The Last Mimzy [WS]

Director: Robert Shaye Robert Shaye

Overview

An intergalactic package discovered on the beach holds a myriad of fantastic discoveries for siblings Noah and Emma Wilder in The Last Mimzy, studio head-turned-director Bob Shaye's wondrous sci-fi fantasy parable. The children stumble onto their discovery amid a trip to the family beach house, and find inside of the crate strange crystals that Emma levitates with her mind, as well as the Mimzy -- a stuffed bunny with a built-in supercomputer that advances its possessor's brain by great leaps and bounds by whispering into the person's ear. Meanwhile, via interaction with the box and its contents, Noah gains the ability to converse with spiders and instructs them to build miniature bridges. He also etches complex Tibetan mandalas, and somehow manages to black out half of Seattle. The children naturally keep these happenings (and the box) from their mom and dad (Joely Richardson and Timothy Hutton), but in time the kids set their sights higher and embark on correcting huge problems that cannot be missed. Rainn Wilson (The Office) co-stars as the children's hippie science teacher; New Age expert Bruce Joel Rubin (Ghost, Jacob's Ladder) and Toby Emmerich co-authored the script, adapting the 1943 short story Mimsy Were the Borogoves, by Lewis Padgett.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/10/2007
UPC:	0794043109164
Original Release:	2007
Rating:	PG
Source:	New Line Home Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:37:00
Sales rank:	40,037

Special Features

Closed Caption; All-Access Pass features:; Feature-length audio commentary from director Bob Shaye; Roger Waters - "Hello (I Love You)" music video; Deleted scenes with an introduction and audio commentary from director Bob Shaye; Adapting the Story; Bob Shaye: Director Profile; Casting the Kids; Production Design and Concept Art - with optional commentary by director Bob Shaye and production designer Barry Chusid; Real is Good: The Visual Effects; Editing and Music; Theatrical trailer; Beyond-the-MovieTM featurettes:; The Mandala: An Imaginary Palace; The Looking Glass: Emma and Alice; Sound Waves: Listening to the Universe; DNA: The Human Blueprint; Nanotechnology: The Human Revolution; Wormholes: Fantasy or Science; Interactive game

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Chris O'Neil	Noah Wilder
Joely Richardson	Jo Wilder
Timothy Hutton	David Wilder
Rhiannon Leigh Wryn	Emma Wilder
Kathryn Hahn	Naomi Schwartz
Rainn Wilson	Larry White
Michael Clarke Duncan	Nathaniel Broadman
Marc Musso	Harry
Megan McKinnon	Wendy
John Shaw	Dr. Arnold Rose
Camyar Chai	Stu
Irene Snow	Teacher in Meadow
Scott Miller	School Guard,Actor
Kirsten Williamson	Sheila Broadman
Randi Lynne	Julie the Bartender
David Joshi	CPS Officer
Bruce Harwood	FBI Video Technician
Kathleen Duborg	Scientist
Hiro Kanagawa	Scientist
Brian Greene	Scientist
Evan Leeson	Child in Meadow
Eliana MacFarlane	Child in Meadow
Sophia Wik	Child in Meadow,Child in Meadow
Julia Arkos	Kindergarten Teacher
Samuel Polin	Armed Cyborg
Tamatea Westby	Child in Meadow
Philip Brooks	Armed Cyborg
Daniel Bacon	Technician
Jerry Wasserman	Utilities Commissioner
Fred Keating	Police Captain
Dagmar Midcap	Newscaster
Curtis Caravaggio	Intel Scientist
Mackenzie Hamilton	Army Officer
Calum Worthy	Teenage Cyborg
Elias Calogeros	Teenage Cyborg
Caleb Kemble	Child in Meadow
Joanna Coons	Child in Meadow
Grace Walker	Child in Meadow
Elora Penner	Child in Meadow
Sawyer Nicholson	Child in Meadow
Tom Heaton	Future Scientist
John Burnside	Future Scientist's Co-Worker
Carlo Fanella	Technician
Paul Jarrett	Technician
Patrick Gilmore	FBI Task Agent
Chad Cole	FBI Task Force Agent
Kaaren De Zilva	CPS Officer
Nicole Muñoz	Kid with Braces
Chris O'Neill	Actor
Howard Shore	Composer

Technical Credits

Bruce Joel Rubin

Toby Emmerich

Margery Simkin	Casting
Alex Burdett	Special Effects
Heather McCann	Special Effects
Eric Durst	Special Effects
Shandy Lashley	Special Effects
Marny Eng	Stunts
Robert Shaye	Director
Bruce Joel Rubin	Screenwriter
Toby Emmerich	Screenwriter
Michael Phillips	Producer
Sharon Simms	Stunts

Editorial Reviews

As the longtime head of New Line Cinema, Robert Shaye showed a keen talent for coming up with the iconic element that helps sell a big movie. From the creative kills of the Nightmare on Elm Street series to the vast spectacle of the Lord of the Rings films, Shaye built an impressive empire as an executive producer by finding the hook in a movie that makes it memorable. The Last Mimzy was his first attempt at directing a feature, and the finished film definitely reflects his talent for finding and playing up the epic movie moment. The appealing low-tech special effects and the childhood sense of wonder that permeate the film help sell what is actually a very gentle and humanistic story. When it's not inspiring awe with big bangs and moments of excitement, the film offers some lovely passages, particularly the extended sequence where the children (Chris O'Neil and Rhiannon Leigh Wryn) discover the mysterious items sent to them from the future. The two young performers radiate an innocence and an inquisitiveness that's reflected in the overall tone of the film, highlighting the movie's respect for children's innate sense of wonder. These enthralling sections help gloss over the film's imperfections, like clunky scenes that include an overly frightening sequence, lifted shamelessly from E.T., where a happy family moment is shockingly interrupted by uniform-clad government agents who abduct the foursome and place them in black vans. This is one of only two scenes where the film emotionally clobbers the audience, but adults can forgive Shaye these moments because his heart is in the right place. He treats his actors very well, especially Rainn Wilson, who offers welcome support as the young boy's science teacher, giving the children another adult they can trust. Joely Richardson and Timothy Hutton suffer slightly in the roles of the parents, largely because the screenplay seems to arbitrarily change their attitudes and their motivations a from scene to scene. But such discrepancies are easy to dismiss because Shaye understands how to sell the big scenes that stay with an audience after the movie is over.