Billy's parents are deceased and he lives with his loving but poor grandmother. Grandma has a bad heart, too, and needs a transplant to ensure a longer life and more active life. To add insult to injury, Billy is bullied at school, where some mean boys take his lunch money and rough him up almost every day. One day, a bully demands that Billy go into a house everyone suspects is haunted. Once there, Billy is to bring back the hourglass seen in the mansion's window. Billy has no choice. He enters the house and is frightened to meet an old lady who may, indeed, have witch-like powers. Because Billy is polite and kind, the crone gives him one wish. Billy, who longs for a new bike and the medical treatment for his gran, decrees that he wants to be like King Midas of mythology. That is, everything the young boy touches will turn to gold. The witch grants his request but warns him that things may not always go as planned. Sure enough, as Billy and his friend Hannah find out, the young boy's new powers can take a turn for the worse, from Billy's gerbil changing into gold, with a slight touch of the finger, to the pawn shop owners wanting to steal all of the objects that Billy has transformed into the precious metal. Is there a way out of this wish/curse? This is a worthy family film with plenty of action and humor. Just watching the heavy set pawnshop owners try to climb a ladder will set anyone to giggling. The cast has no big names but is very fine, as is the snappy and fun-filled script. Sets, costumes and direction are more than adequate, too. In addition, children will be curious about the real king Midas and will want to head to the library or the Internet to find out more. All in all, if you want to bring a non-objectionable, family-friendly film to your youngsters, it would not hurt to seek out this movie. Far from being fool's gold, this film is the genuine article: a motion picture with fun and fine messages for children and their loved ones.
