I wanted to see Nanny McPhee after the first time I saw a preview in the fall of 2005. The movie was released in the United States until late in January of 2006 and unfortunately once it was released, it didn’t come to the only theater in the town here. I thought I’d have to make a trip to Columbus or wait for the DVD to see the movie. I was pleasantly surprised when Nanny McPhee finally arrived at the theater here and I headed off to see it as soon as I was able to.
Mr. Brown was struggling to raise his seven children after the death of his wife. The children were a bit wild and had a reputation of scaring off nannies. Mr. Brown didn’t know what he would do after the most recent nanny left because the agency in town said they didn’t have any more nannies. He over heard a voice saying that he needed Nanny McPhee. Mr. Brown tried to be firm and discipline the children, but it didn’t work. He didn’t know what to do when Nanny McPhee arrived on his doorstep and immediately took over with the children. The children started making plans to get rid of Nanny McPhee that didn’t work the way they intended. Nanny McPhee slowly started getting through to the children while Mr. Brown was dealing with some other problems. His wife’s aunt, Adelaide, had been paying the family’s bills. She decided that Mr. Brown needed to remarry and give the children a new mother and intended to cut him off if he didn’t remarry by a certain date. The children didn’t want a step mother, though they didn’t know everything that was going on. The relationship Mr. Brown had with his children suffered after his wife had died.
I really enjoyed Nanny McPhee and am very glad that the movie finally showed up at the theater here. I’m sure I’ll be adding the DVD to my collection once it is released. It is a wonderful family movie that people without children can enjoy as well. The movie did remind me of Mary Poppins since both dealt with a special nanny arriving just when she was needed to help a family. I can’t remember a lot from Mary Poppins, but I do know that the movies aren’t identical. Nanny McPhee did share some similarities, but it is a different movie. Certain things were rather predictable, but there were also a few surprises thrown in here and there as well. I really feel like this movie is destined to become a classic family movie.
Nanny McPhee was a funny movie. Some of the things that were done for humor, like when the children decided to dress up some animals when Aunt Adelaide visited, were a bit silly. The silliness didn’t bother me one bit and I think it worked for the movie, helping to make it more entertaining. Some people might think parts of the movie are too silly. Some of what the children did when they were acting up was also funny. Everyone had some reactions to Nanny McPhee and her appearance when she arrived that made me laugh. Overall, this was a very light hearted movie though there were some serious moments in the movie as well. The death of the children’s mother was a major part of the plot without it being dwelt on and making the movie depressing. The children did talk about her a few times and her chair was still sitting in the room with Mr. Brown’s desk. He hadn’t forgotten her and would sit and talk to the chair about things that were troubling him. Nanny McPhee was aware of how important she still was to everyone in the Brown family. Nanny McPhee did something to acknowledge Mrs. Brown continued presence in the house that was very nice. There were some lessons taught throughout the movie, and the children weren’t the only characters that learned things. The movie had a good message.
I felt like the Brown children were the main characters of the movie even though it was named after Nanny McPhee. She was very important to the plot, but the movie was really about the children. The oldest was maybe 12 or 13 and the youngest was still a baby, so it probably hadn’t been that long since their mother had died. The children had a good relationship with each other and they worked together to drive off the nannies. They acted like monsters at times, all but destroying the house with their antics. Once they got the attention they needed, they showed that they could be well behaved. They were intelligent, something that Nanny McPhee pointed out at one point. All of the actors playing the children did fine with their parts and they seemed like a believable family.
Mr. Brown was trying his best to juggle his job and deal with his children. He missed his wife terribly, and he ended up pulling away from the children. He had problems that he was trying to figure out and he thought it was best not to tell the children what was going on. He loved his children. He just had no clue how to deal with them or make them behave. Colin Firth was very good in the part. I thought he was believable as a father not sure what to do with his children. This part was different from the few other parts that I’ve seen Firth play. He became well known for playing Mr. Darcy in a version of Pride and Prejudice. People may also know him from the part he played in the Bridget Jones movies.
Evangeline was a kind young woman that worked as a maid in the Brown house. She did what she could to help the children and Mr. Brown. I don’t remember seeing Kelly Macdonald in anything else, though she did have a small part in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Mrs. Blatherwick worked as the cook in the Brown house. She didn’t seem to like the children at all and lived in fear that they would invade her kitchen even though she had it in writing that they weren’t ever to enter that room. Imelda Staunton was fine in the part. Aunt Adelaide was Mrs. Brown’s very opinionated and rich aunt. She had been giving Mr. Brown money every month. Without that money, he wouldn’t be able to pay all the bills. She thought that she had the right to tell him to get remarried because of the financial support she gave the family. She was not a nice person. Angela Lansbury was great in the part.
Nanny McPhee showed up one evening just when Mr. Brown most needed help with the children. She knew everyone’s name and was aware that Mrs. Brown had died even though she had never met the family before. She wasn’t that pleasant to look at and she carried a walking stick. She had some kind of magical powers that were never really explained. The children did believe she was a witch for a while. Not much was every explained about Nanny McPhee and where exactly she came from, so she did remain mostly a mystery. She was strict with the children, but not cruel or unkind. She was trying to help the children as well as Mr. Brown. Emma Thompson was wonderful in the role. She must have had to spend a lot of hours in the make up chair to achieve Nanny McPhee’s look. She was completely unrecognizable in the part. Thompson also adapted the screenplay from the Nurse Matilda books. I’ve never read those books so I don’t know how the movie compares to them.
Main Cast
Eliza Bennet - Tora
Elizabeth Berrington - Letitia
Raphael Coleman - Eric
Jennifer Rae Daykin - Lily
Colin Firth - Mr. Brown
Holly Gibbs - Christianna
Sam Honywood - Sebastian
Angela Lansbury - Aunt Adelaide
Kelly Macdonald - Evangeline
Thomas Sangster - Simon
Imelda Staunton - Mrs. Blatherwick
Emma Thompson - Nanny McPhee
Kirk Jones - Director
Nanny McPhee was a wonderful, entertaining movie that is family friendly. It is a magical type of movie that you don’t see very often any more. It really is one of the best family movies I have seen in a long time. It is definitely worth seeing and I am already planning to add the DVD to my movie collection once it is released.
In this wickedly charming tale, Emma Thompson portrays a mysterious woman with special powers who enters the household of the recently widowed Mr. Bro...More at HotMovieSale.com
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