Movie 'McPhee' Reflects Classic Children's Stories

Written by Paula K. Parker

In the 1960s and 1970s, Christianna Brand wrote three children's books about a mysterious — and ugly — Nurse Matilda. On January 27, Universal Pictures releases Nanny McPhee, Emma Thompson's adaptation of Brand's stories. In the spirit of Mary Poppins and Cinderella, this story has the feel of a classic fairy tale. At a recent press junket, director Kirk Jones (Waking Ned Devine), actress Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility), who wrote the screenplay and plays Nanny McPhee, and actor Colin Firth (Bridget Jones' Diary) who plays Mr. Brown, discussed the classic elements of children's stories found in Nanny McPhee: problems, suspense, and comedy, including one ornery donkey.
 
Element #1: Problems

"Once upon a time there was a huge family of children; and they were terribly, terribly naughty." 
—  Christianna Brand, Nurse Matilda

Mr. Brown is a widower with seven naughty children, whom he can't make behave. They have run off seventeen nannies and the Agency refuses to subject any more of their nannies to the Brown children. Chaos rules.

"Chaos, in a child's life, generally has to do with a parent," Emma Thompson stated. "In classic fairy tales and children's stories, often a parent is absent, either through death, or war, or they're away, and that means that everything is out of whack."

"It's about relationships between parents and children," explained Kirk Jones. "It amazes me that we need help in raising our children. You can't turn the television on without seeing Super Nanny or Nanny 911. As we move on in our modern age, we might lose sight of some of the more traditional ways of raising children."

Colin Firth observed that this story was like the classic fairy tales. "All fairy tales that have endured through time have a dark streak in them." That is true in this story as well. Besides the dilemma of dealing with misbehaving children, Mr. Brown is confronted with his imperious Aunt Adelaide (Angela Lansbury), who announces that she is going to help him by taking one of his children to raise. The concept of losing a child hits home with many audience members.
 
"Parents who have seen this film also relate strongly to the idea of children being taken away and the family being broken up," Jones stated. "In the early screenings, fathers were coming up to me and saying, 'I was crying. It really moved me emotionally.'"

Element #2: Suspense

"She was very ugly — the ugliest person you ever saw in your life!"
— Christianna Brand, Nurse Matilda

EMMA THOMPSON as the magical Nanny McPhee thoughtfully regards her latest work in the dark and witty fable Nanny McPhee. Nanny McPhee will be released in theaters on January 27, 2006. Credit:  Liam Daniel. ©2005 Universal Studios.  All Rights Reserved.

Mr. Brown keeps hearing that his children need Nanny McPhee, but no one can tell him how to find her. One night, the legendary nanny shows up on the Brown's doorstep. Mr. Brown has his doubts that she can handle his brood, but she makes her way to the kitchen, where the children are wreaking havoc. The children ignore her, but Nanny McPhee bangs her walking stick on the ground and suddenly the children's antics are beyond their control. Only when they ask to be allowed to stop "please," does everything — and everyone — return to proper appearances. Over the ensuing days, as they learn Nanny McPhee's lessons, the children notice that she is not quite as ugly as they thought she was.

Like Mary Poppins, no explanation is ever given — either in the books or on the film — as to what Nanny McPhee is. In response to what caused Nanny McPhee's transformation, Jones said he preferred the explanations from children in the audience. "A number of them said that she really didn't change; it was just how the children saw her. A lot of them said that the more the children grew to love her, she became more beautiful."

Element #3: Comedy

Nanny McPhee is chock full of classic comedic elements, including simple prat falls, animals dressed in clothes, and an all-out food fight.

Firth thought that the food fight was going to be a grueling experience. While he did think that it was fun, he observed dryly that there is, "…an extraordinary popularity in throwing the pie at the leading man." He noted there was "a line of volunteers and very often, because rank was pulled, it was the director who actually threw the pie."

Thompson believes that food fights are "…incredibly cathartic. I think that food fights and pie throwing ought to be available on the national health service."

Because the prop boys were afraid of hurting Angela Lansbury and losing their jobs, Thompson offered to throw the pie in Ms. Lansbury's face. "I practiced throwing lots of pies against a board; it was all going very well. [When it came time] I was kneeling down behind the camera and I lifted up my hand with the pie — the camera's rolling — and I thought, I can't do this! I'm going to miss! So I handed over responsibility to the pie. It was like Luke Skywalker, with the thing they had to drop down the hole of the Death Star. I said, 'You have to make the pie go to the face. I just let the pie leave my hand, and Wham! It hit Angela's face. One take!"
 
While there were some funny scenes with animals, everyone on set agreed that it wasn't fun working with the donkey. "You know that thing they say about not working with animals and children?" Thompson asked. "I don't think that's true … except you should never work with a donkey. That donkey was supposed to be doing things and it just stood there."

She continued tongue-in-cheek, "You know that thing they say at the end of movies, No animal was harmed in the making of this film? I wanted to harm it. I wanted the statement to read, Emma Thompson harmed the donkey."

Mike and Paula K. Parker cover entertainment for LifeWay.com from their home in Middle Tennessee. Visit them online at www.wordcrafts.net.

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