What The Critics Say

"The characters are all larger than life. Apart from Thompson and Lansbury, Imelda Staunton stomps madly around as the no-nonsense cook, Celia Imrie is garishly hideous as Mr Brown's marriage prospect while Derek Jacobi and Patrick Barlow ramp up the camp factor as the offsiders at Brown's funeral home. Thompson adapted the story from Christianna Brand's Nurse Matilda books, tailoring the Nanny character for herself. With Kirk Jones directing, she's succeeded in making a kiddies' flick that adults are sure to get a bit of a kick out of as well." Chris Bartlett THE SUNDAY MAIL QUEENSLAND "an intelligent children's film which will entertain the adults as much as the children." Stefan Halley HERO REALM "There's no spoon of sugar given by this nanny, but like Mary Poppins, Nanny McPhee knows how to sort out needy children as well as their needy father. And while she may be an unlikely heroine with a bulbous nose, facial moles and wildly protruding tooth, her methods are beyond reproach." Louise Keller URBANCINEFILE "Nanny McPhee, adapted by Thompson from a series of children's books, and directed by Kirk Jones (Waking Ned Devine), gives the world of old-fashioned children's fiction a garish visual makeover." Philippa Hawker THE AGE "Emma Thompson casts a convincing spell as the snagglethoothed wart faced nanny who uses much restraint in her magic forcing the children to work things out for themselves. She is complemented by Colin Firths harried widower with exceptional performances to be found in the supporting cast as well. The highlight of these being Angela Lansbury as the eccentric moneyed aunt who is back on the screen after a 20 year hiatus. 3 1/2 STARS" Jaimie Leonarder THE MOVIE SHOW SBS

The Inside Story "Who'd have kids, eh? Horrible, smelly, noisy, quarrelsome, whining, needling, clingy, destructive, recalcitrant, incontinent, inconsiderate, insufferable little beasts. Thank heavens for hired help," says Queensland Sunday Mail film critic Chris Bartlett. Not just any old help mind you, as sole parent Mr Cedric Brown has discovered. His 17th Nanny has just fled his house screaming and terrified by his kids who are by the way, absolute little shockers. This is a case that even "The Super Nanny" would turn her back on. No the Nanny he needs is Nanny McPhee. A no-nonsense Nanny with supernatural powers and all the answers. Emma Thompson is superb as Nanny McPhee who mysteriously turns up on Mr Cedric Browns doorstep. That in itself is a miracle as Nanny McPhee is not listed with any agency. When it comes to looks, Nanny McPhee is a little on the repulsive side. She has a large protruding, overhanging tooth and, warts. With her hair pulled tightly back she is indeed a fearsome sight. Emma Thompson, the only person to win an Academy Award ® for both screenwriting ["Sense and Sensibility" 1995] and acting ["Howard's End" 1992], has crafted a rowdy, raucous and at times terrifying tale of kids gone wild which thankfully ends on a happy note. "I had never heard of them," recalls Producer Lindsay Doran, who at the time was President of United Artists Pictures. "I thought maybe it was just me, but later I learned that very few people have heard of these books, even in England." The year was 1997 and as on other occassions, Thompson and Doran had gotten together over lunch to share ideas. "I found the books on my bookshelf," Thompson says. "They weren't my main fare but I loved them and I loved the illustrations. The books were very dry and witty and dark, but also very sweet. I came across the first book again about seven years ago and thought, there's something rather interesting about this." The astute Doran, immediately recognized that there was film in the offing here. "Emma told me the most basic premise of the story at that lunch. And without hearing anything else, without reading the books, without knowing anything except what she told me that day, I thought it was a terrific idea for a movie. As the days went by, the basic concept kept growing on me. I kept thinking about how this would work and how that could work and how it could be funny and how it could be emotional. For me, that's the best way to begin the development process," she says, "in a state of high excitement and enthusiasm." Doran then went about the task of optioning the rights for the three books, 'Nurse Matilda', 'Nurse Matilda Goes to Town', and 'Nurse Matilda Goes to Hospital', which were written in the early 1960s by Christianna Brand and were now out of print. For those who like me are unfamiliar with the books, here's a little history lesson I hope proves invaluable. "The tales of 'Nurse Matilda' were orally passed down for generations through the author's family. Christianna Brand was a pen name for Mary Christianna Lewis [1907-1988], an award-winning mystery writer, and she first wrote about the character in her anthology "Naughty Children" (illustrated by her cousin, the famous children's book illustrator Edward Ardizzone) and then later in her three books." After reading all three, Doran and Thompson both agreed there was a well of material. Adapting the books "had more 'blood, sweat and tears' in the writing than "Sense and Sensibility." And why was that? "Nurse Matilda," Thompson says, "was much more a creation because the books don't have any plot. There are so many disciplines. Drama, comedy, physical comedy, farce, spookiness. But the process has been much more beguiling than anything I've ever done before because it's so multi-layered." First task for both Thompson and Doran was to come up with a new name for Nurse Matilda, to avoid any confusion. "We went through a couple of possibilities, but eventually our nanny emerged as Nanny McPhee," says Doran. "It was Emma's mother [the actress, Phyllida Law] who came up with `McPhee,' and it immediately sounded right." In the film, Mr Cedric Brown hears the words "The person you need is Nanny McPhee." It is the voice of Phyllida Law. Finally, in 2002, after five years of writing, the screenplay was finished. "Nanny McPhee" is helmed by Director Kirk Jones, who had shown a keen interest in becoming involved with the production. At the time, Doran says she was surprised to find Jones was not "someone much older. A lot of people thought Kirk Jones was a ninety-year-old Irish gentleman," Doran says. "It made perfect sense. He made this movie about very old Irish people and then nobody in America heard from him again, so there was this assumption that he had probably died, poor old chap. It was a big shock to me when I found that Kirk Jones was thirty-six years old and not even Irish." Jones's last film, "Waking Ned" had been released in 1988. "Waking Ned' is a great film he made for tuppence ha'penny," says Thompson, "and it made so much money because Kirk made something universal out of it. The tone of it was exactly what we wanted, funnily enough, because it was about somebody dying, and much of the emotion in `Nanny McPhee' comes from the subject of the dead mother, while much of the comedy comes from Mr. Brown's job at the funeral parlour." Then why did it take Kirk Jones [who's advertising campaign with Heinz won the Silver Lion at Cannes in 1996] so long to find another film project? "After directing my first film, I found it very difficult to commit to another project," Jones explained. "Finding a script is like buying a house, it might take years to find it, the choice might at times be confusing, but when you finally walk through the door of the right one, you suddenly feel at home. The relief at finding the right script was enormous. When I read "Nanny McPhee" I knew immediately that this was a project that I wanted to direct. It had a great sense of theatre and magic; it was full of charm, humor and emotion, but above all, it was obvious to me that it had been carefully crafted and nurtured in a way which already made it feel like a classic." Co-producer Glynis Murray, who has worked with Jones for over a decade says, "This is perfect territory for Kirk. Kirk has a genuineness with which he portrays people. He has an ability to see the whole character, not only the more exaggerated characteristics." The story and the direction are not the only good things for "Nanny McPhee". The cast is a real treasure with terrific performances by the children. Other standouts are Thompson's "Nanny McPhee"; BAFTA winner Imelda Staunton's Mrs Blatherwick after twenty years absence from the big screen, Angela Lansbury's Great Aunt Adelaide. None however is more impressive than Thompson's Nanny McPhee. Jones recalls a defining moment prior to shooting the film. "Suddenly, two days before we started filming, this complete stranger turned up and introduced herself as Nanny McPhee." It was Thompson, "complete with two large ears, two hairy warts, thick eyebrows that join in the middle, and a nose like two potatoes and a tombstone tooth." The facial transformation was the work of Academy Award ® winning make-up effects artist Peter King. The dress Thompson was wearing was designed by costumer Nick Ede. 12 year old Eliza Bennett [who plays Tora] remembers, "We saw this big, fat, humungous lady in a black costume and two warts and a squashed tomato nose, and Holly and Sam were just like, `Ha! Who's that? And then she goes, `Hello, I'm Nanny McPhee.'". Of course there's a lot more that could be written about the production but room doesn't permit it. Perhaps the words of Colin Firth, who plays the mischievous children father, sums up perfectly what "Nanny McPhee" is all about. He says the film, "has all the elements that you want from a story, that you longed for in a story when you were a child. You wanted to be a little bit scared, well, a lot scared; you wanted perhaps to have a bit of romance. It's a good solid story. It doesn't reverse time; it doesn't go into some impressionistic zone. It's very funny; its rather menacing; it has romance and a happy ending. It really has all those fundamental, very old-fashioned story elements in abundance, working at a very high pitch. It's the kind of thing that you hope children are going to sit there watching, wide-eyed, wanting more of, and I certainly felt that myself." Cast & Crew Bytes "NANNY MCPHEE" stars .......
Academy Award, BAFTA & Golden Globe Awards winner Emma Thompson ["In The Name Of The Father", "Sense and Sensibility", "Love Actually" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"]; Royal Television Society Best Actor Award winner Colin Firth ["Bridget Jones's Diary", "The Importance of Being Earnest", "Love Actually" and "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason"]; Kelly Macdonald ["Gosford Park", "Intermission", "Finding Neverland" and "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"] Angela Lansbury ["The Picture of Dorian Gray", "The Long, Hot Summer", "The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders" and "The Pirates of Penzance"]; Celia Imrie ["Bridget Jones's Diary", "Heartlands", "Calendar Girls" and "Wimbledon"]; Derek Jacobi ["Gladiator", "The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky", "Gosford Park" and "Two Men Went to War"]; Patrick Barlow ["Shakespeare in Love", "Notting Hill", "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Chica de Río"]; Imelda Staunton ["Shakespeare in Love", "Crush", "Bright Young Things" and "Vera Drake"]; Elizabeth Berrington ["8 1/2 Women", "Quills", "Vera Drake" and "A Cock and Bull Story"] and Thomas Sangster ["Bobbie's Girl", "Love Actually" and "Tristan & Isolde"] as Simon Brown.
"NANNY MCPHEE" was .......
directed by Kirk Jones ["Waking Ned"]; screenplay by Emma Thompson ["Sense and Sensibility"]; original story by Christianna Brand ["Death in High Heels", "Heads You Lose", "Green for Danger" and "Winter's Crimes 6"]; costume design by Nic Ede ["Castaway", "Not Without My Daughter", "The Gathering" and "Bright Young Things"]; production design by Michael Howells ["Restless in Thought, Disturbed in Mind", "Emma", "An Ideal Husband" and "Bright Young Things"]; cinematography by Henry Braham ["Soft Top Hard Shoulder", "Waking Ned", "Crush" and "Bright Young Things"]; original music by Patrick Doyle ["Donnie Brasco", "Bridget Jones's Diary", "Gosford Park", "Calendar Girls" and "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"] and the producers include Debra Hayward ["Love Actually", "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason", "The Interpreter" and "Pride & Prejudice"] and Lindsay Doran ["Dead Again", "The Firm", "Sense and Sensibility" and "Sabrina"]. What It's All About Mr Cedric Brown is at his wit's end. His children have just run off the seventeenth Nanny he has employed to care for them while he works in the local Funeral Parlour. The Nanny Agency has closed its doors on him. There are no more Nannies on their books. Then a voice tells him, "The Nanny you need is Nanny McPhee." Mysteriously, Nanny McPhee appears on his doorstep. She sums the children up instantly and tells them; "When you need me, but do not want me, then I will stay. When you want me, but do not need me, then I have to go." Nanny McPhee may not be the pretiest of Nannies, but she certainly knows how to handle children. But can she tame Mr Brown's? The Verdict "While adults may find this a little predictable there is, never the less, plenty here to keep them entertained. Children will find "Nanny McPhee" a truly 'wicked' experience. Emma Thompson is superb as "Nanny McPhee". Thompson's lead role is amply supported by performances from Imelda Staunton, Kelly Macdonald, Angela Lansbury, Celia Imrie and youngster Thomas Sangster. Fun for all ages here. Recommended." Who's Who?

Emma Thompson Colin Firth Thomas Sangster Eliza Bennett Raphael Coleman Jennifer Rae Daykin Holly Gibbs Sam Honywood Kelly Macdonald Angela Lansbury Celia Imrie Derek Jacobi Patrick Barlow Imelda Staunton Elizabeth Berrington Adam Godley Phyllida Law Eleanor McCready

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Nanny McPhee Cedric Brown Simon Brown Eliza Brown Eric Brown Lily Brown Christianna Brown Sebastien Brown Evangeline Great Aunt Adelaide Selma Quickly Mr Wheen Mr Jowls Mrs Blatherwick Letitia Mr Oliphant Viscountess Cumbermere Mrs Ada Wheen

Directed by Kirk Jones Screenplay by Emma Thompson Produced by Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Lindsay Doran/Debra Hayward Original Music by Patrick Doyle Cinematography by Henry Braham Film Editing by Justin Krish & Nick Moore Casting by Michelle Guish Production Design by Michael Howells Art Direction by Lynne Huitson & Ray Chan Set Decoration by Philippa Hart Costume Design by Nic Ede Adapted from the "Nurse Matilda" books by author Christianna Brand Run Time 99 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2006 - Universal Pictures - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2006 - Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages - All Rights Reserved