Nanny McPhee

I took my children, ages 8 and 5, to see the movie over the weekend and I'd have to say that I enjoyed it every bit as much as they did. The character portrayed by Emma Thompson was simply wonderful. Even though she used her "magic" to get desired results from the children, all one had to do was look into her eyes and see the genuine compassion she felt for the children. The whole scenario with the fairy tale books and logic behind WHY the children misbehaved to much made them not nearly as bratty as one would have expected from such behavior and actually made me feel a bit sorry for them so they became almost likable in their attitudes. They weren't just "brats" for the sake of being brats; they had a genuine fear of losing their father which, ultimately would have happened had he married that harpie Mrs. Quimby.

My children absolutely loved the whole barnyard animal scene, especially the dancing donkey. Second to that was the food fight at the wedding. I found this movie to be appropriate for children of ALL ages and simply enjoyable for myself as well. I highly recommend this movie!!!

I was very pleasantly surprised by how 'Nanny McPhee' turned out. I thought it was just another one of those family films but I was impressed all through and surprised as to how much I enjoyed it. There is a slight resemblance to 'Mary Poppins' but 'Nanny McPhee' is very much its own film. Emma Thompson is a talented writer and she shows great understanding of children's imagination. 'Loved how the spectacular world was created. It's colourful, extravagant, magical and funny. The lavish sets and designs are incredibly hypnotic.

Then there are actors like Emma Thompson (superb), Colin Firth (great) and Imelda Staunton (hilarious) who hardly ever let down. It was great to see the one and only Angela Lansbury after a very long time, this time in a slightly villainous role. These actors make their characters unique. The child actors are good in their parts and Kelly MacDonald has a nice screen presence.

What makes 'Nanny Mcphee' different is its sense of humour (that gives it its own charm and appeal) and the colourful world that it presents. I also liked the symbolic representation of Nanny McPhee's physical transformation as she successfully managed to get the children to learn the lessons. Emma Thompson wonderfully writes the screenplay as there is not one moment where I felt that the film dragged. Of course we have seen similar stories in films before but it's the presentation and treatment that makes the difference and 'Nanny Mcphee' is nothing short of a delightfully amusing family film.

I took my almost-4-year-old and her two cousins (age 3 and 6) to see this and we all had a wonderful time! The cast was outstanding - Colin Firth marvelously befuddled, Angela Lansbury wonderfully austere, Emma Thompson gruesomely wise and endearing, and all of the children sweet and mischievous without being cloying and horrible. It was clever and never "dumbed down" as some movies peddled as family fare are these days. This film was both funny and touching. The scenery and costumes were also wonderful to look at -lovely use of color. Some reviews have said that the movie tries too hard to appeal to adults, but I disagree. If preschoolers can enjoy it, most children will. I highly recommend it to audiences of all ages.

This definitely has to be one of the best films of the year and is something that can be enjoyed by the whole family, from the wee tot to grandparents. Based upon the 'Nurse Matilda' books by Christianna Brand, the film revolves around seven motherless children who have frightened off seventeen nannies much to their over-wrought father's dismay. The children are unruly and their father has his own stresses of desperately searching for a wife before his mean-spirited great aunt cuts off his allowance and everything is falling apart at the seams...until Nanny McPhee enters the house to sort things out. Think of 'Mary Poppins' if Roald Dahl had written the character and you have an idea of what happens next!

The best thing about this film is that while it will appeal to children, it doesn't dumb down or indulge in cavity-inducing sweetness that you tend to see in films produced by Hollywood. There is much humour and fun to be had but there is also a darker tone, what with children being threatened with the Work House and their father speaking to corpses!

The actors are all excellent. Colin Firth was perfect as this dithering man who may be meek but will do anything for his children and Emma Thompson is totally unrecognisable as the lead character of Nanny McPhee (she also deserves much recognition her skills in script-writing this film). But it's Angela Lansbury, as snooty Great Aunt Adelaide, who steals the show with the way she spends much of the film with such a sour face that could curdle the milk! The children also deserve much praise, especially when you consider most of them are not only very young but had never acted before. I certainly hope to see more of young Raphael Coleman, who played the middle son Eric, in future films as he totally threw himself into his character and was the most engaging of the children.

I'd highly recommend this to people who enjoyed 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' (both old and new versions) and 'Matilda'. I doubt many will be disappointed with this film!

I went to see this film today with my daughter, who is 31 and her 5 year old daughter and it's a long time since I saw such a truly wonderful film in the cinema.(and I go often)

I went as a typical granny, ready to enjoy the day out for what it was, but I said to my daughter at the end that if it had been a DVD, I would happily have watched it again right away.

Apart from the brilliant performances from all involved, this was a beautifully filmed piece of work. The staging and vivid colours used were absolutely perfect and each set was full of things to catch your eye.

I've always liked Emma Thompson, but not in a 'big fan' kind of way, but I must say she gave one of the most understated, beautifully controlled performances, and her wonderful character was magically endearing within moments of her arrival on the scene.

I thought hard before giving a rating for this film, but couldn't find one thing to stop it from being absolutely perfect.