Nanny McPhee, the homely yet exemplary governess, is back. Why? Hard to say, but one thing is certain: Writer-star Emma Thompson didn’t do it for the kids.
Oh sure, Nanny McPhee Returns purports to be a children’s movie, with five plucky preteen protagonists, numerous pratfalls, abundant rude noises and vast quantities of animal poop. But it’s primarily an opportunity for upscale British actors to exercise their broadest gestures, and to have some fun with both “Englishness” and the ever hilarious World War II.
Adapted by Thompson from Christianna Brand’s Nurse Matilda character, Nanny McPhee is part caretaker, part witch. Her bulbous nose, snaggle tooth and assortment of moles hint that she’s the sort of old lady who pushes fairy-tale children into ovens. Instead, Nanny teaches kids about cooperation and courage, and as her charges come to appreciate the lessons, her appearance undergoes a psychic nip/tuck to become less alarming.
Five years after her Victorian-era debut, Nanny arrives in the early 1940s to assist Isabel (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a farm wife whose husband is away at war. Her three kids are several handfuls, and money is tight. Then Isabel’s haughty niece and nephew arrive from London, ostensibly to escape German bombs but actually to avoid the detonation of their parents’ marriage.
The two sets of cousins instantly loathe each other, which is our heroine’s cue to enter, claiming to be an “army nanny.” She restores the peace through judicious use of her magic cane, which turns everyday piglets into Olympians and occasionally summons a baby elephant for good measure.
