This interesting little movie, apparently meant primarily for children, is based — how loosely I’m not sure — on “Lewis Padgett’s” (Henry Kuttner’s & Catherine L. Moore’s) very old (1943) science-fiction novelette “Mimsy Were the Borogoves” in which a scientist in the very distant future sends two payloads consisting of educational toys back in time, one of which is found by Alice Lidell (of Alice in Wonderland) and the other of which is found by two contemporary children.

The movie scientist’s world is set in a nearer future, and the scientist is given a motive, other than simple intellectual curiosity, for sending his payloads backwards; it appears that pollution has seriously damaged our DNA, and the scientist is attempting to recover something from the past that will allow humanity to survive. So young Noah White (Chris O’Neil) finds one of the payloads, cast up by the waves on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. He and his sister Emma (Rhiannon Leigh Wryn) learn how to use the toys, including a “stuffed” (with nanotech) rabbit named “Mimzy”. Despite interference from grownups, who don’t understand what’s going on, and Homeland Security, which is anxiously trying to find out what caused a power blackout that covered half of the state of Washington, the two children eventually manage to send “Mimzy” back to the future with information that will save humanity.

There are a couple of gripes I had, most notably the “Intel” logo that is found way down in Mimzy’s core (does anybody really believe that Intel will still be around a few hundred or a few thousand years in the future?). But by and large I found the movie entertaining, and perhaps one of the better films aimed at children in past months. Enjoy!