Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
Encyclopedia
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (released in the United States and Canada as Nanny McPhee Returns) is a 2010 family film
. It is a sequel to the 2005 film Nanny McPhee
. It was adapted by Emma Thompson
from Christianna Brand
's Nurse Matilda
books. Thompson reprises her role as Nanny McPhee, and the film also stars Maggie Gyllenhaal
, Ralph Fiennes
, Rhys Ifans
, Ewan McGregor
, Maggie Smith
, Asa Butterfield
, Bill Bailey
and Katy Brand
.
, Isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal
) is driven to her wits' end by her hectic life. Between trying to keep the family farm up and running and her job in the village shop, aided by the elderly and partly blind Mrs. Docherty (Maggie Smith
), she also has three boisterous children to look after, Norman (Asa Butterfield
), Megsie (Lil Woods
) and Vincent (Oscar Steer
). All of this she has to do while her husband is away at war. So when her children's two spoiled cousins, Cyril (Eros Vlahos
) and Celia (Rosie Taylor-Ritson
) Gray are sent to live on their farm and another war is being fought between the two sets of children, she is in need of a little magic. She hears a mysterious voice telling her that she needs Nanny McPhee and, to her astonishment, Nanny McPhee appears on her doorstep one stormy night.
Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson
) arrives to take matters into her own hands. At first, the children do not listen and carry on fighting, but she calmly bangs her stick, causing them to start hurting themselves, and Vincent to break things with his cricket bat. Eventually, they apologize, and the two groups learn to tolerate each other. Nanny McPhee then teaches them another lesson and punishes them, to share, by forcing the older boys to share their bed with a goat, the girls with the family cow, and Vincent with a baby elephant, making them realize sharing with one another wasn't so bad and start acting kinder to one another. For instance, Megsie gives Celia some of her best clothing when the ones she brings are ruined, which had made her resort to wearing their mother's wedding dress. Meanwhile, Isabel's brother-in-law
Uncle Phil (Rhys Ifans
) has gambled away the farm and is being chased down by two hit women. He desperately attempts to make Isabel sell her half of the farm, using an array of schemes. These include digging a hole so that the family piglets can escape, but by working together, the children manage to round them up in time.
Mrs. Green takes all the children on a picnic during which an ARP Warden, Mr. Docherty (Sam Kelly
), warns them all about bombs and how he imagines a pilot might accidentally release his bomb in the remote area in which the family lives. At the end of the picnic Uncle Phil delivers a telegram saying that Rory Green has been "killed in action
" in the war. Isabel believes the telegram, along with everybody else. But Norman does not, and says that he has a feeling "in his bones" that his father is not dead. He tells this to Cyril, who at first says it is just because he is upset, but then agrees to help Norman determine the truth. They realise that Cyril's father, Lord Gray (Ralph Fiennes
), a high-ranking figure in the War Office can find out for himself what has happened to Rory. So they manage to get Nanny McPhee to take them to London on her motorcycle. (For Pink Floyd fans: Note the Pig shaped barrage baloon above Battersea Power Station in the panoramic view as they arrive in London)
Upon arrival in London, Nanny McPhee uses her status in the army to get the boys access to the War Office, where they meet Lord Grey. At first he scoffs at Norman when he tells him about his disbelief of his father's death, but after Cyril angrily informs his father that he knows that his parents are getting a divorce, he gives in and goes to check on Rory's status. While he is gone, Cyril tells Norman that he and Celia have been sent away because their parents will be splitting up, and not because of the bombs, and he is unsure where he and Celia will have to live. Norman tells Cyril that he and Celia are welcome to live on the farm with the Greens, to his delight. Lord Grey returns and informs them that Rory is not listed as killed in action, as the telegram had stated, but missing in action
, and that there is no record of a telegram ever having been sent to Isabel.
The boys then leave and Norman works out that the telegram brought to his mother by Uncle Phil was in fact a fraud to get Isabel to sell the farm. While the boys are at the War Office, Megsie, Celia and Vincent are trying to stop Isabel from signing the papers and selling the farm. When their own efforts fail, Megsie calls to Nanny McPhee for help, who hears her plea and summons a baby Elephant to stall for time. Just as Isabel is about to sign the papers, an enemy plane flies overhead. The pilot sneezes twice, and on the third sneeze, a huge bomb is dropped, but does not explode and is sticking out of the barley field. When Nanny McPhee returns with Norman and Cyril, thanks to the Nanny's magic, the children go out to watch Mr. Docherty dismantle the bomb, but he falls from the ladder and faints, and Megsie takes over. She succeeds with the help of the other children and Nanny McPhee's putty eating bird, Mr. Edelweiss. Nanny McPhee then helps to harvest the barley and saves Phil from the hit women, with a little magic, and she and Mrs. Docherty watch the family celebrate.
During their conversation, Mrs. Docherty says to Mr. Docherty that Nanny McPhee hates goodbyes and that she remembers from when she was young. She then takes out a rattle, revealing that she is baby Aggie from the first film
. As Nanny McPhee walks away from the now happy family, true to her statement "When you need me, but do not want me, I must stay. When you want me, but no longer need me, then I have to go", the children and Isabel chase after her, determined to prove they still need her. However, they discover that they in fact do not, as they round a bend to see that their father is descending from the hill, passing Nanny McPhee along the way. Rory Green (Ewan McGregor
), in army uniform and with an injured arm, runs to the arms of his children and wife and rejoices in the discovery that after leaving three children to go to war, he has returned to find five. As Nanny McPhee watches the reunion, now a beautiful woman, she forgives Mr. Edelweiss and allows him to perch on her shoulder as they leave into the distance leading to another sequel.
is as ugly as the children are naughty, so whenever a lesson is learned, one of her disfigurements vanishes. When all five lessons are learned, Nanny McPhee transforms from ugly to beautiful.
gave it 4/5 stars stating the film was "smart, witty and beautifully crafted - exactly what you want from a family film" and excited about the next film said "Roll on Nanny McThree". The Independent
gave a very favourable review stating "film is an ingenious entertainment machine fuelled by a profound understanding of what children enjoy, whether it's cowpats, talking welly boots or piglets doing synchronised swimming. Thompson has written a properly funny script, which is performed superbly by Ifans, Maggie Smith, Bill Bailey, Ralph Fiennes and some estimable child actors". Eros Vlahos
was nominated for Best Leading Young Actor at the Young Artist Awards 2011
against Noah Ringer
for The Last Airbender
, Zachary Gordon
for Diary of a Wimpy Kid
and Jaden Smith
(winner) for The Karate Kid
.
In contrast, many critics were appalled at the trivial nature in which World War II is depicted.
, grossing a total of £16,211,057. In the United States and Canada, it debuted in seventh position with a $8.4 million take and a total gross of $29,011,215.
and Blu-Ray versions were released in the UK on 19 June 2010. Nanny McPhee Returns (as has been renamed for North America) was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on May 6th, 2011.
's books Nurse Matilda
.
The books almost are not connected with the film, but most of the moments are adaptations of the books. Emma Thompson
started to write the script based on Brand`s books in the spring of 2007
in Buckinghamshire
, the farm set and scenes were filmed in Hascombe
, near Godalming
in Surrey
and the War Office scenes, both interior and exterior, were filmed at the University of London Senate House
.
. Presently, rumors have circulated that the plot for the third installment may be set in modern day England. Emma Thompson, star and writer, has hinted that this may be a possibility.
Family film
A family film is a film genre that is designed to appeal to a variety of age groups and, thus, families.In December 2005, Steven Spielberg's 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial came first in a poll of the 100 Greatest Family Films. The genre today generates billions of dollars per annum.Family...
. It is a sequel to the 2005 film Nanny McPhee
Nanny McPhee
Nanny McPhee is a 2005 fantasy film starring Emma Thompson and Colin Firth. Thompson also wrote the screenplay, which is adapted from Christianna Brand's Nurse Matilda books.-Plot:...
. It was adapted by Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson is a British actress, comedian and screenwriter. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End...
from Christianna Brand
Christianna Brand
Christianna Brand was a British crime writer and children's author.- Background :Christianna Brand was born Mary Christianna Milne in Malaya and grew up in India. She had a number of different occupations, including model, dancer, shop assistant and governess...
's Nurse Matilda
Nurse Matilda
The Nurse Matilda books were written by the British children's author Christianna Brand and illustrated by her cousin, Edward Ardizzone. The books are based on stories told to the cousins by their grandfather....
books. Thompson reprises her role as Nanny McPhee, and the film also stars Maggie Gyllenhaal
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Margaret Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal born November 16, 1977) is an American actress. She is the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. She made her screen debut when she began to appear in her father's films...
, Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
, Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
, Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
, Maggie Smith
Maggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 59 years...
, Asa Butterfield
Asa Butterfield
Asa Maxwell Thornton F. Butterfield is an English actor, best known for starring in the Holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas , as Norman in the 2010 film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, and playing the title role in Martin Scorsese's 2011 fantasy Hugo.-Life and career:Butterfield was born...
, Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey is an English comedian, musician and actor. As well as his extensive stand-up work, Bailey is well known for his appearances on Black Books, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI.Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in...
and Katy Brand
Katy Brand
Katy Brand is an English actress, comedian and writer known for her ITV2 series Katy Brand's Big Ass Show and for Comedy Lab Slap on Channel 4....
.
Plot
On a farm in Britain during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Margaret Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal born November 16, 1977) is an American actress. She is the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. She made her screen debut when she began to appear in her father's films...
) is driven to her wits' end by her hectic life. Between trying to keep the family farm up and running and her job in the village shop, aided by the elderly and partly blind Mrs. Docherty (Maggie Smith
Maggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 59 years...
), she also has three boisterous children to look after, Norman (Asa Butterfield
Asa Butterfield
Asa Maxwell Thornton F. Butterfield is an English actor, best known for starring in the Holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas , as Norman in the 2010 film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, and playing the title role in Martin Scorsese's 2011 fantasy Hugo.-Life and career:Butterfield was born...
), Megsie (Lil Woods
Lil Woods
Lillian 'Lil' Woods is a young actress, appearing in the film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang as Megsie Green. Woods lives on a farm. Woods's only other film credit is Blessed as Charlotte.-Filmography:*BlessedCharlotte...
) and Vincent (Oscar Steer
Oscar Steer
Oscar Thomas George Steer is a British child actor, best known for his role as Vincent in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang ....
). All of this she has to do while her husband is away at war. So when her children's two spoiled cousins, Cyril (Eros Vlahos
Eros Vlahos
Eros Vlahos is an English actor and comedian best known for playing Cyril Gray in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang and Jake Farley in Summer in Transylvania. Vlahos has written and performed his own material at the Edinburgh Festival. He also had a comedy show on Radio London. Vlahos was born in...
) and Celia (Rosie Taylor-Ritson
Rosie Taylor-Ritson
Rosie Taylor-Ritson is an English actress, most notably known for starring as 'Celia' in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang. She lives in Brighton, England and found out that she had got the lead part of Celia just as she was starting secondary school after several callbacks. She also starred in Trace,...
) Gray are sent to live on their farm and another war is being fought between the two sets of children, she is in need of a little magic. She hears a mysterious voice telling her that she needs Nanny McPhee and, to her astonishment, Nanny McPhee appears on her doorstep one stormy night.
Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson is a British actress, comedian and screenwriter. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End...
) arrives to take matters into her own hands. At first, the children do not listen and carry on fighting, but she calmly bangs her stick, causing them to start hurting themselves, and Vincent to break things with his cricket bat. Eventually, they apologize, and the two groups learn to tolerate each other. Nanny McPhee then teaches them another lesson and punishes them, to share, by forcing the older boys to share their bed with a goat, the girls with the family cow, and Vincent with a baby elephant, making them realize sharing with one another wasn't so bad and start acting kinder to one another. For instance, Megsie gives Celia some of her best clothing when the ones she brings are ruined, which had made her resort to wearing their mother's wedding dress. Meanwhile, Isabel's brother-in-law
Brother-in-law
A brother-in-law is the brother of one's spouse, the husband of one's sibling, or the husband of one's spouse's sibling.-See also:*Affinity *Sister-in-law*Brothers in Law , a 1955 British comedy novel...
Uncle Phil (Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
) has gambled away the farm and is being chased down by two hit women. He desperately attempts to make Isabel sell her half of the farm, using an array of schemes. These include digging a hole so that the family piglets can escape, but by working together, the children manage to round them up in time.
Mrs. Green takes all the children on a picnic during which an ARP Warden, Mr. Docherty (Sam Kelly
Sam Kelly
Sam Kelly is an English actor who has appeared in television, radio and theatre.-Career:He has had roles in British sitcoms such as Porridge as Bunny Warren, Allo 'Allo! as Captain Hans Geering leaving after series three, On the Up as Dennis Waterman's chauffeur and We'll Think of Something as Les...
), warns them all about bombs and how he imagines a pilot might accidentally release his bomb in the remote area in which the family lives. At the end of the picnic Uncle Phil delivers a telegram saying that Rory Green has been "killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
" in the war. Isabel believes the telegram, along with everybody else. But Norman does not, and says that he has a feeling "in his bones" that his father is not dead. He tells this to Cyril, who at first says it is just because he is upset, but then agrees to help Norman determine the truth. They realise that Cyril's father, Lord Gray (Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
), a high-ranking figure in the War Office can find out for himself what has happened to Rory. So they manage to get Nanny McPhee to take them to London on her motorcycle. (For Pink Floyd fans: Note the Pig shaped barrage baloon above Battersea Power Station in the panoramic view as they arrive in London)
Upon arrival in London, Nanny McPhee uses her status in the army to get the boys access to the War Office, where they meet Lord Grey. At first he scoffs at Norman when he tells him about his disbelief of his father's death, but after Cyril angrily informs his father that he knows that his parents are getting a divorce, he gives in and goes to check on Rory's status. While he is gone, Cyril tells Norman that he and Celia have been sent away because their parents will be splitting up, and not because of the bombs, and he is unsure where he and Celia will have to live. Norman tells Cyril that he and Celia are welcome to live on the farm with the Greens, to his delight. Lord Grey returns and informs them that Rory is not listed as killed in action, as the telegram had stated, but missing in action
Missing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
, and that there is no record of a telegram ever having been sent to Isabel.
The boys then leave and Norman works out that the telegram brought to his mother by Uncle Phil was in fact a fraud to get Isabel to sell the farm. While the boys are at the War Office, Megsie, Celia and Vincent are trying to stop Isabel from signing the papers and selling the farm. When their own efforts fail, Megsie calls to Nanny McPhee for help, who hears her plea and summons a baby Elephant to stall for time. Just as Isabel is about to sign the papers, an enemy plane flies overhead. The pilot sneezes twice, and on the third sneeze, a huge bomb is dropped, but does not explode and is sticking out of the barley field. When Nanny McPhee returns with Norman and Cyril, thanks to the Nanny's magic, the children go out to watch Mr. Docherty dismantle the bomb, but he falls from the ladder and faints, and Megsie takes over. She succeeds with the help of the other children and Nanny McPhee's putty eating bird, Mr. Edelweiss. Nanny McPhee then helps to harvest the barley and saves Phil from the hit women, with a little magic, and she and Mrs. Docherty watch the family celebrate.
During their conversation, Mrs. Docherty says to Mr. Docherty that Nanny McPhee hates goodbyes and that she remembers from when she was young. She then takes out a rattle, revealing that she is baby Aggie from the first film
Nanny McPhee
Nanny McPhee is a 2005 fantasy film starring Emma Thompson and Colin Firth. Thompson also wrote the screenplay, which is adapted from Christianna Brand's Nurse Matilda books.-Plot:...
. As Nanny McPhee walks away from the now happy family, true to her statement "When you need me, but do not want me, I must stay. When you want me, but no longer need me, then I have to go", the children and Isabel chase after her, determined to prove they still need her. However, they discover that they in fact do not, as they round a bend to see that their father is descending from the hill, passing Nanny McPhee along the way. Rory Green (Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
), in army uniform and with an injured arm, runs to the arms of his children and wife and rejoices in the discovery that after leaving three children to go to war, he has returned to find five. As Nanny McPhee watches the reunion, now a beautiful woman, she forgives Mr. Edelweiss and allows him to perch on her shoulder as they leave into the distance leading to another sequel.
Nanny McPhee's five lessons
In addition to emphasizing discipline, manners and accepting the consequences of one's actions, Nanny McPhee has five very important base lessons to teach — each of which correspond to her various unattractive physical attributes: gray hair, two large moles, a unibrow, and a snaggle-tooth protruding over her bottom lip, all of which give her the appearance of a stereotypical witch. Nannyis as ugly as the children are naughty, so whenever a lesson is learned, one of her disfigurements vanishes. When all five lessons are learned, Nanny McPhee transforms from ugly to beautiful.
- Lesson #1: To stop fighting - Upper wart disappears
- Lesson #2: To share - Lower wart disappear
- Lesson #3: To work together - Unibrow disappears
- Lesson #4: To be brave - Hair changes from gray to brown
- Lesson #5: To have faith - Snaggle tooth disappears
Nanny McPhee's Medals
- Courage
- Kindness
- Resolve
- Imagination
- Enthusiasm
- Basketwork
- Leap of Faith
Cast
- Emma ThompsonEmma ThompsonEmma Thompson is a British actress, comedian and screenwriter. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End...
- Nanny McPhee - Rhys IfansRhys IfansRhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
- Phil Green - Maggie GyllenhaalMaggie GyllenhaalMargaret Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal born November 16, 1977) is an American actress. She is the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. She made her screen debut when she began to appear in her father's films...
- Mrs. Isabel Green. She receives Nanny McPhee's medal for Leaps of Faith. - Asa ButterfieldAsa ButterfieldAsa Maxwell Thornton F. Butterfield is an English actor, best known for starring in the Holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas , as Norman in the 2010 film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, and playing the title role in Martin Scorsese's 2011 fantasy Hugo.-Life and career:Butterfield was born...
- Norman Green. He receives Nanny McPhee's medal for Imagination. - Lil WoodsLil WoodsLillian 'Lil' Woods is a young actress, appearing in the film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang as Megsie Green. Woods lives on a farm. Woods's only other film credit is Blessed as Charlotte.-Filmography:*BlessedCharlotte...
- Megsie Green. She receives Nanny McPhee's medal for Resolve. - Oscar SteerOscar SteerOscar Thomas George Steer is a British child actor, best known for his role as Vincent in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang ....
- Vincent Green. He receives Nanny McPhee's medal for Courage. - Ewan McGregorEwan McGregorEwan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
- Mr. Rory Green - Eros VlahosEros VlahosEros Vlahos is an English actor and comedian best known for playing Cyril Gray in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang and Jake Farley in Summer in Transylvania. Vlahos has written and performed his own material at the Edinburgh Festival. He also had a comedy show on Radio London. Vlahos was born in...
- Cyril Gray. He receives Nanny McPhee's medal for Enthusiasm. - Rosie Taylor-RitsonRosie Taylor-RitsonRosie Taylor-Ritson is an English actress, most notably known for starring as 'Celia' in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang. She lives in Brighton, England and found out that she had got the lead part of Celia just as she was starting secondary school after several callbacks. She also starred in Trace,...
- Celia Gray. She receives Nanny McPhee's medal for Kindness. - Ralph FiennesRalph FiennesRalph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
- Lord Gray - Maggie SmithMaggie SmithDame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 59 years...
- Mrs. Agatha "Aggie" Docherty - Sam KellySam KellySam Kelly is an English actor who has appeared in television, radio and theatre.-Career:He has had roles in British sitcoms such as Porridge as Bunny Warren, Allo 'Allo! as Captain Hans Geering leaving after series three, On the Up as Dennis Waterman's chauffeur and We'll Think of Something as Les...
- Mr. Docherty - Sinead MatthewsSinead MatthewsSinead Matthews is an English actress.She was born in Coventry. She attended Coventry's Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School and Language College, and studied A-level Drama at Stratford Upon Avon College between 1996 and 1998. She graduated from RADA in 2003, and made her television debut in the 2004...
- Miss Topsey - Katy BrandKaty BrandKaty Brand is an English actress, comedian and writer known for her ITV2 series Katy Brand's Big Ass Show and for Comedy Lab Slap on Channel 4....
- Miss Turvey - Bill BaileyBill BaileyBill Bailey is an English comedian, musician and actor. As well as his extensive stand-up work, Bailey is well known for his appearances on Black Books, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI.Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in...
- Farmer MacReadie - Nonso AnozieNonso AnozieNonso Anozie is a British actor who has appeared in several stage plays and four films to date.In the summer of 2002 he became the youngest person in history to play William Shakespeare's "King Lear" and won the Ian Charleson Award in 2005 for his performance as Othello.Anozie was hired in 2006 to...
- Sergeant Ralph Jeffreys - Daniel MaysDaniel Mays-Early life:One of four boys, Mays was raised in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, by his electrician father and bank cashier mother. He attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts before going on to win a place at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.-Career:...
- Blenkinsop - Ed StoppardEd StoppardEdmund Stoppard , often credited as Ed Stoppard, is a British actor.-Life and career:Stoppard was born in London, United Kingdom, the son of playwright Tom Stoppard and physician/author Miriam Stoppard , through whom he is related to former MP Oona King...
- Lieutenant Addis - Toby SedgwickToby SedgwickToby Sedgwick is a British movement director, actor, and theatre choreographer. He achieved critical acclaim for providing "horse choreography" for War Horse, currently playing at West End's New London Theatre and Broadway's Vivian Beaumont Theatre...
- Enemy plane pilot
Reception
Critical response for the film was positive with most reviews giving 4 out of 5 stars. The News of the WorldNews of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
gave it 4/5 stars stating the film was "smart, witty and beautifully crafted - exactly what you want from a family film" and excited about the next film said "Roll on Nanny McThree". The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
gave a very favourable review stating "film is an ingenious entertainment machine fuelled by a profound understanding of what children enjoy, whether it's cowpats, talking welly boots or piglets doing synchronised swimming. Thompson has written a properly funny script, which is performed superbly by Ifans, Maggie Smith, Bill Bailey, Ralph Fiennes and some estimable child actors". Eros Vlahos
Eros Vlahos
Eros Vlahos is an English actor and comedian best known for playing Cyril Gray in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang and Jake Farley in Summer in Transylvania. Vlahos has written and performed his own material at the Edinburgh Festival. He also had a comedy show on Radio London. Vlahos was born in...
was nominated for Best Leading Young Actor at the Young Artist Awards 2011
Young Artist Awards 2011
The 32nd Annual Young Artist Awards ceremony, presented by the Young Artist Foundation, honored excellence of young performers under the age of 18 in the fields of film and television for the year 2010, and took place on March 13, 2011 at the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City, Los Angeles,...
against Noah Ringer
Noah Ringer
Noah Andrew Ringer is an American teen actor of American Indian heritage and a martial arts practitioner. He starred as Aang in the 2010 film The Last Airbender and played Emmett in Cowboys & Aliens.-Life and career:...
for The Last Airbender
The Last Airbender
The Last Airbender is a 2010 American fantasy adventure film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It is a live-action film adaptation of the first season to the Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender....
, Zachary Gordon
Zachary Gordon
Zachary Adam Gordon is an American film and television actor, best known for playing Greg Heffley in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid films which are based on Jeff Kinney's #1 New York Times best seller Diary of a Wimpy Kid....
for Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (film)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a 2010 American comedy film directed by Thor Freudenthal and based on Jeff Kinney's book of the same name. The film was released on March 19, 2010. It was released on DVD, iTunes, and Blu-ray on August 3, 2010.-Plot:...
and Jaden Smith
Jaden Smith
Jaden Christopher Syre Smith is an American child actor, rapper, songwriter, dancer, and the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. He is the elder brother of singer Willow Smith...
(winner) for The Karate Kid
The Karate Kid (2010 film)
The Karate Kid is a 2010 American martial arts film and remake of the 1984 film of the same name. Directed by Harald Zwart, produced by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, the film stars Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan...
.
In contrast, many critics were appalled at the trivial nature in which World War II is depicted.
Box office
In the UK, the film opened at number one, with £2,586,760 outperforming fellow new release The Blind SideThe Blind Side (film)
The Blind Side is a 2009 American semi-biographical drama film. It is written and directed by John Lee Hancock, and based on the 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis. The storyline features Michael Oher, an offensive lineman who plays for the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL...
, grossing a total of £16,211,057. In the United States and Canada, it debuted in seventh position with a $8.4 million take and a total gross of $29,011,215.
Home Media
The DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-Ray versions were released in the UK on 19 June 2010. Nanny McPhee Returns (as has been renamed for North America) was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on May 6th, 2011.
The Book "Nurse Matilda"
The film is one of a wave of adaptations of the trilogy of Christianna BrandChristianna Brand
Christianna Brand was a British crime writer and children's author.- Background :Christianna Brand was born Mary Christianna Milne in Malaya and grew up in India. She had a number of different occupations, including model, dancer, shop assistant and governess...
's books Nurse Matilda
Nurse Matilda
The Nurse Matilda books were written by the British children's author Christianna Brand and illustrated by her cousin, Edward Ardizzone. The books are based on stories told to the cousins by their grandfather....
.
The books almost are not connected with the film, but most of the moments are adaptations of the books. Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson is a British actress, comedian and screenwriter. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End...
started to write the script based on Brand`s books in the spring of 2007
Film locations
The village in the film is HambledenHambleden
Hambleden is a small village and civil parish within Wycombe district in the south of Buckinghamshire, England. It is about four miles west of Marlow, and about three miles north east of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire....
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, the farm set and scenes were filmed in Hascombe
Hascombe
Hascombe is a village in Surrey, England. It contains a cluster of cottages and country estates, St Peter's church, the village green and The White Horse pub, all nestling between wooded hillsides in Surrey, England....
, near Godalming
Godalming
Godalming is a town and civil parish in the Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England, south of Guildford. It is built on the banks of the River Wey and is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt. Godalming shares a three-way twinning arrangement with the towns of Joigny in France...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
and the War Office scenes, both interior and exterior, were filmed at the University of London Senate House
Senate House (University of London)
Senate House is the administrative centre of the University of London, situated in the heart of Bloomsbury, London between the School of Oriental and African Studies to the north, with the British Museum to the south...
.
Sequel
A third film is being planned as Emma Thompson stated previously in an interview on Friday Night with Jonathan RossFriday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross was a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 November 2001. The programme featured Ross's take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...
. Presently, rumors have circulated that the plot for the third installment may be set in modern day England. Emma Thompson, star and writer, has hinted that this may be a possibility.