Chicago – Magical nannies, dancing animals, great gusts of wind, lyrical life lessons and cute kids in need of a father. You don’t need to be practically perfect in every way in order to find these ingredients a trifle familiar. Robert Stevenson’s 1964 masterpiece “Mary Poppins” used these elements better than anyone has before or since, resulting in what is unquestionably the best live-action Disney film ever made.
“Poppins” is also one of the most influential children’s pictures ever made, inspiring countless variations and copy-cats. Yet Cristianna Brand’s “Nurse Matilda” books took the formula and peppered it with gleefully macabre wit. They centered on a hideously ugly nursemaid who resembled the Supernanny from Hell, until her charges started to become well behaved, thus erasing her multiple blemishes. In 2005, Emma Thompson adapted the books into “Nanny McPhee,” a thoroughly enjoyable fantasy that felt like the offspring of P.L. Travers and Roald Dahl.
“Poppins” is also one of the most influential children’s pictures ever made, inspiring countless variations and copy-cats. Yet Cristianna Brand’s “Nurse Matilda” books took the formula and peppered it with gleefully macabre wit. They centered on a hideously ugly nursemaid who resembled the Supernanny from Hell, until her charges started to become well behaved, thus erasing her multiple blemishes. In 2005, Emma Thompson adapted the books into “Nanny McPhee,” a thoroughly enjoyable fantasy that felt like the offspring of P.L. Travers and Roald Dahl.
- 12/10/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
It's just as well that the sequel to 2005's Nanny McPhee has already earned close to $63 million abroad, for it certainly won't appeal to anyone who didn't watch (and enjoy) the original movie. It also doesn't help that, on this side of the pond, the filmmakers saw fit to confront Yanks with the following tagline: "Who's Your Nanny?" Back in England, however, this sequel is properly known as Nanny McPhee & the Big Bang, which is essentially what you'd expect from this franchise with the added twist that this adventure (presumably) travels back in time, so that the titular character can attend to a different family in need of a helping hand (not to mention the opportunity to wave that magic stick around a bit more).
Once again, Emma Thompson reprises double duties as both screenwriter (adapting from Christianna Brand's Nurse Matilda children's stories) and supernaturally gifted nanny. As expected,...
Once again, Emma Thompson reprises double duties as both screenwriter (adapting from Christianna Brand's Nurse Matilda children's stories) and supernaturally gifted nanny. As expected,...
- 8/23/2010
- by Agent Bedhead
Nanny McPhee Returns
Directed by: Susanna White
Cast: Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rhys Ifans, Maggie Smith
Running Time: 1 hr 49 mins
Rating: PG
Release Date: August 20, 2010
Plot: Isabel Green (Gyllenhaal) is left to run the farm and bring up her three children while her husband is off fighting in WW2. After two spoiled cousins from London come to stay, everything erupts into chaos. The magical and mysterious Nanny McPhee (Thompson) arrives on the scene to save the day.
Who’S It For? Kids and any adult with a healthy connection to their inner child.
Expectations: I didn’t see the first one, so I figured I’d be left out in the cold. I also figured I’d be surrounded by hordes of shrieking children and that it would be a long, slow crawl to torturous agony.
Scorecard (0-10)
Actors:
Emma Thompson as Nanny McPhee: There’s a lot about...
Directed by: Susanna White
Cast: Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rhys Ifans, Maggie Smith
Running Time: 1 hr 49 mins
Rating: PG
Release Date: August 20, 2010
Plot: Isabel Green (Gyllenhaal) is left to run the farm and bring up her three children while her husband is off fighting in WW2. After two spoiled cousins from London come to stay, everything erupts into chaos. The magical and mysterious Nanny McPhee (Thompson) arrives on the scene to save the day.
Who’S It For? Kids and any adult with a healthy connection to their inner child.
Expectations: I didn’t see the first one, so I figured I’d be left out in the cold. I also figured I’d be surrounded by hordes of shrieking children and that it would be a long, slow crawl to torturous agony.
Scorecard (0-10)
Actors:
Emma Thompson as Nanny McPhee: There’s a lot about...
- 8/20/2010
- by Morrow McLaughlin
- The Scorecard Review
Emma Thompson's sequel charms many critics, but it's way too saccharine for others.
By Eric Ditzian
Emma Thompson in "Nanny McPhee Returns"
Photo: Universal Pictures
This weekend is set to be a crowded one at the cinema, as five new flicks receive the wide-release treatment. None of them — from "Piranha 3D" to "Vampires Suck" — are likely to come out on top at the box office, as "The Expendables" looks to commandeer the top spot for a second straight week.
Of all the fresh faces, though, Emma Thompson might well perform the best, as "Nanny McPhee Returns," which the 51-year-old Brit both wrote and stars in, arrives on U.S. shores more than four years after the original film. The latest installment has already grossed $62.6 million overseas.
How will it fair domestically? Reviews are largely positive, though it remains to be seen if "Nanny McPhee" can overtake the "Twilight" parody,...
By Eric Ditzian
Emma Thompson in "Nanny McPhee Returns"
Photo: Universal Pictures
This weekend is set to be a crowded one at the cinema, as five new flicks receive the wide-release treatment. None of them — from "Piranha 3D" to "Vampires Suck" — are likely to come out on top at the box office, as "The Expendables" looks to commandeer the top spot for a second straight week.
Of all the fresh faces, though, Emma Thompson might well perform the best, as "Nanny McPhee Returns," which the 51-year-old Brit both wrote and stars in, arrives on U.S. shores more than four years after the original film. The latest installment has already grossed $62.6 million overseas.
How will it fair domestically? Reviews are largely positive, though it remains to be seen if "Nanny McPhee" can overtake the "Twilight" parody,...
- 8/20/2010
- MTV Movie News
Emma Thompson's sequel charms many critics, but it's way too saccharine for others.
By Eric Ditzian
Emma Thompson in "Nanny McPhee Returns"
Photo: Universal Pictures
This weekend is set to be a crowded one at the cinema, as five new flicks receive the wide-release treatment. None of them — from "Piranha 3D" to "Vampires Suck" — are likely to come out on top at the box office, as "The Expendables" looks to commandeer the top spot for a second straight week.
Of all the fresh faces, though, Emma Thompson might well perform the best, as "Nanny McPhee Returns," which the 51-year-old Brit both wrote and stars in, arrives on U.S. shores more than four years after the original film. The latest installment has already grossed $62.6 million overseas.
How will it fair domestically? Reviews are largely positive, though it remains to be seen if "Nanny McPhee" can overtake the "Twilight" parody,...
By Eric Ditzian
Emma Thompson in "Nanny McPhee Returns"
Photo: Universal Pictures
This weekend is set to be a crowded one at the cinema, as five new flicks receive the wide-release treatment. None of them — from "Piranha 3D" to "Vampires Suck" — are likely to come out on top at the box office, as "The Expendables" looks to commandeer the top spot for a second straight week.
Of all the fresh faces, though, Emma Thompson might well perform the best, as "Nanny McPhee Returns," which the 51-year-old Brit both wrote and stars in, arrives on U.S. shores more than four years after the original film. The latest installment has already grossed $62.6 million overseas.
How will it fair domestically? Reviews are largely positive, though it remains to be seen if "Nanny McPhee" can overtake the "Twilight" parody,...
- 8/20/2010
- MTV Music News
I was not particularly fond of the first .Nanny McPhee. movie released in 2005. While I found the cast, headed by Emma Thompson as the magical nanny, appealing, the film was ultimately unrewarding. So to my surprise, the sequel, simply called .Nanny McPhee Returns,. is not only satisfying, it.s also quite delightful.
Just like the first film, this one is also written by Thompson based on characters created by Christianna Brand from the .Nurse Matilda. books. The Academy award-winning actress and screenwriter also returns as the unusual and hideous-looking woman who calls herself a .government nanny..
Maggie Gyllenhaal stars as Isabel Green, a mother of three who is nearing her wits ends. Her husband, Rory (Ewan McGregor), is off to war and she.s left alone to take care of the farm and the family. To make matters worse, Isabel must deal with her brother-in-law, Phil (Rhys Ifans), who has...
Just like the first film, this one is also written by Thompson based on characters created by Christianna Brand from the .Nurse Matilda. books. The Academy award-winning actress and screenwriter also returns as the unusual and hideous-looking woman who calls herself a .government nanny..
Maggie Gyllenhaal stars as Isabel Green, a mother of three who is nearing her wits ends. Her husband, Rory (Ewan McGregor), is off to war and she.s left alone to take care of the farm and the family. To make matters worse, Isabel must deal with her brother-in-law, Phil (Rhys Ifans), who has...
- 8/17/2010
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
A refreshingly old-fashioned piece of family entertainment, Nanny McPhee And The Big Bang proves to be an enjoyable sequel...
For anyone who says they don't make films like they used to any more, Nanny McPhee And The Big Bang provides a pleasant reminder that, in fact, sometimes they do. A refreshingly old-fashioned venture into Enid Blyton territory dressed up with the occasional big CGI flourish, it's a nicely played story of childhood adventure and the importance of family.
Fans of the original Nanny McPhee will likewise enjoy Big Bang. Emma Thompson, scripting again, leaves things pretty much as they were before. Though set 100 years after the first film (we're now in World War II), it's a familiar story of a parent (Maggie Gyllenhaal's Mrs Green, whose husband is off fighting) over-run by unruly kids and a financial problem to solve.
Where its predecessor had Colin Firth's widower needing...
For anyone who says they don't make films like they used to any more, Nanny McPhee And The Big Bang provides a pleasant reminder that, in fact, sometimes they do. A refreshingly old-fashioned venture into Enid Blyton territory dressed up with the occasional big CGI flourish, it's a nicely played story of childhood adventure and the importance of family.
Fans of the original Nanny McPhee will likewise enjoy Big Bang. Emma Thompson, scripting again, leaves things pretty much as they were before. Though set 100 years after the first film (we're now in World War II), it's a familiar story of a parent (Maggie Gyllenhaal's Mrs Green, whose husband is off fighting) over-run by unruly kids and a financial problem to solve.
Where its predecessor had Colin Firth's widower needing...
- 3/24/2010
- Den of Geek
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