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:

'It' is a Psammead (voiced by Eddie Izzard), an ancient, ugly and irritable sand fairy the children...

Plot Keywords:

Magic | Wish | Fairy | Uncle | Sunset

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
Norman Wisdom	...	Nesbitt
Duncan Preston	...	Sergeant

Directed by
John Stephenson

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

Produced by
Jane Barclay	....	executive producer
Kristine Belson	....	executive producer
Steve Christian	....	executive producer
Samuel Hadida	....	producer
Victor Hadida	....	executive producer
Sharon Harel	....	executive producer
Lisa Henson	....	producer
Nick Hirschkorn	....	producer
Robert Jones	....	executive producer
Hannah Leader	....	executive producer
James D. Stern	....	executive producer
Kathy Sykes	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Jane Antonia Cornish

Cinematography by
Mike Brewster		(director of photography) (as Michael Brewster)

Film Editing by
Michael Ellis

Casting by
Michelle Guish
Gaby Kester

Production Design by
Roger Hall

Art Direction by
Eddie Andres
John Ralph

Set Decoration by
Sonja Klaus

Makeup Department
Neill Gorton	....	makeup artist: Kenneth Brannagh
Neill Gorton	....	prosthetic makeup designer
Suzanne Jansen	....	key hair designer
Suzanne Jansen	....	key makeup artist
Suzanne Jansen	....	makeup designer
Cheryl Mitchell	....	hair stylist
Cheryl Mitchell	....	makeup artist
Laura Schalker	....	hair stylist
Laura Schalker	....	makeup artist
Colin Wyatt	....	chief hair stylist

Production Management
Alistair Hopkins	....	post-production supervisor
Emma Mager	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jerome Franc	....	third assistant director
Fiona Gosden	....	second assistant director
Lionel Steketee	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Steve Allaway	....	chargehand carpenter
Laurie Ayers	....	dressing props
Lawrie Ayres	....	props
Graham Barford	....	construction supervisor
Marc Beros	....	hod painter
Graham Bishop	....	production buyer
Sally Black	....	set buyer
Brian Bovingdon	....	construction carpenter
Rory J. Collins	....	art department assistant
John Cope	....	painter
Chris Corke	....	construction carpenter
Nigel Crafts	....	construction carpenter
Ben Crosby	....	painter
Quentin Davies	....	dressing props
Gary Dawson	....	stand-by props
Jonathan Downing	....	dressing prop
Michael R. Driscoll	....	construction chargehand (as Michael Driscoll)
Peter Edge	....	painter
Raymond Flindall	....	stand-by rigger
Douglas Glen	....	stand-by props
Bruce Gordon	....	sculptor
John Greaves	....	storyboard artist
Wayne Hammond	....	construction carpenter
Gary Hedges	....	supervising carpenter
Kevin Hedges	....	construction carpenter
Ron Higgins	....	stand-by props
Nick Holmes	....	stand-by painter
Len Huntingford	....	construction carpenter
Peter James	....	assistant art director
Tim Jetis	....	art department coordinator
R.K. Leighton	....	construction carpenter
Peter Lewis	....	construction carpenter
Brian Morris	....	supervising painter
Paul Nash	....	construction carpenter
Colin Osgood	....	construction carpenter
Min Payne	....	chargehand carpenter
Tom Rea	....	assistant prop buyer
Rosie Reiter	....	draughtsperson
Michael Rickard	....	construction manager
John Roberts	....	hod painter
Tony Roche	....	graphics
Terry Royce	....	props dressing superviser
Julian Searle	....	property master
Len Serpant	....	stand-by stagehand
Graham Stickley	....	props storeman
Claudine Thomas	....	draughtsperson
Howard Weaver	....	scenic artist
Kenneth Welland	....	painter (as Ken Welland)
David Williamson	....	stand-by carpenter (as Dave Williamson)
Ruth Winick	....	draughtsperson
Bradley Woodbridge	....	painter
Reginald Woolmore	....	chargehand carpenter

Sound Department
Stuart Bagshaw	....	adr recordist
Gianluca Buttari	....	foley recordist
Caroline Coleman	....	sound assistant
Colette Dahanne	....	adr mixer
Joe Gallagher	....	dialogue editor
Rodney Glenn	....	supervising sound editor
Dan Green	....	adr recordist
Philip Jenkins	....	studio assistant
Jeremy Lishman	....	sound maintenance
Jamie Luker	....	sound recording engineer
Simon Okin	....	sound
Adrian Rhodes	....	sound re-recording mixer
Sven Taits	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jan Van Hende	....	dubbing editor

Special Effects by
Stephen Bettles	....	special effects technician
Richard Conway	....	special effects director
Jamie Courtier	....	creative and animatronic supervisor
Richard Darwin	....	key animatronic designer
Richard Darwin	....	puppeteer
Matthew Horton	....	special effects technician
Ben Longhurst	....	special effects trainee
Graham Longhurst	....	special effects supervisor
Göran Lundström	....	painter: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Waldo Mason	....	creature sculptor
Adrian Parish	....	animatronic designer
Matthew Roberts	....	special effects technician (as Matt Roberts)
Steve Scotton	....	special effects technician
Colin Shulver	....	art finisher: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Sharon Smith	....	head of creature design and sculpt
Benjamin M. Esterson	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Aaron Barclay	....	lead compositor
Gavin Baxter	....	character technical director
Philip Borg	....	digital artist
Simon Brown	....	digital effects artist
Steve James Brown	....	animator
Steven James Brown	....	animator
Delphine Buratti	....	digital compositor
Ian Cadby	....	titles/graphic designer
James Cattell	....	digital compositor
Scott Chambers	....	film and editorial
Stephen Coren	....	visual effects
Joe Cork	....	digital compositor
Tabitha Dean	....	visual effects and digital lab editorial
Sascha Dhillon	....	visual effects editor
Theo Diamantis	....	digital effects artist
Katherine Durant	....	roto/prep artist
Yasmine El-Ghamrawy	....	digital compositor
Anne Foged	....	digital compositor
Siobhan Fowler	....	digital effects artist
Andy Fraser	....	character animator
Katrin Geilhausen	....	digital effects artist
Brendan Gibbons	....	digital compositor
Vincent Goodsell	....	digital compositor
Jem Grimshaw	....	matchmove artist
Peter Guyan	....	senior CG systems administrator: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Jim Hampton	....	visual effects editor
Tiana Harper	....	2D line producer
Pete Hartless	....	visual effects production assistant
Jan Hogevold	....	production executive: Framestore CFC
Myf Hopkins	....	head of production: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Adam Inglis	....	digital colourist
Doug Kennedy	....	digital effects artist
Sean Lewkiw	....	visual effects supervisor
Nick Lloyd	....	digital artist
Alasdair MacCuish	....	scanning and recording producer: Lipsync Post
Mike Marcus	....	digital compositor
Arnaud Mayet	....	lead texture artist
Arnaud Mayet	....	matte painter
Nakia McGlynn	....	lighting technical director
Claire McGrane	....	digital lab producer
Dan McRae	....	digital lab operator
Donal Nolan	....	digital compositor
Roma O'Connor	....	visual effects producer
Vishal Patel	....	lighting technical director
Simon Payne	....	technical director
Joseph Pepper	....	technical director
Marine Poirson	....	lighting artist
Mike Pope	....	2D supervisor
Paula Pope	....	effects line producer
Becky Porter	....	digital compositor
Michael S. Pryor	....	head of digital production: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Mark Richardson	....	compositing supervisor: Lola
Alex Rothwell	....	digital effects artist
Craig Rowe	....	digital compositor
Mark Schreiber	....	animation supervisor
Karl Schudeck	....	character animator
Liz Scully	....	lighting technical director: Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Priyes Shah	....	technical director
Dan Sheerin	....	lead character technical director
Matina Skouteri	....	digital lab operator
Mark J.G. Smith	....	render wrangler
Sarah Soulsby	....	digital compositor
Julien Stuart-Smith	....	lighting artist
Nick Tanner	....	lead Flame artist: title design
Matthew Tinsley	....	digital compositor
Michael Turoff	....	visual effects supervisor
Richard Van Den Bergh	....	model/miniature supervisor
Henry van der Beek	....	systems administrator
Paola Varvaro	....	digital artist
Steve Wagendorp	....	assistant digital colourist
Peter Wallace	....	technical director/effects animator: Sand & Magic Breath
Gabriel White	....	lighter
Doug Winder	....	digital matte artist
Max Wright	....	digital compositor
Tim Zaccheo	....	digital effects artist
Will Braithwaite	....	mocap supervisor (uncredited)
Dianne Gordon	....	data operator: Framestore CFC (uncredited)

Stunts
George Cottle	....	stunt performer
Paul Heasman	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Paul Lowe	....	stunts
Lee Sheward	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Liam Daniel	....	still photographer
Kevin Day	....	rigging gaffer
Paul Edwards	....	Steadicam operator
Warren Ewen	....	electrician
Darren Gatrell	....	electrician
Mark Gay	....	electrician
Peter Goddard	....	gaffer
Lizzie Kelly	....	video assist operator
Iain Mackay	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Clive Mackey	....	first assistant camera
Danny Madden	....	rigging electrician
Vince Madden	....	best boy electric
David Maund	....	crane grip
Barry McCullagh	....	electrician
Nic Milner	....	camera operator
Tony Turner	....	grip
Jon Webb	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Danny Young	....	generator operator

Animation Department
Leonard Brindley	....	background artist

Casting Department
Vanessa Baker	....	adr voice casting
Brendan Donnison	....	adr voice casting
Gaby Kester	....	casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Alan Birkett	....	costume supervisor (as Allan Birkett)
Samantha Crouch	....	costume supervisor
Phoebe De Gaye	....	costumes
Morgan Elliott	....	assistant costume designer (as Morgan Elliot)
Shane Kingdon	....	costume trainee
Thomas Sjolander	....	embroidery

Editorial Department
Colin Green	....	additional editor

Music Department
Christopher Kennedy	....	music editor
Malcolm Luker	....	scoring mixer

Other crew
Daisy Allsop	....	assistant to producer
Joanne Bendon	....	assistant accountant
Tim Desbois	....	aerial coordinator
Ian Fishlock	....	systems administrator
Rosie Grant	....	crowd/pre-fitter
Robin Green	....	assistant production accountant
Elaine Harrison	....	construction accountant
Gemma Holloway	....	runner
Rachel James	....	production accountant
Kevin Kelly	....	assistant: Lisa Henson
Alexandra Kosevic	....	production coordinator
Clive Miles	....	location manager
Sanaz Missaghian	....	assistant production coordinator
Anya Noakes	....	unit publicist
Heather Noble	....	travel and accommodation coordinator
Roger Phillips	....	end titles
Luan Placks	....	crowd/pre-fitter
Sian Sutherland	....	assistant location manager
Kelly Taylor-Dias	....	production runner
Emma Thomas	....	script supervisor
Chris Trice	....	senior model maker
Robert Tygner	....	puppeteer
Susan Weeks	....	set tutor
Harriet Worth	....	set runner
Michael J. Harker	....	completion bond company representative (uncredited)
Paul Shore	....	tools programmer (uncredited)

Thanks
Jonathan Privett	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Sandfairy
• Capitol Films (present) (as A Capitol Films/Davis Films Production also)
• Endgame Entertainment (in assocation with)
• Isle of Man Film Commission (in assocation with)
• Jim Henson Company, The
• Jim Henson Productions (as A Jim Henson Company Production)
• UK Film Council (present)

Distributors

• Capitol Films (2004-2005) (worldwide) (all media) (sales)
• Golden Village Entertainment (2005) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Icon Film Distribution (2005) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Independent Films (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• Solo Film Verleih (200?) (Germany) (theatrical)
• TriPictures (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Gativideo (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2006) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Imagem Filmes (2005) (Brazil) (all media)
• Tien (2007) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Evolution FX
• Jim Henson's Creature Shop
• Millennium FX
• Smoke and Mirrors (main and end titles)

Other Companies

• Shepperton Studios  movie studio
• Audiolink Radio Communications  walkie talkies/mobiles
• De Lane Lea  sound post-production
• Framestore CFC  post-production
• Kodak  motion picture film supplied by
• Lee Lighting  lighting
• Lola  digital effects
• Mad Dog Casting  extras casting
• Malde & Co.  auditors
• Panavision UK  camera equipment provided by
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services

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:

Referenced in "Getaway: Getaway's European Holiday (#17.10)" (2008)

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!