Laughter and Whimsy: Great Places to be..

This movie isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it has just the right amount of fantasy and bizarreness for my taste. It is imaginative, sweet, poignant, whimsical, witty and visually stunning. At the same time, it is off-center and strange and would make a good cult classic some day.

This movie didn't do well at the box office, but I really enjoyed it and feel that it had too deep a message for kids, and I think it was marketed incorrectly.

Robin Williams plays Leslie Zevo, the son of a rich eccentric toymaker. His sister, Alsatia, is played by Joan Cusak. When their father, Kenneth Zevo (Donald O'Connor) dies, he leaves the business to his brother, The General (Michael Gambon), because he feels his children are too immature and not capable of running the factory. The General runs the factory in his military fashion, and changes the toys from sweet peaceful toys, to military weapons and war toys.

Robin Wright plays Gwen Tyler, Leslie's girlfriend. There are a few tender moments concerning their relationship.

When Leslie realizes what his uncle is up to in the toy factory, he decides to take matters into his own hands and fights back the only way he knows how, by using the toys themselves!

There are a lot of sweet moments in this film, especially between Leslie and his sister, Alsatia. There is a strange plot twist concerning Alsatia, as well. But the second half of the movie is very strange and becomes kind of heavy for children to watch. I wouldn't recommend this one for small children, but I would recommend it to be watched for the unique-ness and weirdness that will make it an odd treasure and a cult classic. A neat one to own.