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Nanny McPhee
Universal Pictures


7.3

based on 30 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 27 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

Waking Ned Devine

MPAA RATING: PG for mild thematic elements, some rude humor and brief language

Starring Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Kelly Macdonald, Celia Imrie, Derek Jacobi, Patrick Barlow, Imelda Staunton, Thomas Sangster, and Angela Lansbury

In this dark and witty fable, Emma Thompson portrays a person of unsettling appearance and magical powers who enters the household of the recently widowed Mr. Brown (Firth) and attempts to tame his seven ill-behaved children. (Universal Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Family/Kids \| Fantasy
WRITTEN BY:	Emma Thompson Christianna Brand (Nurse Matilda books)
DIRECTED BY:	Kirk Jones
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: May 9, 2006 Theatrical: January 27, 2006
RUNNING TIME:	97 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	France / USA / UK

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

What actors! The great Miriam Margolyes has a wonderful cameo as a scullery maid, and Colin Firth manfully endures a face full of frosting. And then there's Angela Lansbury, playing her first movie role in 20 years as the villainous Aunt Adelaide.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Will kids like the movie? I suspect they will. Kids like to see other kids learning the rules even if they don't much want to learn them themselves.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Nanny McPhee maintains a satisfying, all-ages balance between broad comedy and human warmth.

USA Today Claudia Puig

The film's look, fashioned by production designer Michael Howells, is noteworthy for its vibrant colors and fantastical feel.

TV Guide Ken Fox

This quirky, uncommonly intelligent adaptation is a strange delight.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

True, the movie tends toward the treacly at times, and the children's mischievousness seems a bit forced. But Thompson's turn as a glammed-down Mary Poppins with an even more no-nonsense attitude is hard to resist.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Thompson adapted the screenplay from Christianna Brand's "Nurse Matilda" books, and she and director Kirk Jones balance the slapstick and levity with darker enchantments. At its most enjoyable the film feels like Roald Dahl's idea of "Mary Poppins."

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

The cast is almost uniformly spectacular -- particularly Angela Lansbury as a wicked aunt and Raphael Coleman as the sardonic, bespectacled child who delivers hilarious, verbose asides and somehow makes it look effortless.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Underlying the story is sadness, a sense of mystery and a quality of pain. Enjoy the movie for its surface pleasures, but when it's over, it's those subterranean qualities that will keep it lingering in the mind.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Kate Taylor

It's a brilliant opening, but the difficulty with the familiar plot formula wherein a special stranger wins over a difficult household is that once the spell has been cast, all the plot tension, and much of the movie magic, dissipates.

Dallas Observer Staff (Not credited)

Kirk Jones (Waking Ned Devine) directs with skill, Thompson's screenplay (this is a labor of love) is witty, and the classy cast includes Colin Firth (as the kids' baffled widower-father), Angela Lansbury, Imelda Staunton, and Celia Imrie. Good fun.

Los Angeles Times Gene Seymour

A spicy little pastry with just the right proportions of flakiness and gooeyness.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

In the endearing but somewhat scatterbrained British film Nanny McPhee, Emma Thompson creates an indelible character reminiscent of Mary Poppins as conceived by the author P. L. Travers and the illustrator Mary Shepard.

Variety Leslie Felperin

Under the surface, the movie has a streak of Roald Dahl-style darkness that dilutes the sugar.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

An excellent movie… if you're a seven-year old girl. That's less a negative evaluation than it is a statement of fact. This isn't a "family film;" it's a "children's film."

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

There's magic afoot, even if the movie is more serviceable than magical.

Miami Herald Peter Debruge

This is, after all, "Mary Poppins" turned on its head.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

This bracing adaptation of the Nurse Matilda books by Christianna Brand is the acidic antidote to Mary Poppins sweetness.

The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann

I hazard the guess that quite small children--pre-science fiction, pre-heroics--will enjoy its fairy-tale quality.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Highly recommended if you want to see a distinguished cast of British character actors tarted up in garish Victorian costumes and badly executing a Three Stooges-style cake fight.

The Hollywood Reporter Ray Bennett

Colorful, noisy and brimming with special effects, the picture may please young audiences simply looking for loud action, but its corny storyline and brittle lack of warmth may discourage both parents and children.

Village Voice Jaime Mastromonica

If you have someone under 10 to take to the movies, this one is charming and painless.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

There are times when Nanny McPhee seems designed to drive all but the most sugar-crazed spazzes out of the theater: Colors that should never go together clash like a tempest, the camera whisks around in manic curlicues, and a musical score makes certain that nothing magical goes underemphasized.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

One of those raucous, hyperactive kiddie flicks that knocks you upside the head from its opening frame.

New York Post Kyle Smith

I enjoy a cozy homage to Dickens - it beats another ripoff of "The Matrix" - but though the movie has a gentle spirit, neither the actors, whose performances are broad caricatures, nor Thompson bring any wit to it.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Oversweetened or not, "Mary Poppins" remains a deservedly beloved work of art. Nanny McPhee is an overproduced industrial enterprise.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

It's a colorful and exuberant but by-the-numbers and fairly charm-free concoction.

Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman

Parents might appreciate a lighter hand with the barnyard whimsy and food fights, but overall the movie doesn't condescend about heavy matters (grief, healing, and blended families) and is pleasantly diverting.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Even Thompson, the one you look forward to watching, is disappointing.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

There's nothing offhand or spontaneous-feeling about Nanny McPhee; it's a highly mechanical piece of work, and its potentially delightful details are wasted.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.3 (out of 10) based on 27 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mark K. gave it a6:
Looking at the DVD box and the talented actors, one is expecting a good movie. Alas, it turned out to be predictable and too long. Our kids asked more than once when it would end -- not a good sign!

Troy H. gave it a5:
It's not a bad movie. It's just not a very good movie either. This would have been better if it were more realistic. The impossible movie magic that that it uses, ruins the real magic it could have had.

Sam gave it a9:
The whole movie surprised me. After seeing the ad, I expected a goofy disaster, but instead recieved a glorious, moving "remake" of Mary Poppins.

Beano S. gave it a7:
Fun, but not memorible. A British "Lemony Snicket".

[Anonymous] gave it an8:
This movie totally captivated my whole family from age 5 to 40. Loved it, especially the donkey scene and the baby in the stew pot scene.

Marilyn Z. gave it a10:
Very entertaining. Everyone in our party enjoyed this movie. Some great talent and clever scenes. We are looking forward to adding this to our DVD collection.

Terry B. gave it an8:
This more was a fun forget your day type of movie. Something that yes doesn't shock you but something that you can get lost in and just have fun with.

Nanny McPhee Universal Pictures

Nanny McPhee
Universal Pictures