The Last Mimzy

Having prospered from his gutsy decision to fund Peter Jackson’s mammoth ‘Lord of The Rings’ trilogy, New Line studio boss Bob Shaye rewards himself by directing this adaptation of Lewis Padgett’s classic 1943 sci-fi short story ‘Mimsy Were The Borogroves’. The central conceit has survived the update, positing a threatened future society which sends children’s toys back in time in the hope of stimulating young minds to save the planet. Here they’re discovered by two kids who keep their find secret from mum and dad (Joely Richardson and Timothy Hutton), making the parents understandably concerned when their son becomes a science genius overnight and their daughter starts levitating. While the youngsters’ whizzo gifts will doubtless appeal to the junior audience, they’re slightly extraneous to the plot, which is big on environmental concern but slightly vague on nuts and bolts, thus inhibiting our involvement overall. Still, occasionally arresting ideas and a non-condescending attitude to its pre-teen protagonists give this more character than many effects-driven family fantasies, even if it’s ultimately too wonky in construction to sweep us along convincingly.