Even though there it may not entirely be based on a book series, I have always said that
Mary Poppins is the best movie nanny that you can get. But that being said, it doesn't mean that no one can beat her and out of all the movie nannies out there, the one that comes close to being every bit like
Mary Poppins is
Nanny McPhee. Portrayed by Emma Thompson, this nanny is a no nonsense one who uses her magic to make the children she is nanny to, behave and learn a thing or two. Both films follow an almost similar scenario, but always put the titular character in a place where if she is needed but not wanted she stays and if she is wanted but no longer needed she goes. And with each task completed, her face starts to be less and less uglier than before. So with all that said, let's see what this nanny can do (and yeah I know that may have sounded wrong to some of you but I don't mean it in that way):
Nanny McPhee
Its Victorian England in the 1860s and a widower called Cedric Brown (played by Mr. Darcy himself Colin Firth) is trying to get over the passing of his wife while handing a house full of misbehaving and unruly children who only respond well to the uneducated but sweet natured scullery maid Evangeline (played by Kelly Macdonald) as well as himself. Eventually Cedric hears references to a certain Nanny McPhee and our titular government nanny shows up on his door one night and over the course of the film, goes about changing the children for the better while indirectly helping Cedric over his love triangle dilemma with Evangeline and a vile lady named Selma Quickly (played by Celia Imrie). Despite its big competition,
Nanny McPhee doesn't try too hard to be better than
Mary Poppins and manages to do its own thing instead. Its very funny, full of heart and warmth and has a few lessons that one can be taught. Lessons such as behaving, knowing what's really important and why tough decisions have to be made along with many other things. A great family film all around. 9/10
The Big Bang
Many many years later after the first film, World War II is happening and we go to a farm where Isabel Green (played by the second Rachel in
The Dark Knight trilogy, Maggie Gyllenhaal) tries to balance looking after her three misbehaving children with her farm duties. To make things worst, her rich niece and nephew have also been bought to the farm to be looked after and making matters even worse, her brother in-law Phil (played by Rhys Ifans) is struggling to make amends due to having gambled away his half of the farm and begs Isabel to sell hers to get him out of this pickle using any methods he has, even the cruellest. So naturally Isabel also hears references to Nanny McPhee and soon enough, our titular character shows up and goes about sorting out the children while in turn, they seek her help in saving the farm. Although this is another good film, it goes without saying that there is too much CGI involved with the animals and some other things that kind of make the film unrealistic. It also has a couple of historical inaccuracies as well given the time its set in. But apart from that, its another charming little film that the family will enjoy and possibly enjoy more than the first due to it being far more funnier and clever than the first despite the problems that arise with it. 9/10
Two great family films that although may not have beaten
Mary Poppins, still have her eating her heart out. Very funny and charming family films. Just wish there was more to go around. 9/10
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