Seven children, seventeen nannies. Poor dad Cedric Brown (Colin Firth) has all but given up. Suddenly, enter Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) using her magical powers (both emotionally and literally) to kick them into shape. Remind you of something? I'd be concerned if it didn't. But thankfully, as Nanny McPhee progresses, it twists and turns in such a pleasant fashion that by the end, you'll be wondering 'Mary who?' Adapted for the screen by Thompson herself, this is a fun and inventive kids film that is guaranteed to make you smile. Firth does his usually stuttering British man shtick, but given he has little to do, makes the most of it. Imedla Staunton, Angela Lansbury and Celia Imrie ham it up shamelessly and are loads of fun. But most of the attention should be directed towards Thompson, an ugly but constantly entertaining lead.

The art direction, visual effects and Patrick Doyle's fabulous score all soar in a confident over-the-top direction, as is the tone of the film. The score, by-the-books though it may be, is perfect and bodes well for Doyle's work on the new Harry Potter movie.

Rather than basing its entirety on the naughty kids storyline, McPhee jumps from plot point to plot point, stuffing a whole lotta characters and twists into it's 97 minute running time. Thanks to this, Thompson's endearing loveliness and a cute array of kids (lead by Thomas Sangster, the kid from Love Actually), Nanny McPhee emerges triumphant as one of the better kids movies in recent memory, mostly because the adults will love it too. And anyone who isn't enchanted by the magical ending has to have a stone for a heart.

This was a pleasant surprise, much better than I anticipated. I figured Emma Thompson would be good in the title role because you can usually count on her to be entertaining in form or another, cerebrally, emotionally or comically. What I didn't figure on was the fun, extremely colorful story, overall. This was like a banana split for your senses - all kinds of wild treats for the eyes and ears.....to taste, so to speak.

This film features outrageous color schemes from the word "go," from the interior of the "Brown's" house, to everyone's apparel to the scenery outside. It almost reminded me "The Cat In The Hat" with its crazy colors.

All the characters are as exaggerated as the colors, too. The kids may be brats but they aren't bad once they get some needed discipline and love from Nanny McPhee. They are still fun to watch, and all are quite different in appearance and mannerisms. Thompson is a howl as Mary Poppins-like McPhee and so are the supporting characters. There were no sappy songs, either. This is not a musical.

The only character annoying to me was the kids' dad, played by Colin Firth. The actor was fine but his character was so wishy-washy, so wussy, he was barely tolerable for much of the film. By the way, you might not recognize the famous Angela Lansbury in here. Everyone, including her, must have had a great time filming this movie.

Only the final wedding segment got carried away with juvenile silliness; the rest was fun for adults and well as the kids, who must have loved this all the way through.

This is simply good entertainment and highly recommended.

Nanny McPhee is an example of a film where I was put off by the trailers, but I am glad I saw the film, because it is a lively, well meaning and very colourful film. Not to mention entertaining... there are some very amusing scenes in the early parts of the film, with the children, who all gave spirited performances. The costumes and sets are very colourful, with beautiful vivid colours, perhaps a bit too much at times, but you can't deny the look of the film was lovely. The script was absolutely delightful, very lively and entertaining. But what made this film was the performance of Emma Thompson, who was just terrific. As was Colin Firth, and I thoroughly enjoyed Angela Lansbury's turn as an elderly aristocrat. The ending was easily the best scene of the film, the visuals were just amazing in that scene, and the music by Patrick Doyle was fun too. However, adults may get tired of some of the jokes, and there are some slow moments in the middle half, but I commend the film for its messaging, that were well meaning and thoughtful. All in all, a very enjoyable film, perhaps more for children, but adults will like the visuals and Emma Thompson. 8/10 Bethany Cox