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
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