Christmas time is probably the only time of the year when I actually get the chance to see any movies and on Boxing Day I needed an excuse to keep the half's nephews and nieces entertained so out came one of the new DVD's that Santa had delivered to one of them - It was Nanny McPhee.
The story draws an obvious inspiration from that timeless classic , Mary Poppins since it tells the story of a nanny with strange magical powers that mysteriously arrives to bring the recently widowed Mr Brown's seven unruly children into line. However this is a more updated and modern story so the similarities between these two films are thankfully only fleeting. In fact, Nanny McPhee is actually based more on the successful children stories, Nurse Matilda written by Christianna Brand than Marry Poppins.
The story begins with the seven naughty children successfully seeing off their seventeenth nanny in a row. Since losing their mother there are two things that they are certain of. They are having no nanny to boss them around and their father will not re-marry as they will not tolerate a wicked step mother under any circumstances.
On the face of things it appears that despite his unruly children Mr Brown has a big house and a good job at the funeral parlour but it soon becomes apparent that this is all a façade. In reality he is struggling to support all of his children and the upkeep of the big house is subsidised by his evil great aunt Adelaide who has threatened to cut off any more money to him unless he remarries within a month. Desperate to find a nanny that will stay and a new woman to marry sees Mr Brown slowly start to fall apart in the sort of humorous way that all good children's stories are made of.
The screenplay of Nanny McPhee was written by Emma Thompson who also plays the part of Nanny McPhee. Despite its heavy negative criticism in the press and media I actually think that she did a pretty good job. This is a children's film after all so everything is sweet and simple with dialogue that is easy to understand. The film works too because it uses stereotypes as its main characters and the whole film itself is shot in a fairytale like way with bright colours that make everything look like those early Technicolor films circa 1970 rather than 2005. This magical fairy like setting comes courtesy of director Kirk Jones.
Mr Brown is played by Colin Firth who is portrayed as a man that loves all of his children dearly but without his wife he struggling to cope. He is a hard working proud man. As for the children, well these are all about as naughty as children can be in a film with only a parental guidance warning. There antics are more mischievous than malicious, constantly trying to get one over on the adults in the household.
Other leading characters within the story include the cook Mrs Blatherwick, played by Imelda Staunton who is often on the receiving end of the children's wicked games and the house maid Evangeline, played by Kelly MacDonald. In true children story tale fashion these are stereotypical characters too, with the somewhat ugly, overweight cook with a bad complexion and the maid with a false over emphasised cockney accent.
One of my favourite characters is Mrs Quickly, played by Celia Imrie. This over the top, money grabbing character believes that she is the one to marry Mr Brown and live in his lovely house. Celia Imrie plays this part to perfection and brings humour to even some of the more serious parts of the script.
Overall I actually quite enjoyed Nanny McPhee, it kept me entertained throughout and in places it made me laugh. I was also pleased to discover that the ending was not entirely predictable too.
I watched this film on DVD but did not have the opportunity to explore any of its features so this is a film only review.
Running time - 97 minutes Date of release - 21 October 2005 Certification - PG (for some rude humour)
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With hairy warts, a stern-looking unibrow and one extremely protruding buck-tooth,Nanny ... more
McPheeis a wonderfully comedic substitute for Mary Poppins in this entertaining family fantasy. By loosely adapting Christianna Brand'sNurse Matildachildren's books...
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With hairy warts, a stern-looking unibrow and one extremely protruding buck-tooth,Nanny ... more
McPheeis a wonderfully comedic substitute for Mary Poppins in this entertaining family fantasy. By loosely adapting Christianna Brand'sNurse Matildachildren's books...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
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Jan 3rd, 2008
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