The world of children’s literature continues to be raped by Hollywood and Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium is its latest victim.

Mr. Magorium (Dustin Hoffman) is a 243 year-old toy storeowner. Don’t dare think it a traditional outfit though. The Wonder Emporium is magical place fueled by the will of belief. Take that away, and the store would wither up and die (literally). Toys come alive and bounce around, bouncing balls bounce on their own, and paper airplanes float around without ever touching the ground.

Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman), Magorium’s store manager, is on the verge of quitting. In her youth, she was considered a prodigy in music but today, she struggles to compose one new piece of music and she thinks it’s because of the store. She doesn’t yet know that Mr. Magorium is planning his retirement.

Magorium has owned this store for over 100 years but has never paid taxes or done any kind of bookkeeping whatsoever. He enlists the assistance of Henry (Jason Bateman – the man who never ages), whom they refer to as Mutant, to figure all of this mess out. Mahoney is a bit suspicious upon his arrival until she learns that Magorium plans on giving her the store when he leaves.

So what’s so important about the detail of Magorium’s age? 243 years is obviously far from a traditional life expectancy. It’s a facet that worked well in the children’s book its based on but in this cinematic adaptation, director Zach Helm uses it to substitute actual character development. We learn about Magorium’s history through jokes instead of events. The history between Mahoney and Magorium is a mystery that makes any emotional attachment quite impossible. We never really learn what makes it so significant.

One thing that is worthy of positive comment is the film’s score – but not all of it. The music, composed by Alexandre Desplat and Aaron Zigman, mostly falls into bland territory during the mayhem parts of the film. There are, however, a few scenes where Mahoney mimes piano playing when the score transforms into a softer, more enthralling tone.

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Imporium just ends up being another film more concerned with visual splendor than captivating storytelling, constantly searching for laughter it can never cause. And the visuals aren’t all that wondrous either. Children under 10 years old may be enchanted but others will be easily bored minutes after the opening credits.