New Line Cinema’s The Last Mimzy is a radically updated version of “Mimsy Were the Borogoves,” a short story by Lewis Padgett, which appeared in the February 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction.
Obviously updated, the movie is chock-full of modern sensibilities (a return to nature is good; beware the overbearing government; too much technology can be dehumanizing). And while ordinarily I’d find such a thing preachy, in this movie, it works. It’s a great science fictional story about an attempt to save the world, human evolution, and scientific advances based on plausible, present-day science (the publicity material goes out of its way to tell us just how real-to-life the scientific extrapolation is, but anyone reading Analog knows that it would have to be to have appeared in those prestigious pages).
The child-stars are perfect in their roles, and the supporting cast around them let them do their thing. The special effects aren’t overwhelming, but do provide exactly the visuals needed when they’re needed. There were a few unbelievable parts (specifically adult reactions), but overall, I’d recommend this movie.
Below is more of a plot description with spoilers.
Avoid it if you’d rather not know.
The Last Mimzy is set in three different time-frames. It starts in the far future, in an idyllic Earth with clean blue skies, gorgeous wildflowers everywhere, environmentally harmonic architecture, and smart children learning in a nurturing field. The teacher is telling them of a dark time in history—a time when the Earth was threatened and near destruction—and of the scientist frantically working to save his world from almost-certain death. That scientist has discovered a way to send objects through time, and he knows that the solution to all his problems lies in the past. Unfortunately, he hasn’t had much luck, and he’s down to his last possible attempt. He prepares his strange package and sends in interdimensionally into the past.
And then the story begins. Ten-year-old Noah and his five-year-old sister Emma are normal kids living in the world of the day after tomorrow; video technology everywhere, security concerns on everyone’s mind, and interpersonal relationships nearly moribund. On a vacation at the beach, they discover something strange in the surf. The “toys” they find in the box can’t really be seen by their parents, but they grab Noah and Emma’s attention away from the technology that had held them captive.
As they play with the toys, in secret, they develop abilities far beyond their years. Noah seems to be turning into a supergenius right before our eyes, and Emma knows things she couldn’t possibly, thanks to the stuffed rabbit, Mimzy, that came in the box.
Noah’s hippie science teacher, who studied in Tibet, recognizes in his doodlings ancient mandalas, and realizes he has something far more than an average ten-year-old in his class. Noah’s sudden interest in science, and ground-breaking technology that wins him the science fair, are only a few of the outward manifestations of their changes.
After two of the “toys” merge and short out the city’s electric grid, the Department of Homeland Security gets involved, and they track the blackout to Noah and Emma’s house. The family is taken into custody for investigation, and the scientists discover just how odd the toys are. An electron microscope image of one of them proves that the toys are neither an alien invasion nor the work of a foreign power, and everyone is stumped.
Finally, Mimzy tells Emma what she needs to do, and she and Noah are able to easily escape. They manage to use all the toys properly to send Mimzy back to the future, with the information the scientist needed to save his world, and the timeline is saved.
—Ian Randal Strock