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Nanny McPhee Returns is a joy to behold, an oasis of originality and wit in a genre that is frequently bereft of both. Originally called Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang when it came out internationally a few months ago, it's smart, sophisticated, and sentimental, asking its underage audience to deal with subjects that your standard Hollywood fare would never dare discuss. Sure, it's still a bit too twee for its own good and goes slightly overboard with its kooky British take on humorous whimsy, but despite a few minor flaws, it's a major, magical triumph.
With her husband (Ewan McGregor) off to war and her shiftless brother-in-law Phil (Rhys Ifans) trying to sell the family farm out from under her, poor Isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal) has her work cut out for her. The last thing she needs is to care for her cocky nephew Cyril (Eros Vlahos) and snotty niece Celia (Rosie Taylor-Ritson). But London is under the Blitz, and the children need a remote place in the country to keep them safe. They join the other Green children -- the well-meaning Norman (Asa Butterfield), his tomboyish sister Megsie (Lil Woods) and the kindhearted Vincent (Oscar Steer) -- and initially, they do not get along.
As soon as the city kids arrive, along comes Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson), a spotty old cow with a unibrow, big earlobes, crooked teeth, and a couple of sizable moles on her face. She also has an enchanted cane that allows her to teach misbehaving brats a lesson or two in manners and proper deportment. Of course, Cyril, Celia, Norman, Megsie, and Vincent are reluctant to curb their destructive actions. With Phil flitting around the fringes trying to steal the property and a harvest to bring in, Mrs. Green will need the help of all her charges. It will be up to Nanny McPhee to make sure their contributions are positive -- and productive.
Like the wonderful works of Roald Dahl and P.L. Travers, Emma Thompson's "loose" adaptation of Christianna Brands's Nurse Matilda books is brilliant in how it combines the carefree wonderment of childhood with the unavoidable traumas of growing up. Filtered through a tea and crumpets conceit reminiscent of the England of "olde", we wander through a world of frightening female hitmen (?), synchronized swimming piglets, and more potent poo references than a sewer worker's convention. Scattered in between all the underage scatology are wonderful turns from Gyllenhaal, Thompson, and Ifans, even though the real scene stealer is Master Vlahos, playing a priss so stiff-upper-lipped he'd make Little Lord Fauntelroy jealous.
Even more intriguing are the tiny cameo moments with well known names like Ralph Fiennes (very effective as Cyril and Celia's cold military dad), Dame Maggie Smith, and comic Bill Bailey (as pig enthusiast Farmer MacReadie). They help keep the often frilly film from completely flying off into nonsensical farce. Of course, there are times when director Suzanna White can't help herself, ladling on the CG spectacle with agreeable abandon. But it's the fact that Nanny McPhee Returns wants to deal with issues like death, divorce, and disappointment that is most impressive. It argues that youth is not all sweetness and light. Sometimes, it's confusing and complicated.
Of course those already brainwashed into thinking that every piece of family entertainment has to be a Hellzapoppin' example of eye candy and pop culture overload will find Nanny McPhee Returns to be too old-fashioned for its own good. Thankfully, such a quaint, straightforward desire to amuse is the movie's greatest, most glorious attribute.
With her husband (Ewan McGregor) off to war and her shiftless brother-in-law Phil (Rhys Ifans) trying to sell the family farm out from under her, poor Isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal) has her work cut out for her. The last thing she needs is to care for her cocky nephew Cyril (Eros Vlahos) and snotty niece Celia (Rosie Taylor-Ritson). But London is under the Blitz, and the children need a remote place in the country to keep them safe. They join the other Green children -- the well-meaning Norman (Asa Butterfield), his tomboyish sister Megsie (Lil Woods) and the kindhearted Vincent (Oscar Steer) -- and initially, they do not get along.
As soon as the city kids arrive, along comes Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson), a spotty old cow with a unibrow, big earlobes, crooked teeth, and a couple of sizable moles on her face. She also has an enchanted cane that allows her to teach misbehaving brats a lesson or two in manners and proper deportment. Of course, Cyril, Celia, Norman, Megsie, and Vincent are reluctant to curb their destructive actions. With Phil flitting around the fringes trying to steal the property and a harvest to bring in, Mrs. Green will need the help of all her charges. It will be up to Nanny McPhee to make sure their contributions are positive -- and productive.
Like the wonderful works of Roald Dahl and P.L. Travers, Emma Thompson's "loose" adaptation of Christianna Brands's Nurse Matilda books is brilliant in how it combines the carefree wonderment of childhood with the unavoidable traumas of growing up. Filtered through a tea and crumpets conceit reminiscent of the England of "olde", we wander through a world of frightening female hitmen (?), synchronized swimming piglets, and more potent poo references than a sewer worker's convention. Scattered in between all the underage scatology are wonderful turns from Gyllenhaal, Thompson, and Ifans, even though the real scene stealer is Master Vlahos, playing a priss so stiff-upper-lipped he'd make Little Lord Fauntelroy jealous.
Even more intriguing are the tiny cameo moments with well known names like Ralph Fiennes (very effective as Cyril and Celia's cold military dad), Dame Maggie Smith, and comic Bill Bailey (as pig enthusiast Farmer MacReadie). They help keep the often frilly film from completely flying off into nonsensical farce. Of course, there are times when director Suzanna White can't help herself, ladling on the CG spectacle with agreeable abandon. But it's the fact that Nanny McPhee Returns wants to deal with issues like death, divorce, and disappointment that is most impressive. It argues that youth is not all sweetness and light. Sometimes, it's confusing and complicated.
Of course those already brainwashed into thinking that every piece of family entertainment has to be a Hellzapoppin' example of eye candy and pop culture overload will find Nanny McPhee Returns to be too old-fashioned for its own good. Thankfully, such a quaint, straightforward desire to amuse is the movie's greatest, most glorious attribute.
