Five Children and It (2004)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

John Stephenson

Writers:

David Solomons (written by)
E. Nesbit (novel)

Release Date:

15 October 2004 (UK)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

You are invited to discover the secret...

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Uncle | Fairy | Magic | Wish | Eccentric

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

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

Also Known As:

5 Children & It (Philippines: English title)
Cinq enfants et moi (France)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

France | UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:G (TV rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Sweden:7 | Argentina:Atp | Brazil:Livre | France:U | Malaysia:U | Finland:K-7 | Netherlands:AL | Philippines:G | Singapore:G | UK:U

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

Sandfairy

Trivia:

Robin Williams was originally offered the role of the Psammead.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: 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.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#34.16)" (2005)

Eddie Izzard's hysterical portrayal of "It" is his best performance and the only real reason to see this otherwise unremarkable children's film

Five children go to the country to stay with their uncle during the First World War. While exploring the house they come upon a secret door which takes them down to the beach where they meet a "sand fairy" who agrees to grant one wish a day for them. The wishes all go horribly wrong, but in the process the children learn something.

The Jim Henson Company produced this adaptation of the E Nesbit story and its not one of their better works. The film looks like any other children's book adaptation you can think of to the extent that you could probably inter-cut scenes from this film with any other similar children's film and not be able to tell the difference. Its not bad, but it doesn't have anything unique about it...

...well actually it does, It has two excellent performances that keep this film from sinking to the bottom of the children's film adaptation barrel. The first is Kenneth Branagh as they kids crazy Uncle Albert. he isn't in it all that much but while he's on screen he chews the scenery looking like a deranged Jim Broadbent. He is charmingly scatterbrained as a man who doesn't know what day it is and who wonders where last October went to.

The other joy is Eddie Izzard, in his best role to date as the voice of the sand fairy, the "It" of the title. This is Izzard at his free-form best as he bounces off the walls of sanity in a steady stream of nonsense. Izzard's portrayal is a kin to an evening of his best stand-up comedy but in the context of the story, where anything can and will come out of the mouth of a little creature with a mobile home. Its one of the funniest things I've seen on screen on long time and he's the real reason to see the film.

Over all a completely average children's film made more than watchable thanks to Eddie Izzard's vocal performance as It. Worth a rental or a viewing on cable, especially if you're a fan.