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Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Izzard, Freddie Highmore, Tara Fitzgerald, Zoë Wanamaker ... see more see more... , Alexander Pownall , Jonathan Bailey , Jessica Claridge , Poppy Rogers , Alec Muggleton , Zak Muggleton , Alex Jennings , John Sessions

Five brothers and sisters find their uncle has a big surprise hidden in his estate in this comic fantasy for the whole family. Not long after World War I breaks out, five children -- Cyril (Jonathan B... read more read more...ailey), Robert (Freddie Highmore), Anthea (Jessica Claridge), Jane (Poppy Rogers), and Lamb -- find themselves in dangerous circumstances when their father is sent off to fight, and their mother volunteers to be a field nurse. Unable to care for themselves, the children are sent to the country, where they stay with their eccentric uncle Albert (Kenneth Branagh) and his ill-tempered son, Horace (Alexander Pownall), in Albert's ramshackle home. Uncle Albert has more than a few rules about what the children can and cannot do, but his strictest edict is that the children must never go into his greenhouse. Of course, the children's curiosity gets the better of them, and they sneak in to discover their uncle's big secret -- the building is home to Psammead (voice of Eddie Izzard), an ugly and often bad-mannered "sand fairy" who has the ability to grant wishes. However, the kids discover that Psammead's wishes only last for 24 hours, and that they have a strange habit of backfiring on their beneficiaries. 5 Children & It was based on the classic book for children by E. Nesbit; Psammead was realized onscreen with a puppet created by Jim Henson's celebrated Creature Shop. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

44% liked it

12,378 ratings

Critics

57% liked it

7 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 29 min.

Directed by: John Stephenson (II), John Stephenson

Release Date: October 15, 2004

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DVD Release Date: July 5, 2005

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Stats: 374 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (374)

  • SirPant
    February 20, 2012
    SirPant
    E. Nesbit's classic novel was always a big favourite of mine as a child. The BBC made a series in the early 90's which I remember being quite good so I was looking forward to this one. All in all, I was quite happy with it, all the things I didn't like about it (Freddie Highmore,... read more dodgy CGI) were outweighed by the things I did like such as Eddie Izzard voicing the Psammead, Kenneth Branagh's eccentric Uncle and best of all, the unexpected but really welcome Norman Wisdom cameo. It's not as wonderful as the book, it would have been hard to get all of it into a 90 minute film but it gets the same message across. Not all the CGI was bad though, and I'm not just saying that because an old friend did the SFX but I would have liked to have seen the Psammead as a puppet. The sad truth is though that kids aren't interested in this kind of story anymore, it's a classic but I don't know that many people who even know the story, and that makes me sad because it's really quite lovely and actually quite relevant today.
  • LWOODS04
    July 9, 2010
    LWOODS04
    CAST: Kenneth Branagh, Zoë Wanamaker, Freddie Highmore, Eddie Izzard, Jonathan Bailey, Jessica Claridge, Poppy Rogers, Tara Fitzgerald, Alex Jennings, John Sessions, Norman Wisdom, Duncan Preston

    DIRECTED BY: John Stephenson

    SUMMARY: While their father is fighting on the fr... read moreont lines, five children find themselves bunking at their uncle's estate, where they befriend a fairy called It (voiced by the hilarious Eddie Izzard), who helps them uncover the mysteries of the large mansion in which they now live. This high-spirited tale finds It bringing joy, laughter and luck to the kids' lives, as the grown-ups contend with the painfully adult challenges of living in a time of war.

    MY THOUGHTS: "This is a movie for the kids. My niece's and nephew liked it a lot, I on the other hand thought it was a bit boring. But it had it's moments of humor. Had a some what sad story, and had a good lesson about not being selfish. But still much more a film for the kids. Good cast, and a good young cast as well."
  • thesouthernlady
    June 6, 2011
    thesouthernlady
    It is a really cute little movie. At first I thought I would hate it because of the look of the sences and stuff, looked really low budget film. And most low budget films I have seen, have been really cheesy. But this one wasn't. I enjoyed it. At first, it reminded me of Aliens i... read moren the Attic, but its different.
  • youngboy832002
    May 7, 2011
    youngboy832002
    Another good movie with Freddie Highmore in it. You might remember him from playing Peter in Finding Never land or even out of Chronicles of Spider Wicked. This was a good family movie. I enjoyed it. Have to say I might watch this one again.
  • MovieLover57
    June 22, 2008
    MovieLover57
    Cool Fantasy Movie. Better Than I Expected To Be. Sure To Plese The Fans Of ''The Cronicles Of Narnia: The Lion,The Witch,And The Wardrobe'', And ''The Water Horse Legend Of The Deep''.
  • XTotalxHavokX
    June 13, 2006
    XTotalxHavokX
    I saw this just last year some time. Oh my word, it was a very cute movie!!!! It was sad, but oh my goodness I could have watched this movie all day, The star of the movie was Freddy highmore or Charlie and The Chocolate factory, which was the factor that led me to watch this mov... read moreie, and I'm glad I did.
  • scrambledegg7
    June 5, 2006
    scrambledegg7
    Gosh darn it. How can we mess up this book? Let me count the ways. The original book was charming, the story of five children who find a sand fairy and then get themselves in trouble by accidentally wishing for things they don't really want - like when one of them says in frustra... read moretion about their baby brother, "Oh, I WISH he'd grow up!" and suddenly find themselves having to follow their 20-year-old "baby brother" around. Now that kind of stuff was fun. It is not nearly so fun when people are just stupid and wish for idiotic things. Or when those who grant the wishes deliberately skew them. Add in some random troubled-child-misses-his-father bits, a cast of mostly superfluous characters, and a sappy ending that also just doesn't make SENSE... and you've got something that rather deserves to die.

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Critic Reviews

Joseph Proimakis
October 3, 2006
Joseph Proimakis, Movies for the Masses

full review in Greek Full Review

David Cornelius
July 5, 2005
David Cornelius, eFilmCritic.com

Its eccentric charms and light humor will most certainly win over anyone looking for a brisk family adventure. Full Review

James Christopher
October 21, 2004
James Christopher, Times [UK]

Five posh First World War sprogs are despatched to Uncle Kenneth Branagh's Gothic pile in a Devon nook. It's a ghastly film Full Review

Joe Utichi
October 18, 2004
Joe Utichi, FilmFocus

Live this up, a wholesome family film this delightful doesn't come by very often. Full Review

Joe Leydon
March 19, 2009
Joe Leydon, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

April 1, 2006
Empire Magazine

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Matthew Turner
October 19, 2004
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon

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Neil Smith
October 19, 2004
Neil Smith, BBC

Click to read the article Full Review

Urban Cinefile Critics
October 18, 2008
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile

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February 9, 2006
Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

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