X
  • 2014
  • Unrated
  • MPI Home Video
  • 1 h 20 m
  • 2014
  • Unrated
  • MPI Home Video
  • 1 h 20 m

Summary Filmed for over a decade, Magical Universe is a portrait of Al Carbee, an 88 year old reclusive outsider artist who spends his days alone in a massive house in Maine creating art—mostly featuring Barbie Dolls in elaborate dioramas. The documentary profiles Carbee's amazing body of work and his relentlessly creative lifestyle. Carbee’s s...

Directed By: Jeremy Workman

Written By: Jeremy Workman

  • 2014
  • Unrated
  • MPI Home Video
  • 1 h 20 m
  • 2014
  • Unrated
  • MPI Home Video
  • 1 h 20 m

Magical Universe

Metascore Mixed or Average Based on 6 Critic Reviews
60
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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Summary Filmed for over a decade, Magical Universe is a portrait of Al Carbee, an 88 year old reclusive outsider artist who spends his days alone in a massive house in Maine creating art—mostly featuring Barbie Dolls in elaborate dioramas. The documentary profiles Carbee's amazing body of work and his relentlessly creative lifestyle. Carbee’s s...

Directed By: Jeremy Workman

Written By: Jeremy Workman

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 6 Critic Reviews
60
67% Positive
4 Reviews
33% Mixed
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 6 Critic Reviews
60
67% Positive
4 Reviews
33% Mixed
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
70
Nov 6, 2014
Magical Universe is a tender portrait of the artist as a weirdly gifted, wildly prolific and strange man.
By Michael Rechtshaffen FULL REVIEW
70
Oct 28, 2014
This story is about tenderness and empathy, including Carbee's for his plastic proxies.
By Abby Garnett FULL REVIEW
63
Oct 30, 2014
To varying degrees of success, it attempts to prominently display Al Carbee's creations, yet keeps undermining his art in favor of investigating his skewed relationship to everyday realities.
By Nick McCarthy FULL REVIEW
63
Oct 28, 2014
Workman’s film feels exploitative, and the filmmaker cannot help but make Carbee look a little creepy and a bit pathetic. The only thing that eases your conscience watching Magical Universe is the difficulty in deciding, “Who was using whom here?”
By Roger Moore FULL REVIEW
60
Oct 30, 2014
While the film runs only 77 minutes, that’s a good half an hour longer than the material can support, even though Workman shot it over roughly a decade.
By Mike D'Angelo FULL REVIEW
50
Oct 30, 2014
While Mr. Workman evidently respects Mr. Carbee’s talent, he also frames his movie as a trite narrative about a kind of lovably odd acquaintance who comes out of his shell, without many incisive ideas about shaping or broadening the material.
By Nicolas Rapold FULL REVIEW

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Details

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Production Company Wheelhouse Creative
Release Date Oct 31, 2014
Duration 1 h 20 m
Rating Unrated
Genres
Tagline Imagination can take you out of this world.
Website https://www.facebook.com/magicaluniversefilm
View All Details

Awards

Woodstock Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Las Vegas International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Salem Film Fest, US
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

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