CINEMA REVIEW: Nanny McPhee & The Big Bang (U) Rating: llll

Mar 26 2010 Liverpool Daily Post

Comedy. Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Asa Butterfield, Lilian Woods, Oscar Steer, Eros Vlahos, Rosie Taylor-Ritson, Dame Maggie Smith, Rhys Ifans, Sinead Matthews, Katy Brand, Ralph Fiennes, Ewan McGregor. Director: Susanna White.

Released: March 26 (UK & Ireland)

RELEASED in 2005, the original Nanny McPhee was a strong successor to Mary Poppins in every way.

Adapted from the Nurse Matilda books by Christianna Brand, the film pitted seven mischievous tykes against an ugly woman with a snaggle tooth, warts and an oversized nose, who had a few tricks up her sleeve when it came to childcare.

Susanna White’s colourful sequel casts an even more bewitching spell, introducing the mysterious nanny to a family in crisis in wartime Britain.

Nanny McPhee & The Big Bang is a glorious, rumbustious romp that once again demonstrates Emma Thompson’s magical touch in front of and behind the camera.

As screenwriter, she crafts believable, funny and endearing characters, whose plights move us to laughter and tears as the plot twists and turns in unexpected directions.

In her guise as the eponymous guardian angel, Thompson underlines the central message about inner beauty with another sparkling performance. Also, she gels wonderfully with her young co-stars - who capture the emotional distress of children who are separated from their military-bound fathers.