Mara Wilson Movies
Capturing movie lover's hearts with undeniably adorable performances in such features as Mrs. Doubtfire and Matilda (1996), young starlet Mara Wilson seemed poised to take Hollywood by storm. Though she was seemingly born to essay the role of author Roald Dahl's telekinetic youngster Matilda in the feature of the same name, Wilson remained curiously absent from the screen following her role in the 2000 family film Thomas and the Magic Railroad. A Los Angeles native who got her start onscreen with the 1993 comedy Mrs. Doubtfire, the role ultimately found Wilson catching the eye of filmmaker John Hughes and cast in his 1994 remake Miracle on 34th Street. Though the film paled in comparison to the original classic and was quickly lost in the shuffle, the quality of her performance was undeniable, and it was only two short years before she took the lead in the charming family comedy Matilda. A quirky adaptation of the classic Dahl tale, the film captured the tone of the book spot-on, thanks in no small part to Wilson's memorable performance. Due to the fact that follow-up roles in A Simple Wish (1997) and Thomas and the Magic Railroad succeeded in charming audiences as never before, her subsequent absence from the screen remained all the more curious. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
The internationally popular children's television program Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (shown in the United States as part of the PBS series Shining Time Station) makes its way onto the big screen in this feature-length adventure. On her way to see her Grandpa Burnett (Peter Fonda), young Lily (Mara Wilson) gets on the wrong train and ends up lost. Fortunately, she meets the tiny Mr. Conductor (Alec Baldwin), who shows her a magical railway where the plucky little steam engine Thomas (voice of John Bellis) pulls the line from the enchanted town of Shining Time to the island of Sodor. Thomas' rival is the bigger (and meaner) Diesel Ten, who has already put one of Thomas' allied engines, The Lady, out of commission. Without The Lady, the Conductor has no source for the magic gold dust that allows him to travel from Sodor to Shining Time in the wink of an eye, so Lily and Thomas have to find a way to find more for him. Thomas and the Magic Railroad also features Didi Conn as Stacy Jones (reprising her role from Shining Time Station) and Russell Means as Billy Two Feathers. Like the TV series, Thomas and the Magic Railroad is loosely based on the Thomas the Tank Engine books written by British children's author Wilbert Vere Awdry. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Fonda, Mara Wilson, (more)
- 1997
- PG
This comic children's fantasy from director Michael Ritchie stars Mara Wilson as eight-year-old New Yorker Anabel, who wishes that her father Oliver (Robert Pastorelli), a hansom cab driver in Central Park, would see his dream come true. In a thinly veiled jab at the overblown stage productions of Andrew Lloyd Weber, Oliver aspires to be cast in the lead role in a new big-budget musical based on A Tale of Two Cities. Anabel's wish is received by Murray (Martin Short), the very first male fairy godmother, a bumbler who predictably botches the spell fulfilling Anabel's wish, turning Oliver into a statue instead. In order to reverse the mistake, Murray needs help from his union, the North American Fairy Godmothers Association (NAFGA), which is holding a convention in Manhattan. Enter Claudia (Kathleen Turner), a scheming former fairy godmother turned witch, who steals the attendees' magic wands, intending to use their magic in a bid for power. A Simple Wish (1997) was one of four films representing the initial slate of The Bubble Factory, a movie production house assembled by the theater world's Sheinberg family. Their other films were The Pest (1997), McHale's Navy (1997), and For Richer or Poorer (1997). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Short, Mara Wilson, (more)
A man proves that hope can grow in the flintiest of soil in this made-for-TV drama for the family. A farming community is struggling to survive a severe drought when a mysterious stranger named Harvey Potter (Rip Torn) arrives in town. Potter rents a farm, a move which is believed to be the height of foolishness by his new neighbors, but one day a local child, Willow (Mara Wilson), passes by Potter's field to discover that it's full of colorful balloons. Willow is convinced that Potter has found a way to grow balloons, and while her mother Casey (Laurie Metcalf) knows better, she sees that Potter has brought an excitement and joy back into the lives of the town's children that had been all but snuffed out by the recent dry spell. Willow thinks that Potter knows some sort of magic, and Casey considers him to be a well-meaning eccentric, but a few of the locals are convinced that he has something dangerous up his sleeve. Disney's Balloon Farm was based on the book Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm by Jerdine Nolen; it premiered on the television anthology series The Wonderful World of Disney. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Based on the book Matilda, by British children's author Roald Dahl, this film moves the setting from the U.K. to the U.S.; otherwise it follows the original closely. Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson) is an extremely curious and intelligent little girl who is very different from her low-brow, mainstream parents (Danny DeVito and real-life wife Rhea Perlman), who quite cruelly ignore her. As she grows older, she begins to discover that she has telekinetic powers. Not until a teacher shows her kindness for the first time does she realize that she can use those powers to do something about her sufferings and help her friends as well. Villains from the awful Miss Trunchbull (Pam Ferris), headmistress of her miserable school Crunchem Hall, to her parents and older brother begin to feel her ire. Look for Paul Reubens (aka Pee Wee Herman) in a small part as an FBI agent investigating Matilda's shady father. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mara Wilson, Danny DeVito, (more)
The 1947 holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street is transplanted to the 1990s with few changes in this family-oriented remake. The screenplay by the prolific John Hughes sticks close to the original outline, centering on Macy's executive Dorey Walker (Elizabeth Perkins) and her young daughter Susan (Mara Wilson), neither of whom much believes in the spirit of Christmas. Dorey is in charge of hiring Macy's Santas, including an old man named Kriss Kringle (Richard Attenborough). He does a remarkably convincing job, and he soon reveals that he actually believes himself to be Santa Claus. The authorities threaten to place the old man in an insane asylum, but a young lawyer comes to his defense. Meanwhile, Dorey and Susan find their own defenses melting and become reacquainted with the power of faith. Hughes and director Les Mayfield add a few modern touches, making Susan slightly more cynical and adding the requisite soulless corporate villains. Viewers familiar with the original may still prefer Edmund Gwenn's original Kris Kringle and consider the remake unnecessary, although the newer version reflects enough of the earlier film's spirit to prove entertaining to modern family audiences. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, (more)
Robin Williams learns that keeping in touch with his children can be a drag in this hit comedy. Daniel Hillard (Williams) is an eccentric actor who specializes in dubbing voices for cartoon characters. Daniel is a kind man and a loving father, but he's a poor disciplinarian and a shaky role model. After throwing an elaborate and disastrous birthday party for his son, Daniel's wife Miranda (Sally Field) reaches the end of her patience and files for divorce. Daniel is heartbroken when Miranda is given custody of the children, and he's only allowed to visit them once a week. Determined to stay in contact with his kids, Daniel learns that Miranda is looking for a housekeeper, and with help from his brother Frank (Harvey Fierstein), a makeup artist, Daniel gets the job disguised as Mrs. Iphegenia Doubtfire, a stern but caring Scottish nanny. Daniel pulls off the ruse so well that neither his ex-wife nor his children recognize him, and in the process, he learns how to be the good parent he should have been all along. However, Daniel also has to deal with the little matter of Miranda's new boyfriend, Stu (Pierce Brosnan). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Sally Field, (more)
