Good fun! It is “Sound of Music” without the singing, “Mary Poppins” without the umbrella (but there is a really kewl walking stick), “Portrait of Dorian Grey” running in reverse, “Supernanny” on crack … lots of apt comparisons because, as someone mentioned below, the story seems to have been cobbled together from about a dozen different fairy tales. Emma Thompson rocks, and so does her script, from “the children ate the baby!” to “beehive – do exactly as you are told!” Well worth watching (and my 100th movie of the year, some which certainly were not).

My best friend and I, we want to see every Colin Firth movie. It’s a great task, but for some movies it’s more enjoyable than for others… and this one is in the “enjoyable” category! We really had a good laugh out of this simple yet nice movie. The children were great (they often annoy me…) and Emma Thompson is just wonderful. Sad thing is, my friend and I were rooting for Colin Firth and Emma Thompson to get together, and were very disappointed :P It was the same thing in Sense & Sensibility, we were so sad when Alan Rickman just ended as her brother-in-law. Oh well ;)

Make sure to spend at least 20 minutes with the director’s and actors’ commentary. Some of the kids pipe up, and it’s one of the most entertaining accompaniments to a film I’ve ever heard.

This was an entertaining movie. My problem with it was that it seemed like it was a children’s story chimera. It felt very much like it’s entirety was taken from a variety of other children’s stories leaving very little originality. Apart from that it was a good story with decent acting and an interesting use of color.

While this isn’t as good as usual for an Emma Thompson adaptation (let’s face it, these books aren’t exactly literary classics and she did take some liberties) this film is definitely worth a viewing, especially if there are some kids in the house. Colin Firth has somehow perfected the art of portraying a man who doesn’t have a backbone. Angela Lansbury was spot on. Kelly MacDonald and Thomas Sangster were excellent. One of the most interesting things about watching this movie is seeing Nanny McPhee’s transformation: by the end Emma Thompson shines with beauty and grace. This was a tad too Hollywood-dumbed-down for my taste, but if Cheaper By the Dozen or Yours, Mine, and Ours are favorites for you, you’ll love this film, too.