Mr. Magoo (film)

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Mr. Magoo is a 1997 American slapstick comedy directed by Stanley Tong. It’s based on the Mr. Magoo cartoons and stars Leslie Nielsen as the near-sighted, wealthy title character, with Kelly Lynch, Matt Keeslar, Nick Chinlund, Stephen Tobolowsky, Ernie Hudson, Jennifer Garner, and Malcolm McDowell in supporting roles. The film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures with a budget of about $30 million and grossed around $28.9 million at the box office.

Plot in brief: A valuable ruby called the Star of Kurdistan is stolen from a museum. The ruby ends up in Mr. Magoo’s boat, drawing the attention of CIA agent Gustav Anders and FBI agent Chuck Stupak. A wild series of misadventures—from the museum to an opera and then to Brazil—follows as Magoo, his nephew Waldo, and various criminals chase the ruby. In the end, Magoo retrieves the ruby and returns it to the museum while the criminals are arrested.

Production details: Filming took place in Brazil, Argentina, and Vancouver, with animation by Creative Capers Entertainment and Yowza! Animation. It opened in theaters on December 25, 1997, and later arrived on home video and streaming.

Reception: The movie was a critical and commercial failure. It has a low score on Rotten Tomatoes (about 9%) and Metacritic (about 18), with audiences giving it a CinemaScore of B. Notable critics like Roger Ebert gave it very poor reviews, and many commentators criticized its treatment of disability, despite a disclaimer from Disney. Disney had hoped to start an international Mr. Magoo franchise, but no sequels were made.