Nonureva Really Surprised!

SunnyHello Nice effects though.

Griff Lees Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

CountZero313 The Great War breaks out and Daddy is a brave pilot who goes off to carry out some unsightly business to put Jerry in his place. Mummy is doing her bit as a nurse, so the five children are evacuated to their barmy uncle in the country, where a secret passageway takes them to a mischievous sand fairy and the beginning of a magical adventure.Based on a book written the best part of a century ago, they don't make stories like this anymore. And there's a reason. The men fly planes and author books; the women change bandages and clean house. The boys lead the way with their compasses and nighttime furloughs; the girls do what they are told and play violin - badly. Fat kids who wear specs are nasty. All the kids speak in those clipped, vowel-flattening accents that are soppy and prim but which a certain economic class of English people cultivate. On top of the snobbery and yearning for Imperial Albion, there are plot holes a five-year-old would not tolerate. I mean that literally - my son was asking why the father disappeared before sunset, why the compass didn't just drop from his hand as he disappeared. The film at least tries to aim strictly for the kids, until a completely inappropriate and unfunny monologue by Eddie Izzard (what a waste of genuine comic talent) plays over the final credits.No doubt the five percent of British schoolkids who go to expensive public schools in the UK will find it all such a jolly wheeze. For the other 95 percent of British families who no longer live in the 19th century, the good news is Wall-E, Ratatouille and Wallace and Gromit are all out on DVD.

Syl Edith Nesbit was before our time. She wrote this novel in the early part of the last century. The casting is first rate with Freddie Highmore as one of the children; the divine and future Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire Zoe Wanamaker CBE as the eccentric housekeeper of the castle; the always fascinating Kenneth Branagh as Uncle Albert, and Eddie Izzard as the voice of It. Okay, the story is a bit eccentric and bizarre about five children who are sent to live with their writing uncle in a desolate castle in the country. During their summer in the country, they come across making wishes that they would soon regret. The film works and is worth for children to watch it as well as adults. It can be serious at times while the children's father is sent off to fight in World War I and fun at times like the missing October and Thursday when they arrive on Friday at the castle. It's a charming film overall.

Robert W. I had never heard of the unique "Five Children and It" before it was recommended to me. It had the look and style of Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket films and looked interesting enough. Considering top billing went to twelve year old Freddy Highmore of Finding Neverland, it wasn't exactly a star studded affair. Nonetheless the story is a beautiful little fair tale more for kids but very entertaining...more so in fact than Lemony Snicket which I thought was just averagely done.Five Children and It is the story of five brothers and sisters who are sent to live with their eccentric mathematician Uncle when their father is stationed in France during WWII. The children are treated to an enormous castle and given the guided tour by the mysteriously protective housekeeper Martha. Despite his caring ways, the almost crazy Uncle Albert insists the children keep a tight ship, cleaning and carrying out a huge list of chores. The only rule they are given above all others is to stay out of the greenhouse. Young Robert, a strong willed, rebellious boy quickly finds his way to the greenhouse and goes inside and then convinces his brother and sisters to join him. They find a door which leads to them an unchartered beautiful beach where it doesn't rain and everything is calm and peaceful. Robert then accidentally discovers a shell and inside the shell is a very mysterious creature. He is a sand fair...It...as the children call him and he has the ability to grant one wish to one person per day. Through his wishes however he tends to teach a lesson by how and what they wish for. The children immediately wish their chores to be done which ends in disaster, and with each day that passes they learn to be more careful about their wishes. More than anything else what is important to them is their father returning safely from war and when he goes missing, they must choose their wish wisely to bring him home safely. And when the safety of the sand fairy becomes an issue the children pull together to save him from disaster.I thought that Sand Fairy who is by far the most amusing character in the film was underused quite a bit. Eddie Izzard performs as his voice and he's very funny and although the sand fairy is a little irritable he cares for the children and becomes endearing. The only child of the five of them who gets any significant screen time is Freddie Highmore who is becoming quite the actor with his breakthrough roles. Kenneth Braghn plays a great character in Uncle Albert. He obviously has no parenting skills but does the best he knows. His role was still better than Carey's in Lemony Snicket. Children will love this film, it's a great adventure without ever leaving the castle and at the same time has some great morals and lessons with the necessary laughs that children will love. The Sand Fairy is wonderful and kids will love him. With director John Stephenson at the helm who has worked with Jim Henson's creature shop for a long time, he knows what makes a great monster. Definitely check this out with your kids...maybe even on your own, it's a great little family film not to disappoint. Shout out to Deb who recommended this one...and I didn't even have to pay to watch it YEAH!! 8/10

LizLondon 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!