THE MAGIC TOYSHOP

Melanie is fifteen; she is one of a kind and inventive; she is discovering the world of sensuality. But reality strongly brings her back on Earth: her parents die out in a plane crash and now she has to take care of her younger brother and sister. All three of them are sent in a stripped district surrounding London, in the house of their only alive kin: Uncle Philip. Living with his wife, unable to speak since their marriage, and her brother and sister, Uncle Philip is a dull man who is obsessed with puppets and plays with them in the secret little world he built in his workshop. As he is tyrannical, he forces his little family to attend the plays he regularly organises in the back of his shop. While her little brother and sister seem to get used to this new environment, Melanie feels like a prisoner: just like the puppets…
When it was released in Great Britain, The Magic Toyshop, adapted from the novel by Angela CARTER, the author of The Company of Wolves which was brought on screen by Neil JORDAN, gained some enthusiastic critics:
“Despite its title, it is not a movie for kids, but a tale for adults. It is obsessive and disturbing at the same time in its mix of supernatural dreams and depressing realism.” – Variety
“This beautiful breath-taking movie never stops being pleasing to the eye.” – Screen International
“An enchanting and magic movie.” – Vogue
“The Magic Toyshop is certainly one of the strangest and richest movies of the English cinema of the last few years. It is way more captivating and discerning than The Company of Wolves by Neil JORDAN.” – Q Magazine