Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Nanny McPhee appears at the door of a harried young mother who is trying to run the family farm while her husband is away at war. But once she’s arrived, Nanny discovers that the children are fighting a war of their own against two spoiled city cousins who have just moved in. Relying on everything from a flying motorcycle and a statue that comes to life to a tree-climbing piglet and a baby elephant, Nanny uses her magic to teach her mischievous charges five new lessons.
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang is a pleasant but formulaic family sequel that recycles the same structural template as the original — magical nanny arrives, teaches lessons, gradually loses her ugliness. The WWII rural England setting adds some charm and the ensemble cast (Emma Thompson, Maggie Smith, Ralph Fiennes) elevates the material above its script's modest ambitions, but the plot is thin and predictable, hitting expected beats without surprise. The visual effects (flying motorcycles, baby elephant) are competent but unremarkable for the era. The ending wraps everything up neatly but without particular emotional resonance. As a sequel it delivers comfort-food family entertainment without distinguishing itself in any meaningful way.