Parents' Guide to

Mr. Magoo

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Silly live-action '90s remake of cartoon; pratfalls abound.

Movie PG 1997 88 minutes
Mr. Magoo Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 2 parent reviews

MacPac
MacPac Adult
April 11, 2021
age 18+

Disappointed, commonsense !!

The rating of this movie from this website is disappointing. There were women in provocative bikinis at a bath house acting like prostitutes. There was a woman with a high-slit dress doing high kicks where you could see her underwear. Plenty of suggestive sexual innuendos throughout the movie.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
Estera T.
Estera T. Adult
June 3, 2020
age 12+

Not worth watching

This movie was childish despite not a single child being present in the film. The slapstick comedy yields a few laughs. The title character is an old rich man with impaired eyesight, and the premise of the film is that due to his disability, he acts like a buffoon. Definitely not ageist at all...speaking of bad messages, the female characters are quite objectified and one of the male characters dresses in brownface as an Indian man. I'd be embarrassed to show this film to children. There are much better old slapstick comedies out there to see, don't bother with this one.
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

MR. MAGOO (Leslie Nielsen) is the distinguished and wealthy owner of a canned vegetable factory whose nearsightedness (and his refusal to believe that it is a problem) frequently and inadvertently creates havoc nearly everywhere he goes. This results in Magoo accidentally ending up with The Star of Kuristan, an extremely valuable ruby that has been stolen from the museum Magoo supports by jewel thieves Luanne LeSeur (Kelly Lynch) and Bob Morgan. After his performance in an opera, LeSeur poses as a doting reporter for an opera magazine who wants to interview Magoo; as she steals his heart the next day in an attempt to steal back the ruby, an FBI and CIA agent are both convinced that Magoo was the mastermind behind the burglary. It's up to Magoo's nephew Waldo (Matt Kesslar), with the help of Magoo's faithful dog Angus, to find a way to prove Magoo's innocence, return the Star of Kuristan to the museum, and make sure that LeSeur and the vast network of criminals working both with and against LeSeur are brought to justice.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (1):

Like so many of the 1990s real-life adaptations of classic animated series, this movie doesn't really offer anything new from the source material. With the cartoon, dating back to 1949, and its abundant slapstick and pratfall violence already in existence, this version seems superfluous. And with the cartoon itself having a very limited premise -- an elderly wealthy man whose extreme nearsightedness creates havoc everywhere he goes -- there simply isn't much room for a more contemporary humor or dry-humored self-awareness that was possible in, say, 2000's The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle.

On its own terms, there's enough slapstick and action (as frenzied and occasionally confusing as it is at times) to be entertaining. Leslie Nielsen certainly plays Mr. Magoo to the hilt, and many of the character's idiosyncrasies and grunted reactions to what he thinks is happening are funny. But so much of the humor derives from Magoo being near-blind -- a stereotyping that was perfectly acceptable in the mid-20th century, but not so much years later -- and that may make some families uncomfortable. At least the movie has a disclaimer at the end informing viewers that Mr. Magoo is fictional and not intended to be seen as an example of visually impaired people, and that the visually impaired can and do lead full and productive lives.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about live-action movies based on animated cartoons, such as Mr. Magoo. What would be the challenges in adapting a cartoon in which much of the comedy is derived from unrealistic situations?

  • How was the violence intended to be used for comedic effect?

  • Why do you think the filmmakers thought it necessary to include a disclaimer at the end of the movie separating the fiction of Mr. Magoo from the fact of the real-life visually impaired?

Movie Details

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