stormhawk2018 "When you need me, but don't want me, then I must stay. When you want me, but don't need me, then I must go." "Nanny McPhee" is about a father, Cedric Brown (Colin Firth), that has a hard time keeping a nanny in house because his kids (Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Eliza Bennett, Holly Gibbs, etc.) run the house. Then Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) comes to see if she can help. At first the kids will do anything in their power to get rid of the new nanny; but later Nanny and the kids will help his father trying to marry with the beautiful Evangeline (Kelly MacDonald). Will McPhee leave or stay and teach them how to behave?Pro: Good plot Con: lacking acting I just thought "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music" (the two masterpieces that influenced this movie) were a better films.

haterofcrap I think this is a pretty decent flick for the whole family, probably not at the same level of masterpieces like "The Sound of Music" and "Mary Poppins", but at least it was much better than most of the so-called family films that Hollywood keeps producing in the recent years.For me, what made this movie work were the funny performances of each actor, particularly Colin Firth and Emma Thompson, who made this film a very enjoyable experience despite the silliness of some scenes.Honestly, this turned out to be much better than I was expecting, and some scenes (like for example, the beautiful ending scene) remind me the times when innocent films for the whole family were produced, unlike the commercial and inappropriate kid's movies and television shows of the recent years.

dusya65 The film should be watched twice. I' m not kidding. First time you see it you take it as a nice fairy tale sometimes funny, sometimes a little sad but still a fairy tale. After watching it for the second time I realized that it tells us very important things. The very first lesson I've learnt is how important, almost vital the role that parents play in their children's life, is. Mr.Brown was so mush absorbed by his grief that he stopped reading bed –time stories to his children, playing cricket with them, talking with Simon. That was the starting point when all the troubles with the children started. It was lesson number ONE. No matter how busy we are, what problems we have, we should always remember about our children, keep an eye on them, care for them. As soon as we stop doing that everything goes wrong. Lesson number TWO. We remember very well how Nanny McPhee looked like when she first appeared in the family: her "potatous" nose , the warts … But in the course of time she became nicer and nicer. It all happened because the children became better and better. At the end of the film we meet a very nice, slender woman who has nothing to do with Nanny McPhee we met in the beginning. What is the lesson? Very much in our life depends on ourselves and people around us. The worse and uglier they are the uglier we ourselves become. My conclusion? Be kind, friendly, understanding, sympathizing , and there will be no "warts" around you. PS. I was quite disappointed when in one of the interviews I read that Mr. C. Firth felt ashamed of his part in the film. He wouldn't like his sons to see him running, jumping and all that. What was wrong about that? It sounded to me somewhat "snobbish". Or I must have misunderstood what he said. Did I?

gee-15 The Brown children (seven in all) have recently lost their mother and have not taken it well. They have driven away a large number of nannies and are thrilled to hear their beleaguered father say that there are no more nannies. Paradise! However, they have not reckoned on the intervention of a most decidedly unorthodox nanny named Nanny McPhee who appears on the doorstep of the Browns just as the children have invaded the kitchen, tied up the cook, and taken to destroying the room.Nanny McPhee differs from other similar cinematic creations (e.g. Mary Poppins) in that she is uncommonly ugly, scary, and during her first interaction with the children displays behaviors more in common with witches than magical nannies. Interestingly, her behavior changes and her appearance improves as the children not only begin employing long lost manners but learn some valuable lessons along the way about decisions and their consequences.As the children get their comeuppance rather early on and begin behaving appropriately, we realize that Nanny McPhee has more lessons to teach than those about manners and more people to teach than just the children.Mr. Brown is an interesting character. He's sympathetically played by Colin Firth which is good because he's easily the wimpiest male character since Ross on "Friends". However, Firth's portrayal is that of a loving father who has lost his ability to connect with his children (for some very justifiable reasons). One of the most tender moments in the film is the point when Mr. Brown comes downstairs after finally really speaking to and understanding his children to find Nanny McPhee bathed in shadows. She tells him that Lesson Four is complete. "Lesson Four?" he asks. She steps forward from the shadows to say, "To listen." And we realize that not only is Nanny McPhee here for the children but for him as well.Some interesting ideas are presented here about appearances and judging by such appearances. It is the scullery maid Evangeline who sees the children for what they are and likes them despite their bad behavior. And it is Mr. Brown who recognizes Evangeline when she re-enters the house cleaned up and changed through her "adoption" by Aunt Adelaide. One of the children says, "she looks like a fairy princess" and Mr. Brown, smiling says, "she always looked that way". Just as the children underestimated the perceptiveness and affection of Evangeline, she in turn underestimated Mr. Brown's. And nobody suspected the lovely person that is Nanny McPhee until the heart-warming climax when she appears completely altered (and looking surprisingly similar to Emma Thompson) to bring the film to its satisfying close.