Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang

Plot

Isabel Green is driven to her wit's end by her hectic life while her husband, Rory, goes off to fight in the Second World War. Between trying to keep the family farm up and running and her job in the village shop, run by the slightly loopy Mrs. Docherty, she also has three boisterous children to look after: 12-year-old Norman, 11-year-old Megan ‘Megsie’ and 6-year-old Vincent.

When the children's wealthy, pompous and snobbish city cousins, 12 year-old Cyril and his younger sister 11-year-old Celia, are evacuated to live with them in the countryside and the conflict escalates, only adding to Isabel's problems.

The mysterious and magical Nanny McPhee then arrives to help. At first, the children refuse to listen and carry on fighting, which Nanny McPhee soon puts a stop to with her magic, making them hurt themselves like they did each other and even destroy items, including nearly throwing letters away sent by the absent Rory. Luckily, everything is put back to normal after the children apologise to one another.

Meanwhile, Isabel's brother-in-law Phil has gambled away his half of the farm, and is being chased by two hired female assassins working for a casino owner named Mrs. Biggles. Phil desperately attempts to make Isabel sell her half of the farm, including setting loose the litter of piglets to be sold to a neighbouring farmer, but the plot is thwarted by the children; leading them to bond as they co-operate to recapture the pigs.

Isabel takes everyone on a picnic as an offer of gratitude, during which Mrs. Docherty's ARP Warden husband warns them about bombs and relates how he imagines a pilot might accidentally release one. Phil subsequently delivers a telegram stating that Rory was killed in action.

Everyone believes the news except Norman, who is sure his father is alive because he "can feel it in [his] bones". He tells this to Cyril, who thinks he is just upset, but then believes that Norman might be right. They convince Nanny McPhee to take them to the War Office in London, where Cyril and Celia's father, Lord Gray, holds a senior position; believing he will know the truth.

Cast

Emma Thompson as Nanny McPhee, the nanny who changes the lives of the Green and Gray children.

Maggie Gyllenhaal as Isabel Green, the frazzled mother of Norman, Megsie and Vincent.

Rhys Ifans as Phil Green, Norman's, Megsie's and Vincent's uncle (no relation to Cyril and Celia), Rory's older brother and Isabel's brother-in-law. He tries to sell the farm because he gambled it away at a casino.

Asa Butterfield as Norman Green, the eldest of the Green children.

Lil Woods as Megan ‘Megsie’ Green, the middle and only girl of the Green children.

Oscar Steer as Vincent Green, the youngest of the Green children.

Eros Vlahos as Cyril Gray, the spoilt cousin of Norman, Megsie and Vincent. He becomes kinder throughout the film and befriends Norman.

Rosie Taylor-Ritson as Celia Gray, the other spoilt cousin of Norman, Megsie and Vincent. She also becomes kinder throughout the film and befriends Megsie.

Maggie Smith as Mrs Agatha Docherty (née Brown), the owner of the shop at which Mrs Green works. Near the end she is revealed to be baby Aggie from the first film, now an old lady.

Ewan McGregor as Rory Green, Isabel's husband, Phil's younger brother and the father of the Greens, away fighting in the Second World War.

Ralph Fiennes as Lord Gray, Cyril's and Celia's father, a high-ranking official in the War Office.

Sam Kelly as Mr Algernon Docherty, Mrs Docherty's husband, who is an ARP (Air Raid Precautions) Warden.

Production

Filming locations

The village in the film is Hambleden in Buckinghamshire, the farm set and scenes were filmed in Hascombe, near Godalming in Surrey and the War Office scenes, both interior and exterior, were filmed at the University of London, and the motorcycle scenes on various roads in London. Dunsfold Aerodrome, a filming location for the television programme Top Gear, name Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang as being filmed there, with more filming taking place at Shepperton Studios.

Release

Theatrical

It was released theatrically on 2 April 2010 in Europe.

Home media

It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on 19 June 2010. Nanny McPhee Returns, as the film was renamed for the North American market for undisclosed reasons, was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 14 December 2010.

Other media

Emma Thompson wrote a novelisation of the film. She narrated its audiobook and included a behind-the-scenes diary. Thompson won the Audie Award for Narration by the Author and was nominated for an Audie Award for Middle Grade Title and a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for her narration.

Reception

Critical response

The review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 76% based on 120 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Emma Thompson's second labor of love with the Nanny McPhee character actually improves on the first, delivering charming family fare with an excellent cast." Metacritic calculated an average score of 52 out of 100 based on 25 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. The Independent also gave a favourable review, with praise given to the actors and Thompson's script."

Box office

In the UK the film opened at number one, with £2,586,760, outperforming the new release The Blind Side, grossing a total of £16,211,057. In the United States and Canada it debuted in seventh position with $8.4 million. Gross exceeded $27 million.

Cancelled sequel

A third film, to be set in 21st-century England, was planned, but the sequel did not meet studio expectations and plans for further films were cancelled.