What Do The Critics Say?
"Poppy has been sent to an exclusive boarding school with a relatively relaxed set of rules for its students. So she is not exactly doing it as tough as she makes out.The final act of Wild Child is in no way a cliffhanger, but it doesn't really matter. By that point, the film has achieved just the right levels of brightness and triteness demanded by its target audience. If you've already seen "Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging" and want more of the same fizzy giggles, this is where you'll find them."
HERALD SUN AUSTRALIA
"There may be little that's new in this coming of age, fish out of water tale about a rebel who finds her way, but first time screenwriter Lucy Dahl (daughter of the late Roald Dahl) has come up with a pert and charming script that is nicely handled by acclaimed editor Nick Moore in his second project as director. The film has an energy and honesty about it: it's lively, funny and smart and the characters are appealing. There's plenty to appeal to young teenage girls and women who enjoy being reminded of their teenage years will also be entertained."
Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE
"Did anyone ever go to a girls school half as fun as the ones in the movies? There is nothing surprising or original here, but that is half the fun. The school is predictably snooty but charming, and when Poppy's scheme to get herself kicked out involves snogging the hottest (and only) boy in the film: the ending isn't exactly hard to spot."
Anthony Morris WEBWOMBAT
"Roberts is more than competent as the lead, although she doesn't quite have Aunty Julia's charisma. Natasha Richardson nails the part of the no-nonsense but compassionate headmistress Mrs. Kingsley, taking the role beyond the cliche to give Wild Child added weight. What begins as tedious teen comedy/drama about a Californian brat turns out to be a surprisingly agreeable. We've been here before, but Wild Child is still a spirited, upbeat romp."
Annette Basile FILMINK
"Bright and silly, with just enough wit and intelligence to make it watchable, this British-American teen comedy doesn't break much new ground, but is pretty entertaining while it lasts. We worry that this is just going to be another stupid fish out of water tale with teen girls clawing at each other. The nice surprise is that it actually develops into something far more interesting. The final scenes are surprisingly genuine, and more than make up for the contrivances that get us there."
Rich Kline SHADOWS ON THE WALL
"Harry Potter's popularity evidently has sparked the notion that boarding schools still appeal to modern tweens because after the tepid remake of St Trinian's comes Wild Child. Wild Child's charms win out. There are some funny moments, particularly when the girls try to buy alcohol, and it's refreshing to see a modern teenage film with colourful dialogue."
Kerrie Murphy THE AUSTRALIAN
"Credit is definitely due to Roberts for turning around such an initially annoying lead, but there's also strong support from her friends, particularly Nixon and Temple, both of whom create likeable, interesting characters and prove themselves talents to watch in future. Despite a shaky start, Wild Child is actually a surprisingly entertaining teen flick, thanks to likeable performances and a script that highlights the importance of friendship. Essentially, Mean Girls meets St Trinian's. Worth seeing."
Matthew Turner VIEWLONDON
"With Aunty Julia putting acting on the back burner for motherhood, the House Of Roberts offers an heiress to their acting throne in the form of fresh-faced Emma Roberts. Wild Child is an interesting and sometimes amusing film but lacks the fluidity demanded by discerning audiences. Probably more suited to kids who still have the adventure of puberty ahead of them."
TIMEOFF
"The premise of Wild Child sounds like something Boris Johnson might propose: cure teen delinquency with fresh air, lashings of ginger ale and plenty of lacrosse. The wild child is Emma Roberts, playing a ghastly Malibu princess transposed to a British girls’ school."
Wendy Ide TIMES ENTERTAINMENT UK
"The culture shock of an American plopped in the middle of very British society gets another lively and funny working over. Linked with a lesson of life, Emma Roberts hits all the right marks as popular Malibu teen brat Poppy, who so infuriates her father he bundles her off to British boarding school Abbey Mount. Roberts has her finger on the confused character's pulse and is very engaging and fun to watch as she goes through the twists and turns of the culture makeover of Poppy. It's helped by a chemistry with Pettyfer delivering charm and a slightly dramatic turn in the climactic activity."
Stan James ADELAIDENOW
The Inside Story
Screenwriter Lucy Dahl based her script for Wild Child on two quite different eras in her life. As a girl, she attended boarding school in England, and as an adult, she lived in Los Angeles and became the mother of teenage daughters. As she observed the behavior of her children and their school friends, she grew fascinated by their culture...and the similarities of young women across generations. When imagining "Wild Child", Dahl drew from a difficult time in her life about which she is not so proud, but can relate to. "I wrote the screenplay based on my antics when I was at school. I did actually set my school on fire, and I was expelled. I did have a real Mrs Kingsley (the headmistress), and she was lovely." Her mentor’s feelings toward Dahl changed the day she earned what happened. "She was just so disappointed when she found out that I had done it. I called my Dad the day afterwards ,because we didn’t get caught right away, and I said, 'Someone set fire to the school last night!' My Dad called Mrs Kingsley and said, 'There’s a maniac in your school! You’ve got to find her and get her out.' He was a bit embarrassed when he found out it was me." Lucy was not the only Dahl in her family who was prone to acting up and upon whom the characters of Poppy and her clique were based. "I wrote it when I had teenage daughters in L.A. Girls at that age can be so horrible to each other. I’ve seen it and been the mean girl myself, and when you get older you just think, 'Girls, girls, girls; don’t do it!' Naturally, with all difficulty, there was humor to be found." notes Dahl, whose father is Roald Dahl ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"). Working Title Films Tim Bevan ("Hot Fuzz" & "Mr Bean's Holiday") and Eric Fellner ("Love Actually" & "Hot Fuzz") responded to the coming of age tale and dark humor in Dahl’s script. "Wild Child is a fun and fresh departure for us, being the first film we have made specifically for teenage girls. We were drawn by Lucy’s sparky screenplay and the opportunity to show off the talents of a new emerging group of young actresses, led by Emma Roberts," Bevan offered. Bevan and Fellner asked producer Diana Phillips ("Birthday Girl" & "Death at a Funeral") to work alongside them for the film. As an American living in London and the mother of three daughters, Phillips had a solid understanding of the issues young girls faced as they grew up, and what it felt like to be a fish out of water. Based on his longstanding relationship with Working Title, prolific editor Nick Moore was brought on to the project as a first-time director. This was the next logical step for the man who had edited a string of commercial and critical hits including: "Notting Hill", "About a Boy", "Love Actually" and "Nanny McPhee" for Working Title Films. As Phillips suggests, Moore’s reputation as an established romantic comedy editor made him a natural fit to helm his own film. "Nick brings so much to the film from his perspective as an editor. His reputation as an amazing editor, much deserved, really does show up in his plans and preparations for the shooting." With its comedy, heart and universal themes of growing up and loss, Wild Child’s script struck a chord for Moore. He also saw in Dahl’s work an opportunity to create a film that would appeal to both American and British filmgoers, as well as audiences across the globe. "There’s a good moral story in there," Moore said. "Poppy wasn’t bad; she was a bit lost and needed to find herself. I also like to be cheered up by movies; it’s important to send people away feeling positive."
With the script set and the director chosen, the filmmakers would begin the search for a spoiled Malibu princess and a band of girls brought in to her life to, alternately, tempt and save her. When it came to selecting the lead role of Poppy, it was important to find a young American actress who could play a self-obsessed, pampered southern California socialite, as well as convincingly carry off a gradual transformation into a considerate, fresh-faced English schoolgirl. In popular teen actress Emma Roberts ("Nancy Drew" & "Aquamarine"), Moore and the producers found the perfect blend. "This movie wasn’t going be made unless the perfect Poppy was found, and Emma stood out as a movie star. She was incredibly natural. She’s a real professional and has had her own TV show for a few years. It was the perfect movie for Emma at this stage in her career, and she’s proven to be incredible," notes Phillips. Roberts was delighted at the chance to take the fake-tanned, bleach-blonde brat on the journey from the comforts of her swank Malibu home to the perceived confines of an English boarding school. "When she first gets to England from L.A., Poppy is a spoiled L.A. girl who just doesn’t want to be bothered with anything; then she starts a transformation when she gets there. She’s kind of mean but nice, deep down. I loved the character and the story. I have never played a character like Poppy before, so it was really cool to play someone different," says the niece of Oscar winning actress Julia Roberts. At the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, Aidan Quinn shared the Special Jury Prize for outstanding ensemble performance with Janet McTeer, Pat Carroll, Jane Adams, Greg Huge and Iris DeMent ("Songcatcher"). The father of two girls (Ava and Mia) was cast as Poppy’s long-beseiged father, Gerry. After reading Dahl’s screenplay, knew he wanted audiences to not only laugh through the film, but also find the humanity he saw in it. "I hope the audience gets wrapped up in the emotions of the story and the feeling of what it is to be a teenager that’s troubled, then finds her way through it with friends, family and a degree of discipline and direction." 1991 and 2006 Evening Standard British Film Awards Best Actress Award winner Natasha Richardson ("The Comfort of Strangers" & "Asylum") was cast as the schools Headmistress, Mrs Kingsley. Richardson wasn’t only impressed with the screenplay, she was keen to work with a debut director who was receptive to the feedback that she and her fellow performers offered. It also offered her the chance to once again work with Quinn who co-starred with her in critically lauded adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s, "The Handmaid’s Tale". The students at Abbey Mount School for Girls are supervised by the diminutive but strict Matron, played by 2003 and 2006 Cherbourg-Octeville Festival of Irish & British Film Best Actress Award winner ("American Cousins" & "Frozen") Scottish actress Shirley Henderson. Henderson has spent much of the past decade as a boarding school student herself, playing Moaning Myrtle, the ghost of a young girl who has been long-departed. "I used to get in to a lot of trouble because I was very small and very young for my age," Henderson ("Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day") recalled. "I always used to stand up for myself and just quietly got through it." Along with the adults in Poppy’s world, it was as important to find the correct ensemble of young British actresses to play alongside Roberts. As her fellow classmates, they needed to be a group of girls that a young audience would identify with and believe would actually populate the academy. The filmmakers next task, wasn't an easy one.
"Finding the girls was tough," says Moore. "These are parts for young girls, and so the actresses wouldn’t have necessarily had very much experience on screen. The important thing for us was to make sure that there was a group that you believed. We flew Emma over for a few days and had a whole bunch of girls try out. We tried different combinations until we felt we had the best ensemble." The casting process led to the mates with whom Poppy begrudgingly shares a dormitory room. When it came to selecting the actor to play Poppy's love interest, Mrs. Kingsley’s son Freddie, the production turned to Alex Pettyfer, star of the spy thriller "Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker". Pettyfer was chosen as the perfect young man to turn Poppy’s head. Unfortunately, he also happens to be the object of Head Prefect Harriet's unrequited affections. In order to create Poppy’s move from a Southern California high school to a British boarding school, filming crisscrossed England’s countryside, as well as the city of Los Angeles. The shots of key interior scenes took place at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire; Robin Hood’s Bay (near Whitby), North Yorkshire; and in the historic village of Haworth, situated at the edge of the Pennine Moors in West Yorkshire. This region was made famous by authors who long ago documented the angst of young women: the prodigious Brontë sisters. It is now known as Brontë Country. In the center of Haworth on Main Street, the exteriors and interiors of local businesses were transformed to accommodate filming. These included the vintage clothing and accessories shop The Souk, which became the charity shop where the girls rummage for fashions for the dance; the Rose & Co. Apothecary, which became the liquor store where Poppy charms her way into buying a few bottles; and Emma’s Eating Parlour, which became the site of Poppy’s transformation into a lovely brunette, Christopher’s Salon. The majority of the exterior and interior school scenes were filmed at Cobham Hall in Kent, chosen as the setting for the fictional Abbey Mount School for Girls. Today, Cobham Hall is an independent boarding and day school for young women. It is steeped in history and set in 150 acres of Grade II-listed parkland in Kent. Dating back to the 12th century, Cobham Hall was given by Henry II to a French knight. On two occasions, the manor house was visited by Elizabeth I, and Charles I spent a night of his honeymoon at Cobham. Charles Dickens often passed through the park on his way from his home at Gad’s Hill Place to drink ale at the Leather Bottle Inn in Cobham village, frequently stopping to visit his friend, the Earl of Darnley. The Honor Court where Poppy is given the chance to clear her name and key classroom scenes were filmed by director Moore and cinematographer Chris Seager at Balls Park in Hertfordshire. The mansion, a building of great architectural interest and beauty, was erected by Sir John Harrison in 1640 during the reign of Charles I. It is situated in more than one hundred acres of parkland on the outskirts of the county town of Hertford. A private residence in Malibu became the location for Poppy’s beachside home. Additional Los Angeles filming took place at the landmark Fred Segal shops and in Paradise Cove. "It’s been really fun working with a U.K. cast and crew. I’ve always wanted to visit England," Roberts said.
Synopsis
 Poppy is a self-obsessed, incorrigible teenage brat who lives a pampered life in her L.A. world. Though she’s handed credit cards with unlimited balances and is surrounded by countless hangers-on, Poppy can’t escape the mounting frustration she feels with her family situation, after the loss of her mother. And she makes sure that everyone knows it. After an over the top prank pushes her father Gerry one step too far, Poppy is shipped off to an English boarding school. Finding herself in a foreign world of early curfews, stern matrons and mandatory lacrosse, the Malibu princess has finally met her match: a school of British girls who won’t tolerate her spoiled ways. Under the watchful eye of the school’s headmistress, Mrs Kingsley, and surrounded by a new circle of friends, Poppy begrudgingly realizes her bad-girl behavior will only get her so far. Does it mean she'll change her ways?
The Verdict
"Will it be a hit with teens, tweeners and young ladies. You betcha, if the feedback I received from both guests at the special Adelaide family day screening and, from my four granddaughters who now inform me they are seeing it for a second time during the school holidays. It has all the ingredients girls want in a movie. Parents will know what I mean. Cool clothing, romance, bitchiness, angst, rebellion, girlfriend bonding and, discovering who you really are at heart. One big factor in "Wild Childs" favour is that it doesn't dumb-down the target audience it is aimed at. Teens and young girls are pretty savvy these days. They understand that there are challenges ahead of them. Many are aiming to continue on the academic trail to a degree or specialized skills. It is instilled into them at a young age, to succeed you need to become smarter by getting a good education. They don't like being disrespected and even more important, treated like idiots. I'm also sure that many young cinemagoers will bedcome instant fans of Emma Roberts. If they aren't already! Roberts is set for better things, so let's all hope she doesn't go down the Lohan road. With Oscar winning Aunty Julia as a family member, you'd hope not. "Wild Child" is definately one for the girls. And of course, parents who want to have a bit of fun too. Recommended. 4 STARS."
Crew Bytes
"WILD CHILD" was .......
directed by Nick Moore ["A Good Day for Ted Schmetterling"]; screenplay by Lucy Dahl ["Wild Child"]; costume design by Julia Caston ["Treasure Island", "Slap Her ... She's French" and "Sex and Death 101"]; production design by 2005 Emmy Award winner Eve Stewart ["Nicholas Nickleby", "Vera Drake" and "Becoming Jane"]; edited by Simon Cozens ["Straight to the Heart", "Niagara Motel" and "The Last Legion"]; cinematography by Two Time BAFTA TV Award winner Chris Seager ["Fever Pitch", "White Noise" and "Stormbreaker"]; original music by 2002 Golden Reel Award winner Michael Price ["Something of Mine", "Some Things That Stay" and "The Shock Doctrine"].
Who's Who
Emma Roberts
Alex Pettyfer
Lexi Ainsworth
Shelby Young
Johnny Pacar
Aidan Quinn
Natasha Richardson
Georgia King
Eleanor Turner-Moss
Ruby Thomas
Kimberley Nixon
Juno Temple
Linzey Cocker
Sophie Wu
Shirley Henderson
Carolina Bonetti
Vanessa Branch
Paul Butterworth
Selina Cadell
Hazel Calderon
Henry Dankwah
Hazel Dean
Daisy Donovan
Hallie Kate Eisenberg
Nick Frost
Jessica Jann
Tony Jeeves
Thomas Kijas
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Poppy
Freddie
Molly
Ruby
Roddy
Gerry
Mrs Kingsley
Harriet
Charlotte
Jane
Kate
Drippy
Josie
Camilla 'Kiki'
Matron
Poppy's friend
Rosemary
Fireman
Mrs Loughton
Poppy's friend
Hot Mover
Cool Stranger
Miss Rees-Withers
Ruthie
Mr Christopher
Party Guest
Police man
Jake
Run Time 98 minutes
Rated PG [AUST]
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