Nanny McPhee and The Big Bang

14.06.2010

Film Trailer:

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Nanny McPhee is back in an imaginative comedy perfect for school-age children. This time, Nanny helps Mrs. Green and her children save the family farm.

Plot
Mrs. Green is struggling. Her husband is away at war, and she barely manages to pay her bills so that herself and her three children (Norman, Magsie and Vincent), can keep the family farm. Even though the children are good at helping her run the farm, they also argue and fight constantly, making it very hard for Mrs. Green to preserve peace in the home.

Her dubious brother-in-law, who owns half the farm, is of no help. On the contrary, he has a large gambling debt, and is trying desperately to get Mrs. Green to sell her part of the farm. And if that wasn’t enough, soon the children’s cousins come to visit – the stuck-up Cyril and the condescending Celia.

Total chaos soon follows, but fortunately – one night they hear a knock on the door. Nanny McPhee has arrived. With her magic wand and decisive, calm manner it doesn’t take her long to get the children under control. She starts by teaching them five important lessons: they need to stop fighting, learn to share, help each other, be brave and have hope. The children are a little reluctant at first, but soon they understand that if they want to save the farm, they can only succeed by following Nanny McPhee's advice.

It all evolves into some magical, fun and exciting days that the children and Mrs. Green will never forget.

Quality and Theme
”Nanny McPhee and The Big Bang” is the sequel to the box-office success ”Nanny McPhee” from 2005. The result is an entertaining and fun film that will surely become as popular as its predecessor. The story itself is not particularly original, but the individual scenes are fresh and full of humour and magic that children will enjoy. Also, the film is well made and the story has a number of good qualities. The characters of Cyril and Celia have a depth and complexity that is rare in children's films. Initially they appear almost as bad guys, but during the course of the film this changes and we get an insight into why they behave as they do.

The message in the film is multi-faceted and educational. In the beginning the children are quite selfish, but as Nanny teaches them some lessons they open up and show confidence in each other. They realise that it is much easier to be brave and have hope when they co-operate than when they are alone. In addition, Nanny McPhee makes it clear that she's going to; "Stay with the children as long as they need her, but do not want her, and she's going to go away when they want her, but no longer need her." Nanny stands by her word, and this might teach children something important about the fact that older and more experienced people often know best, despite the fact that children often protest and do not understand this until later.

Suitability
"Nanny McPhee and The Big Bang" contains no scenes that are frightening for the youngest children, but the film is so fast paced that children should be five or six years old to be able to enjoy it fully. Teenagers and adults will probably regard this as a mediocre film. The humour may seem a little childish, and the film doesn’t really contain jokes suitable for an older audience.

Conclusion
This is primarily a film for children between the ages of 5 and 12, and for them it’s a real treat.

Facts

Director: Susanna White Genre: Comedy, Adventure Actors: Ralph Fiennes, Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maggie Smith, Rhys Ifans, Asa Butterfield and more Language: English Nationality: United Kingdom Length: 1h 49mins Production Year: 2010 Age Limit: U Suitability: Family BBFC’s Consumer Advice: Contains no material likely to offend or harm.

Our Assessment: Recommended