Nanny McPhee is a quiet, old-fashioned family comedy that trusts in its cast and its premise and gets most of the way there. Emma Thompson writes and stars in this 2005 fantasy film, directed by Kirk Jones, about a widower undertaker whose seven unruly children have chased away every previous nanny. The film sets its Victorian-era story in the 1860s, and it leans on a simple device: Nanny McPhee, played by Thompson, uses mystical powers to make the children behave, with each lesson learned removing one of her visible defects.
It is a film that knows exactly what it is and rarely pretends otherwise. The story is light, the jokes are broad, and the emotional core is about a father finding his feet again after losing his wife. It is not a film built for grown-ups looking for depth or for children looking for spectacle. It is a film built for families who want a warm, unironic story about discipline, love, and the peculiar power of a woman everyone assumes is ugly until they stop looking at her and start listening.
Trailer, via News Corp Australia.
Brown Family and the Children
The film’s success rests on its children, and the cast delivers. Thomas Brodie-Sangster plays Simon, the eldest and the ringleader, while Eliza Bennett, Raphaël Coleman, Jennifer Rae Daykin, Samuel Honywood, Holly Gibbs, and the two young Barnes girls round out the family. Each child is given a distinct personality, and the film gives them room to be funny, selfish, and eventually remorseful. Their torment of the cook, Mrs Blatherwick, played by Imelda Staunton, and their general mayhem around the house provide the film’s engine.
Colin Firth plays Cedric Brown, the father, as nervous and out of his depth. He is clumsy but good-natured, and he has spent little time with his children since their mother died. Kelly Macdonald plays Evangeline, the family’s illiterate but sweet-natured scullery maid, who is the only person the children will ever listen to before Nanny McPhee arrives. The film uses Evangeline’s character to show a softer side of the Browns before the nanny’s arrival, and her background as a woman who dreams of being an educated lady gives the story a quiet undercurrent of social class.
Nanny McPhee’s Arrival
The plot turns on a discovery. Cedric discovers multiple references to a “Nanny McPhee” throughout the house, and that same night, during a storm, he opens the front door to the mysterious woman who introduces herself as Nanny McPhee. The children, led by Simon, try to play tricks on her, but she sees through their scheming, and they begin to respect her and ask her for advice. The film’s central trick is that each lesson learned removes one of Nanny McPhee’s facial defects, a visual shorthand for the children’s moral progress.
The film is adapted from Christianna Brand’s Nurse Matilda books, and the premise holds up despite its simplicity. The children’s repeated attempts to drive Nanny McPhee away fail because she is not like the other nannies. She knows their tricks, she sees through their mockery, and she is willing to stay as long as it takes.
The Family’s Finances
The story takes a darker turn when the family’s financial support, Great-Aunt Lady Adelaide Stitch, played by Angela Lansbury, threatens to separate the children. Lady Adelaide is domineering and short-sighted, and she says she will take custody of one of them to make things easier for the family. The threat hangs over the film’s final act, giving the comedy a genuine stakes. It is not a serious threat, but it is a threat, and it pushes the family to pull together under the guidance of Nanny McPhee.
The film’s domestic setting is also a character. The house is full of chaos, but it is also a place of warmth and family ties. The kitchen, where the children cause havoc, and the drawing room, where the adults gather, are both filled with life. The film’s location, the Penn House Estate in Buckinghamshire, gives the story a lived-in feel, and the production design is solid.
The Performances
The cast is uniformly good, and Thompson’s performance as Nanny McPhee anchors the film. She plays the nanny with a mixture of firmness and warmth, and she sells the magic trick without ever overplaying it. Firth is excellent as Cedric, and Macdonald is heartbreaking as Evangeline. Lansbury is a delight as Lady Adelaide, and Staunton is perfectly cast as Mrs Blatherwick, the military-minded cook who declares there will be “snow in August” before the family is put to rights.
The film’s supporting cast includes Derek Jacobi as Mr Wheen, one of Cedric’s co-workers, and Patrick Barlow as Mr Jowls, another co-worker. Celia Imrie plays Mrs Selma Quickly, the main villain of the film, a frequent widow that Cedric plans to marry to appease Aunt Adelaide. Phyllida Law provides the voice of Mrs Partridge, and Adam Godley plays the Vicar. The casting is sharp throughout, and the film benefits from a cast that understands exactly what kind of comedy they are playing.
The Flaws
The film is not without its flaws. The story is thin, and the resolution is somewhat abrupt. The children’s transformation feels sudden rather than earned, and the film’s magic is so effortless that it loses some of its power. The film is also slow in places, and the pacing could be tighter.
The film’s villains, particularly Mrs Quickly, are one-dimensional. They are stock figures with clear motivations, but they are not given the same depth as the Browns. This is a film about a family, not about a family against the world, and the villains exist only to give the story a shape and a threat.
The Legacy
Nanny McPhee was a modest success. It grossed $123.3 million against a $25 million budget, a healthy return that proved the premise had legs. A sequel, Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, was released in 2010, and a stage musical based on the film will open in 2027. The film’s production was co-produced by StudioCanal, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Working Title Films, Three Strange Angels, and Nanny McPhee Productions, with music by Patrick Doyle, and produced by Lindsay Doran, Tim Bevan, and Eric Fellner.
The film was released theatrically on 21 October 2005 in the UK and on 27 January 2006 in the US by Universal Pictures. It received generally positive reviews from critics.
The film’s tagline, “You’ll learn to love her. Warts and all,” sums up its approach. It is a film about accepting people as they are, even when they are not pretty. It is a film about disciplining children, about kindness, and about the power of a woman who is not afraid to be herself.
Key Facts
- Title: Nanny McPhee
- Year: 2005
- Director: Kirk Jones
- Writer: Emma Thompson
- Runtime: 97 minutes
- Genres: Fantasy, Comedy, Family
- Tagline: “You’ll learn to love her. Warts and all.”
- Budget: $25 million
- Box office: $123.3 million
Comparison of the Nanny McPhee Films
| Film | Release Date | Director | Writer | Setting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nanny McPhee (2005) | 21 October 2005 (UK) | Kirk Jones | Emma Thompson | Victorian England in the 1860s |
| Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010) | Not specified in source | Not specified in source | Not specified in source | Not specified in source |
The first film is the definitive version of this story, a gentle, well-cast comedy with a message that is easy to take. It is not a film that demands a second look, but it is a film that rewards a first one.
The film is a solid family comedy with a great cast and a pleasant premise, but it never quite reaches the heights of its intentions. The film is worth watching for Thompson’s performance, Firth’s performance, and the children’s chemistry, but it is a film that is easy to forget after it is over.
It is a film for children and for the adults who will watch with them and smile at the same jokes. It is not a film that will move you deeply, but it is a film that will make you laugh and feel good about family. It is a film that knows what it is and does it well, even if it never quite becomes a great film.
The film’s message is simple: discipline is not about punishment, it is about teaching. And sometimes the best teacher is a woman who is not what you expect.
Score: 5.9
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