Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

sheepfarmer-2 When I was 10 years old (in 1986) the school i attended at the time performed parts of the audio sound track. We were in the award winning school choir of Saint Elizabeths Primary School in South Manchester.In the summer we always used to perform in the RNCM (Royal Northern College of Music) in some competition i no longer remember the name of. After the event we were asked to contribute vocals to the music score of an up and coming film produced by Granada TV.I remember the day coming and ten or so of the top choir singers, of which i was one (pre my voice breaking), went down to the studios in Manchester City Centre on a coach, with our now long since deceased teacher John Dennision. (a great man!) We spent what i remember to be a very tiring and very very long day repeating the same bars over and over again in a studio. These were then to be cut and arranged into sounding like a very large group of children singing the track.I remember then being very excited about the film being released only then to be told the school had found out it is an adult theme film and we were not allowed to see it.Further to this the school was outraged at the children's choir being used in a film of this theme and demanded that our school be completely uncredited from the film and it was kind of never mentioned again.I did watch it in 1988 but don't really remember the story. However I can still remember some of the bars we sang! I'd love to see it again. Not only to see it as a film but to hear the music again. (there are 3 VHS copies on amazon.co.uk for £39.99, which is a bit steep) I'll keep looking....

blacknorth Other users here at IMDb seem to have a hard time locating this film, leading to talk of it having been suppressed. The reason The Magic Toyshop has become (unfairly) obscure is simply because it was screened on British television before having any major theatrical release. Technically it's a TV movie, made by the Granada network (not the BBC), and it has suffered the same fate as many British television movies of the 70's and 80's. Thankfully this film was released by Palace video in the UK - I located a copy and have now archived mine to DVD.Caroline Milmoe was not underage when the film was made - she was 23 years old, playing a 15 year old. It is true that the nude scenes present a minor through a grown woman, and that is one of the central themes of the film - the sexual element itself is disturbingly grim.The whole film has a unworldly sheen and inhabits magical realism long before it became fashionably known as such. Watch the camera track the parrot's gaze to get an idea of the sheer level of invention and ingenuity. And Milmoe really knows how to torment those braids...This is one of the best films of the 1980's, and certainly the best film I have ever seen about childhood's end. I don't mind it being obscure because that lends it cult status, but I feel unhappy for the cast, particularly Caroline Milmoe, as this film is the top of their art and that deserves a wider audience.Brilliant.

AcinomPP75 I saw this film when I was very young on British TV. Someone commented that it left an indelible impression on them - same for me.Of course, years later I found out who Angela Carter was and read all of her novels. Reading the magic toyshop was a strange experience, rarely I think has a film captured the atmosphere of a novel so perfectly. Only one other film that i saw as a child had a similar impact - The Red Shoes. There are some similarities I think. I would love to get hold of a copy. Can anybody help me with this?

DoctorMeticulous I saw "The Magic Toyshop" at the Little Art Theatre in Yellow Springs, Ohio, in 1988 or 1989. The film is not a figment of anyone's imagination, but I have never been able to find it again. I recall it being a wonderful piece of non-naturalistic film-making, and it is a shame that more people can't see it.I think there are two reasons why the film may have been quashed. First, there is some nudity, and since the character involved is supposed to be a minor (and since the actress may have been at the time), there may be some people who consider the film pornographic, or (even worse) child pornography. If so, this is sad, because my recollection is that the context for the nudity is not gratuitous or salacious, and is important to both character and plot development.Second, the relationship between the evil Uncle and his Irish servants may have been read as politically controversial. And (here comes the spoiler) the transformation of the Uncle into a dummy to be burned on Guy Fawkes Night might also be considered less than flattering to Britain's policies in Ireland and elsewhere (as an American, I am uncertain of the political baggage attached to the holiday, but didn't Fawkes try to blow-up Parliament?). Isn't the film mostly about the Uncle's abuse of his authority?I think anyone who enjoys Tim Burton's films would enjoy The Magic Toyshop. If the film has been intentionally suppressed, it is a disgraceful state of affairs. This was one of the most fascinating films I have ever seen, and I wish I could see it again and think about it some more.