I think this is a pretty decent flick for the whole family, probably not at the same level of masterpieces like "The Sound of Music" and "Mary Poppins", but at least it was much better than most of the so-called family films that Hollywood keeps producing in the recent years.For me, what made this movie work were the funny performances of each actor, particularly Colin Firth and Emma Thompson, who made this film a very enjoyable experience despite the silliness of some scenes.Honestly, this turned out to be much better than I was expecting, and some scenes (like for example, the beautiful ending scene) remind me the times when innocent films for the whole family were produced, unlike the commercial and inappropriate kid's movies and television shows of the recent years.

Nanny McPhee is a film I wouldn't normally touch with a 4-metre barge pole. The plot of a magical nanny sounds like a steal from Mary Poppins (which it is), and pie fights and dancing donkeys didn't exactly build a strong case for the film. Until I learned it was written by and starred Emma Thompson.Emma Thompson is one of my favourite British actresses. What I love about her is the way she is so untouched by celebrity. She never puts on airs. She is so down to earth and is yet possessed of a sharp, sophisticated wit. In everything I see her in, she never fails to steal the show. You could be seated next to her on a plane, carry on a conversation and enjoy it. And she would enjoy talking to you. (As long as it was about something interesting!).It's always a joy to see her in something, but even more of a joy to see something she's written. Emma Thompson's witty, ironic prose works well on the big screen. She won a well deserved Oscar for Sense and Sensibility, a surprisingly funny account of the opposing classes. But one wishes writing is something she would return to more often. Its something she doesn't do nearly enough of. Nanny McPhee is her first proper screenplay since Sense and Sensibility. Adapted from the Nurse Matilda books by Christianna Brand, and playing the title role, its something she's tailored to her specifications.Nanny McPhee comes to oversee the seven unruly Brown children. Their father Mr Brown (Colin Firth) hasn't been able to keep the family together since they're mother died. They've driven away 17 nannies (like another Julie Andrews vehicle I know), and Mr Brown is at his wits end. That changes when Nanny McPhee arrives. With her bulbous nose, overhanging tooth and warts and all, Nanny McPhee is the type of nanny Rosemary might hire for her baby. Her credo is simple:"When you need me but don't want me, that's when I will stay. When you want me, but no longer need me, that's when I must go."She slowly works her magic over the Brown household. She whips the kids into shape, teaching them lessons about responsibility and common courtesy along the way. She plays matchmaker between Mr Brown and the household's lovely scullery maid, Evangeline (the radiant Kelly Macdonald). But the dastardly Aunt Adelaide (a magnificent Angela Lansbury) has her own plans.Nanny McPhee is not a perfect film. At its most generic level, it is a ripoff of Mary Poppins, (we even get to see the kids flying kites at one point) but a Mary Poppins reworked through Roald Dahl. Nanny McPhee is a film that might have worked better were it released through a British company instead of Universal. This is just a personal opinion, but I feel British films released through American studios tend to lose a lot of their bite. Its a problem that particularly crippled Love Actually.Quite a few actors from Love Actually crop up in Nanny McPhee. Aside from Emma Thompson and Colin Firth, there is the young and immensely talented Thomas Sangster, and Adam Godley in a small role of a vicar. There is a bit of novelty in actors from disparate story lines of Love Actually all sharing the same one this time.Because its released through Universal Studios, it means that there are a lot of special effects in the film. I really hated the dancing donkey. Have I already mentioned that? And some of the sets are so overdesigned they begin to wear on the eyes after a while. But the film's one major asset is the always delightful Emma Thompson.Thompson carries herself with a mystery and arch drollery that keeps you continually involved. Even when the film threatens to get into some sticky areas along the way, Thompson's magical presence is always a hook. Even buried under tons of makeup, her vibrant, bubbly persona shines right through it. One of the film's more unusual touches is the way she sheds some of her ugliness whenever she teaches the kids a new lesson. By the end of the film, she becomes the beauty she's tried to bring out in the people around her.Thompson's clout in the industry has allowed her to share the screen with a really excellent cast. Thankfully, unlike Love Actually, there are no Americans. And none of they're colloquialisms either. Colin Firth is OK, but he doesn't get much to do except feign exasperation. But the rest of the cast is superb. The sweetly appealing Kelly Macdonald is great, two years before her surprisingly convincing performance in the excellent No Country For Old Men. She's a whiz with accents. Going from a working class scullery maid to an upper class, proper lady with utter conviction.We also have Imelda Staunton as the Brown's no-nonsense, military in mind cook Mrs Blatherwick. With her rosy cheeks, chin and forehead, she looks like she's about to die of terminal rosacea. Celia Imrie is hilarious as Mrs Quickly, the strumpet of ample bosoms with an eye on the Brown family fortune. Her facial expressions are as distracting as her cleavage. We also have Derek Jacobi and Patrick Barlow as a couple of prancing dandy's. But its Angela Lansbury who really shines as the perfectly horrid Aunt Adelaide. With her beady eyes, hook nose and clipped elocution, she's the only one in the cast who can keep up with Emma Thompson.Director Kirk Jones sometimes mismanages things, allowing the comedy to topple into slapstick farce. The early scenes with the kids are just noisy. And the wedding climax's cake throwing and imagined bees is just plain silly. The film is at its best when Nanny McPhee is quietly pulling the strings from the shadows. It ends predictably, but the welcome presence of Emma Thompson ensures it passes the time pleasingly enough.

Nanny McPhee (2005)My opinion of this film is a very low one. I had the misfortune of seeing this at the cinema and I can tell you it is horrendous. Some people have claimed this is a 'modern Mary Poppins'; that would be true except Mary Poppins is a good film and this is well, rubbish.How can I be so malicious towards a kind-hearted kid's film? I love many family films, but none of them (or maybe 1 or 2) have bored me as much as this.I would go as far as calling this film depressing. It's so dull, monotonous and dragged on that I have nothing good to say about it. If I did I wouldn't rate it a 2/10.2/10

The Brown children (seven in all) have recently lost their mother and have not taken it well. They have driven away a large number of nannies and are thrilled to hear their beleaguered father say that there are no more nannies. Paradise! However, they have not reckoned on the intervention of a most decidedly unorthodox nanny named Nanny McPhee who appears on the doorstep of the Browns just as the children have invaded the kitchen, tied up the cook, and taken to destroying the room.Nanny McPhee differs from other similar cinematic creations (e.g. Mary Poppins) in that she is uncommonly ugly, scary, and during her first interaction with the children displays behaviors more in common with witches than magical nannies. Interestingly, her behavior changes and her appearance improves as the children not only begin employing long lost manners but learn some valuable lessons along the way about decisions and their consequences.As the children get their comeuppance rather early on and begin behaving appropriately, we realize that Nanny McPhee has more lessons to teach than those about manners and more people to teach than just the children.Mr. Brown is an interesting character. He's sympathetically played by Colin Firth which is good because he's easily the wimpiest male character since Ross on "Friends". However, Firth's portrayal is that of a loving father who has lost his ability to connect with his children (for some very justifiable reasons). One of the most tender moments in the film is the point when Mr. Brown comes downstairs after finally really speaking to and understanding his children to find Nanny McPhee bathed in shadows. She tells him that Lesson Four is complete. "Lesson Four?" he asks. She steps forward from the shadows to say, "To listen." And we realize that not only is Nanny McPhee here for the children but for him as well.Some interesting ideas are presented here about appearances and judging by such appearances. It is the scullery maid Evangeline who sees the children for what they are and likes them despite their bad behavior. And it is Mr. Brown who recognizes Evangeline when she re-enters the house cleaned up and changed through her "adoption" by Aunt Adelaide. One of the children says, "she looks like a fairy princess" and Mr. Brown, smiling says, "she always looked that way". Just as the children underestimated the perceptiveness and affection of Evangeline, she in turn underestimated Mr. Brown's. And nobody suspected the lovely person that is Nanny McPhee until the heart-warming climax when she appears completely altered (and looking surprisingly similar to Emma Thompson) to bring the film to its satisfying close.