Suicide and Mr. Magorium

Did anybody else realize, upon watching Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, that there is a strong suicide-is-okay subtext? Those of us who have lost family members to suicide may have found themselves inexplicably crying upon realizing that this movie is (partially) about suicide. The main character rationally describes his plan to “leave” at a particular time, for no particular reason. The other characters keep asking, “Why,” just like families ask after there is a suicide.

I found that part cathartic and therapeutic–an artistic interpretation of how some people go on to “leave,” and some of the ramifications of their decision.

Of course it was also about magical toys and all that, and my kid loved it. It captures some of what was so great about going to a toy store when I was little–seemed like anything could be possible. The characters, even the mean ones, were drawn with love. Sure, the picture had some problems, but not too many children’s films (or adult films for that matter) tread this territory.

I can picture the meeting with the studio chief: “Ok, I’ve got this script I wrote, it’s a magic-toy kiddie movie that addresses some weighty adult issues like suicide and loss. Think Jumanji meets Terms of Endearment. What do you think?” Silence. Then, “Does it have a little bee that makes zany wisecracks?” I think these Hollywood types love the word zany–it’s on the box for The Three Amigos (VHS). I don’t see it in any other context.

I have read some of the reviews, and did not find much attention paid to this subtext of the film. Perhaps the writer/director didn’t intentionally include these things, but I suspect he did. Not too many hits when searching Google for “suicide” and “magorium” on the same page. Perhaps the writer/director would be happy to know that even though the movie isn’t taking in as many dollars as the (far inferior) Bee Movie, it affected me in a far more profound way. I’ll bet there was a suicide in that family.

See what you think about this: I got a similar reaction about Hollywoodland, that was also missed by the reviewers. In that movie, there was a potboiler-style exploration of why George Reeves would have been murdered, yet the ending shows a sad guy with problems who eventually just kills himself. This is a sensitive way of showing this concept: when you have a suicide in the family, people construct these elaborate explanations for what happened, yet in the end, it was just a desire for oblivion that led to the final act.

I am not a very faithful blogger, but I will post when I have an original interesting thought.