contentforyou Possible spoilerMary Poppins she's not. Instead it's Emma Thompson with unbelievably bad teeth, serious warts, and a socially incorrect pet crow, who appears when she's needed the most (and wanted the least) in "Nanny McPhee Returns".Maggie Gyllenhaal is Isabel Green, a harried British farmwife with a husband off fighting World War II, three unruly children and their two spoiled brat London cousins, and a farm she's about to lose, pigs and all. Then Nanny arrives, ugly, mysterious and chock full of magical powers, and she doesn't take "We don't want you!" for an answer.The film is a pretty good mixture of sweet and sour, with plenty of magical moments and barnyard humor for the kids along with an underlying theme of wartime fear of loss. The mini-war between city and country kids is out of hand when Nanny shows up, and she meets a lot of resistance from all sides, but remains snaggle-toothed and unfazed.Amazing things keep on happening: pigs not only fly, they perform a water ballet, and the children slowly learn some important lessons about sharing and caring and hope and faith.An excellent supporting cast includes Rhys Ifans as Isobel's gambling brother-in-law, Ralph Fiennes as the cousins' big shot War Office father and Ewan McGregor as Isobel's soldiering husband.

Jan Newson This is a lovely story with lots of fun and some special effects. Loved the the spiv-like Uncle Phil and kids, especially cousin Cyril (the young actor plays a great part). The location of the farm looks great too, unless it's a set!Unfortunately there was something wrong with the (over) acting of the woman playing the children's mother. I couldn't put my finger on it. Her voice and acting wasn't quite right. When I was told she was American that explained it. Maybe if she'd been cast as an American (no reason why not) she would have sounded more natural.Otherwise a lovely story and good, fun film

gradyharp Emma Thompson is an artist of s many gifts that she defies categorization. In addition to being one of our best actresses of the day, she is also a very fine writer and not at all afraid of jumping into 'family movies' that bundle fun as well as sage advice. Her she has written and stars in NANNY MCPHEE RETURNS and lets hope this isn't her last visit. Nanny McPhee appears as a grotesquely ugly woman who arrives in households besotted with potential disasters and in the course of her manipulations of the microcosm that initiated the problems she has a sense of magic in reversing the behavior patterns of children and adults to bring about a happy ending to a crisis waiting to happen. This trip finds her visiting the farm of Isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal) whose husband (Ewan McGregor) is off at war, leaving the care of the three children and the farm and life in general in her hands. Add to that the constant interference of Isabel's pestering brother-in-law (Rhys Ifans) and a battery of spoiled cousins and the madness of a misplaced bomb form the sky and Nanny has her hands full teaching the children not only how to cope but also how to behave in a manner that aids Isabel's survival. Maggie Smith joins this irrepressible cast and in the end it is difficult to judge what entertains most - the madness or the glee. Deep it is not, but it is one of those films you can slip into the telly and enjoy as much as an adult as the youngsters adore it. Fantasy, a bit of family drama, and a lot of fine lessons make this a fluffy movie nearly everyone can enjoy. Grady Harp

Imdbidia A surprising bright follow-up to the first movie. Ugly-looking but wise and sweet-hearted nanny McPhee visits a mother and his three children and two nephews, who try to get their farm afloat and survive while the father is away fighting in WW II.The script, by Emma Thompson, is charming, witty and well carried on, with classical elements that will delight both children and adults, for whom there are very naughty things there.The acting is very good. Emma Thompson is great as the ugly nanny. Maggie Gyllenhaal is adorably charming in her depiction of a struggling eccentric mum. Rhys Ifans is perfect as the weak sweet evil uncle, very funny, as well as his two "nurses". Maggie Smith as Mrs. Docherty and Sam Kelly as Mr. Docherty are just adorable, and show, once more, the great actors they are. The children actors (Oscar Steer as Vincent Green, Asa Butterfield as Norman Green, Lil Woods as Megsie Green, Eros Vlahos as Cyril Gray, and Rosie Taylor-Ritson as Celia Gray) bring the warmth, innocence and naughtiness required by their roles, and all of them are good and believable in them. There are little cameos by Ewan McGregor and Ralph Fiennes, too.The hues of the movie, the wardrobe and the atmosphere are excellent, with a mix of epoque and classical story-telling elements. The special effects are to the service of the story, and I especially liked the scenes involving the escape of the pigs and the ones related to crow Mr Edelweiss. However, I found that some parts of the story were over the top and rested believability to it, as the magic in Nanny McPhee is subtle, natural in a way, while we see here some supernatural things happening. I found that the whole scene related to the warm bomb in the field -despite being extremely well filmed- was unnecessary, as well as the flying of the motorcar in London. In that sense, the magic in the first movie was more grounded, and therefore more believable.A British family movie, great for the whole family, with lots of creativity, humor and charm.