The Perot Museum of Nature and Science hasn't exactly been hurting for visitors since it opened in December 2012. But that's all child's play compared to what awaits the hottest museum in town once school lets out. Summer is coming, and that means more hours of entertainment for parents to fill.
For Memorial Day weekend, the museum will stay open until 9 pm, Friday through Monday, giving you an extra few hours to rub shoulders with dinosaurs, experience an earthquake, conduct a science experiment, or participate in one of the other myriad hands-on activities sprinkled throughout the five-story building.
If you're a member, the deal's even better, as early admission hours (normally only available on Saturdays and Sundays) will be offered on Memorial Day as well. Starting Tuesday, May 28, the museum will switch to extended hours for the rest of the summer, staying open an extra hour every day through August 25.
If that's not enough, the museum will also unveil a new attraction. On May 25, Waking the T. Rex 3D: The Story of SUE, a science-adventure film that chronicles the largest, most complete T. Rex ever found, takes over for Meerkats 3D in the Hoglund Foundation Theater. The 23-minute film is no mere documentary, as it uses animation to imagine how the dinosaur might have looked and acted throughout her life.
Of course, the biggest added benefit of all is that the museum is a huge, air-conditioned area that takes hours to navigate, a perfect option for soon-to-be scorching summer days.
Scene from Waking the T. Rex 3D, the new film playing in the Hoglund Foundation Theater at the Perot Museum.
Photo courtesy of Giant Screen Films
Scene from Waking the T. Rex 3D, the new film playing in the Hoglund Foundation Theater at the Perot Museum.
Andrew Garfield, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Claire Foy, Phoenix Laroche, and Billie Gadson in The Magic Faraway Tree.
With kids and families always on the hunt for entertainment, it’s typically a safe bet for a movie studio to offer up something new, even if it is a film based on an old property. The Magic Faraway Tree, based on a series of books that started in the 1930s, is a very old property, one that its filmmakers have tried to liven up with a few stars, a lot of whimsy, and a boatload of CGI.
The Thompson family, led by stay-at-home dad Tim (Andrew Garfield) and breadwinner mom Polly (Claire Foy), are forced to move to a rundown country home when Polly gets laid off. The kids - Joe (Phoenix Laroche), Fran (Billie Gadson), and Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) - are used to the perks of city life like wifi and electricity, and each of them rebels in their own way to their new lot in life.
Fran, enticed by a fairy named Silky (Nicola Coughlan), is the first to venture out of the house, making her way to a magic tree that transports her to a world full of strange characters like Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning), and more. Her adventures there not only broaden the world she thought she knew, but may be the key to helping her ailing family.
Directed by Ben Gregor and written by Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2, Wonka), the film is a pleasant enough lark, but it fails to fully capture the imagination. The five-member family has a lot going on, from an initially-mute Fran to a domestic situation that raises more questions than it answers. The film tries to incorporate an anti-technology message through Tim’s hatred of a smart refrigerator (voiced by Judi Dench!) and the kids' addictions to devices, but it’s quickly shed in favor of other options.
Once Fran makes it to the Magic Faraway Tree, there’s a nice shift in the storytelling, but it’s unclear what the ultimate goal is. It’s a good idea to have Fran, the youngest of the children, convince her older, more cynical siblings about the virtues of the magic world, but the conflict in the real world doesn’t seem to rise to the level needed for the escape the tree provides.
There also seems to be a missing link in the storytelling for viewers to understand the importance of the fantastical characters. The visuals of seeing Moonface and his crescent moon-shaped hair, a man with a suit full of banging pots, and more are fun for a while, but not enough to carry the whole film. A last-minute revelation feels like it was something that should have been disclosed much earlier to help strengthen the emotions of the story.
A two-time Oscar nominee, Garfield is making his first foray into family movies (if you don’t count playing Spider-Man), and while he does a good job, he doesn’t make the best fit for the semi-goofy role. The same goes for the Emmy-winning Foy, who isn’t given much of anything to do. The movie puts the story on the shoulders of the three child actors, and while each of them acquit themselves well, none of them are so outstanding as to be noteworthy.
With nearly 90-year-old source material, The Magic Faraway Tree needed to be something truly special to stand out in the 21st century movie world. Unfortunately, it features a mostly forgettable story that features some fun visuals, a couple of cute kids, and not much else.
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The Magic Faraway Tree is now playing in theaters.
