Film
Nanny McPhee
Emma Thompson vanishes under warts, a unibrow and a snaggletooth to play a mysterious nanny who turns a household of seven feral, motherless children into functioning humans through five firm lessons and a bit of visible magic. It's Roald Dahl-ish whimsy with real grief under the slapstick, and a beauty-through-kindness arc that rewards good behaviour as much as it punishes bad. Great for family movie night; a touch strange for very small viewers.
If you liked this
Mary Poppins1964
The nanny movie that invented the genre — practically perfect, endlessly quotable, and still the gold standard for magic tempering unruly children with song and discipline.
But The songs and stage-bound sets can feel dated, and the pacing is gentler than modern kids expect.

Matilda1996
Roald Dahl's gleeful cruelty and telekinetic revenge fantasy, directed by Danny DeVito like he's settling a personal score against bad parents everywhere.
But The Wormwoods and Trunchbull are genuinely nasty; sensitive kids might find the meanness upsetting rather than funny.

Paddington2014
A small, unfailingly polite bear teaches a stiff London family to loosen up, with the same warmth and gentle moral backbone that makes McPhee's lessons land.
But It's sweeter and less anarchic — no magic, no chaos-first structure, just steady kindness throughout.

The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Supernanny2005no page yet
Same premise minus the fantasy: an authoritative outsider imposing structure on chaotic children until the household heals. McPhee's five lessons are basically Supernanny's naughty step, played straight instead of magical.
The real-world version of Nanny McPhee's job: a stern British nanny walks into households genuinely falling apart and fixes them with routine, boundaries, and zero magic.
But It's reality television with real families in real distress — sometimes uncomfortable rather than cosy, and repetitive across episodes.
More like this (8)
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang2010no page yet
More of exactly what worked the first time — Emma Thompson back with new lessons, a wartime setting, and Maggie Gyllenhaal holding the farm together.
But It repeats the formula closely enough to feel like a retread rather than a fresh story.
The Witches1990
Anjelica Huston as a grotesque, child-hating witch queen in a Dahl adaptation darker and stranger than anything McPhee attempts, with genuine body-horror transformations.
But It's considerably scarier — genuinely frightening for younger viewers, not just mischievous.

Hook1991
Spielberg's oversized, big-hearted take on grown-up responsibility and childhood wonder, with a similarly theatrical villain and a father learning to actually parent.
But It's baggy and overlong at two hours plus, with tonal whiplash between slapstick and sentiment.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe2005
Same year, same British-family-in-crisis setup, scaled up into a full fantasy epic — siblings forced to grow up fast under strange magic.
But It trades cosy domestic comedy for genuine adventure-movie stakes and religious allegory some viewers don't want.

Ella Enchanted2004
A fairy-tale comedy with the same British-adjacent whimsy, its heroine's magical curse forcing obedience in a story that's really about reclaiming free will.
But It's broader and more teen-pitched, with musical numbers and pop culture gags that date it hard.

James and the Giant Peach1996no page yet
Another Dahl story about a miserable, neglected child rescued by grotesque, larger-than-life magic — stop-motion insects standing in for McPhee's warts and cane.
But The mix of live action and stop-motion is unusual and slower-paced than the source material's manic energy.
The Amazing Mr. Blunden1972no page yet
This is the older cousin of McPhee's whole mode: a mysterious, otherworldly adult intervenes in a struggling family's children through unexplained magic, mixing gentle scares with real warmth. It's the tradition McPhee is quietly working inside.
A creaky, wonderful British children's fantasy from decades earlier — time travel, ghosts, and a mysterious old man setting wayward children right, in the same eerie-cosy tone.
But It's slow and theatrical, unmistakably of its era — patient viewers only, no modern CGI polish.
The Innocents1961
Same bones as McPhee: an outsider sent to discipline unruly children in a grand, chaotic house, with something otherworldly reshaping the family. Strip away the whimsy and lessons, and you get this instead — the same structure playing in a much darker key.
Take the same setup — a governess arrives to manage two strange, difficult children in a big house — and push it into full Gothic horror instead of comedy.
But There's no warmth or resolution here, just dread; it's a genuinely unsettling ghost story, not family entertainment.

People
Cast
Emma ThompsonNanny McPhee
Colin FirthMr. Brown
Kelly MacdonaldEvangeline
Eliza BennettTora
Raphaël ColemanEric
Samuel HonywoodSebastian
Holly GibbsChristianna
Hebe BarnesBaby Agatha- Zinnia BarnesBaby Agatha
Angela LansburyAunt Adelaide
Directing
- Kirk JonesDirector
Writing
- Christianna BrandNovel
- Emma ThompsonScreenplay
Production
- Michelle GuishCasting
- Pippa HallCasting
- Debra HaywardExecutive Producer
- Liza ChasinExecutive Producer
- Michele TandyFinance
- Eric FellnerProducer
- Glynis MurrayProducer
- Lindsay DoranProducer
- Tim BevanProducer
Recommended by
Paddington, Paddington 2, Mary Poppins, Matilda, A Series of Unfortunate Events