DVD Release Date:  July 10, 2007
Theatrical Release Date:  March 23, 2007
Rating:  PG (for thematic material, mild peril, mild language)
Genre:  Sci-fi/Family
Run Time:  90 min.
Director:  Robert Shaye
Actors:  Chris O’Neil, Rhiannon Leigh Wryn, Joely Richardson, Timothy Hutton, Rainn Wilson, Kathryn Hahn, Michael Clarke Duncan

While a movie with a stuffed bunny as a central character may seem innocuous enough, the masterminds behind The Last Mimzy showcase a Hollywood brand of spirituality that’s not particularly subtle as everything from Buddhism to astrology to new age philosophies get major screen time.

Of course, none of these beliefs are embraced exclusively, as they’re all woven throughout the course of the film. But they’re all presented in a matter meant to be enticing to children, whether they’re talking about magical crystals, palm reading, levitation or the universe speaking to you.

Adapted from Lewis Padgett’s All Mimsy Were the Borogroves, a title drawn from Lewis Carroll’s The Jabberwocky, The Last Mimzy is the story of what happens when two seemingly ordinary (and adorable) children, Noah (Chris O’Neil) and Emma (Rhiannon Leigh Wryn) discover a mysterious box of “toys” near their Seattle vacation home.

While the box itself is cryptic enough with its curious inscriptions, ability to expand and collapse at a moment’s notice and whale-like sound effects, its contents are even more puzzling. There’s an ornate sea-shell, beautiful glass “spinners” and the piece-de-resistance, an antique stuffed rabbit, the Mimzy, that Emma becomes rather attached to in a hurry.

But as you may have gathered from the trailers, Mimzy isn’t the sort of stuffed animal kids will find in their Easter baskets in a few weeks. Instead, Mimzy is an emissary from the future who speaks in a language only Emma can understand. Turns out Mimzy needs Emma’s help to return to her time with something from the present to rescue humanity from pollution and disease.

Um, ok.

And if the premise wasn’t confusing or far-fetched enough, Emma and Noah keep the plot to save the planet from their Mom and Dad, even though they’re portrayed as this tight-knit family in the beginning. From the get-go, we see Noah’s busy dad (Timothy Hutton) sit down for a heart-to-heart with Noah after he faces troubles at school while Mom (Joely Richardson) cuddles with her daughter, yet they don’t bother to share this with them? That detail aside, there’s a real sense that it’s the kids who are in control for the better part of 90 minutes, even when their parents ask them to get rid of these “toys” later on.