
*imdb title|id=0768212|title=The Last Mimzy
*rotten-tomatoes|id=mimzy|title=The Last Mimzy