Five Children and It (2004)

Four children staying in their eccentric uncle's labyrinthine mansion for protection during World War I befriend a sand fairy who has the power to grant wishes.

Director:

John Stephenson

Writers:

David Solomons, E. Nesbit (novel)

Stars:

Tara Fitzgerald, Freddie Highmore, Alex Jennings

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tara Fitzgerald	...	Mother
Freddie Highmore	...	Robert
Alex Jennings	...	Father
Jonathan Bailey	...	Cyril
Jessica Claridge	...	Anthea
Poppy Rogers	...	Jane
Alec Muggleton	...	Lamb
Zak Muggleton	...	Lamb
Zoë Wanamaker	...	Martha
Kenneth Branagh	...	Uncle Albert
Alexander Pownall	...	Horace
Eddie Izzard	...	It (voice)
Georgio Serafini	...	Mr. Bialli
John Sessions	...	Peasemarsh
Kim Fenton	...	RFC Flier

Storyline

'It' is a Psammead, an ancient, ugly and irritable sand fairy the children find one day on a secret beach at their uncle's mansion. It grants them one wish per day, lasting until sunset. But they soon learn it is very hard to think of really sensible wishes, and each one gets them into unexpected difficulties. Magic, the children find, can be as awkward as it is enticing.

---

Plot Keywords:

fairy | uncle | eccentric | sunset | wish | 

---

Taglines:

You are invited to discover the secret...

---

Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 October 2004 (UK)

Also Known As:

5 Children & It

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$56,793 (South Africa) (24 June 2005)

Gross:

$106,955 (South Africa) (24 June 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sandfairy, Capitol Films, Endgame Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Uncle Albert says the answer to his maths problem (3465222) is "a prime number of the Zeeman series". This is a fictional series, first used in Flash Gordon by Dr Zarkov who says: "A-ha! I thought it was one of the prime numbers of the Zeeman series."

---

Goofs

Despite taking place in circa 1917, the children sing "Happy Birthday to You", which wasn't written until 1924, and didn't game popularity until around 1930.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Robert: It was the Summer of nineteen seventeen and the world was at war. Like lots of children, we had to leave our home. - Leave London. We didn't want to go, but Dad went to fly planes, and Mum went to look after the wounded, and we were stuck. They insisted we go to the country, to stay with mad Uncle Albert and our cousin Horace.

---

Connections

References Jurassic Park (1993)

User Reviews

A really good family film

I took my 7 and 9 year old daughters to see this and enjoyed it as much as them. It is set in the First World War and has the same sort of feel as the Railway Children but with some magic in. It was a really good family film with no f*rt jokes or rude bits that you have to explain later.

It has a sentimental theme to the story without drowning you in saccharine which made it much more genuine and affecting - cue me sniffing! At the same time it had a good line in comedy which was quite modern and stopped the film from being too dated. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants an really enjoyable film to take the kids to.

Lovely!