The Last Mimzy

Lumpy and misshapen like a dilapidated stuffed animal, "The Last Mimzy" is a kids movie that wants to be this generation's "E.T." but doesn't know how to get there. An arduous first act of forced character development maps out the identities of brother and sister Noah (Chris O'Neil) and Emma Wilder (Rhiannon Leigh Wryn) who discover a magical black box filled with a strange rock, a seashell and an old stuffed rabbit called Mimzy. Mimzy is a time-travelling alien attempting to assist the kids in inventing a solution to pollution and disease before her race and humanity are wiped out. Noah and Emma suddenly gain phenomenal brainpower and set about inventing a time machine of sorts. The story continually stalls out amid dead-end plot diversions leading to an unsatisfying ending.
The film was adapted from Lewis Padgett's "All Mimsy Were the Borogroves."
Rated PG. 90 mins. (C-) (Two Stars)