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Nanny McPhee

Name: Nanny McPhee - Christian Parent's Review
Item: Nanny McPhee
Rating: 1
Author: StoryScanner

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General Review

Parent's Guide to Nanny McPhee

Nanny McPhee is a 2005 family fantasy film based on the 'Nurse Matilda' books by Christianna Brand, starring Emma Thompson as the titular magical nanny. The movie is set in Victorian England and follows Mr. Brown, a recently widowed undertaker struggling to manage his seven incredibly mischievous children who have driven away numerous nannies. Nanny McPhee arrives mysteriously and uses her unique, often magical, methods to teach the unruly children important life lessons, leading to their transformation and ultimately helping to stabilize the fractured family. The film explores themes of obedience, discipline, respect, family unity, and the deceptive nature of appearances. While offering valuable moral lessons, the content includes mild thematic elements, some rude humor, and slapstick violence typical of its PG rating, making it generally suitable for older children and families.

Things to Consider

High2

Witchcraft & Occult

Nanny McPhee is explicitly portrayed as a magical figure who uses supernatural powers, including a magic walking stick, to discipline the children and influence events. This forms a central part of the film's fantasy premise.

Nanny McPhee uses her magic to enforce rules and teach lessons, such as making the children's chaotic kitchen cleanup occur by itself or compelling them to stay in bed when they feign illness. As the children learn lessons, Nanny McPhee's initially 'haggish' appearance, including warts and a bulbous nose, magically diminishes and transforms into beauty. One Christian review explicitly describes this as a 'very strong occult worldview with title character using magical powers to discipline children,' likening it to a 'kind of witchcraft.'

Disrespect & Rebellion

Disrespect and rebellion are central themes, as the Brown children are notoriously unruly and disobedient, actively plotting against and driving away numerous authority figures before Nanny McPhee's intervention. Their behavior is initially extreme and persistent.

The children are introduced as 'very clever, but very, very, very naughty,' having successfully scared away seventeen previous nannies. Their rebellious acts include tying up and gagging the cook, Mrs. Blatherwick, and destroying the kitchen by swinging from pot racks and breaking dishes. They also show extreme disrespect by introducing themselves to Nanny McPhee using vulgar names like 'Bum' and 'Oglington Fartworthy.'

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Medium4

ViolenceRomance and Sexual ContentScary & Intense ContentAnti-Christian Themes

Low3

LGBTQ & Gender IdentityProfanitySubstance Use

Medium4

Violence

The film contains mild, comical violence, primarily slapstick and mischievous pranks by the children that result in cartoonish harm or chaos. While generally within PG boundaries, some scenes depict children's extreme naughtiness causing distress or minor injury to adults.

The Brown children engage in several acts of violence and mischief, such as hitting the cook, Mrs. Blatherwick, over the head with a frying pan and then gagging and binding her to the table while ransacking the kitchen. Additionally, in an early scene, the children pretend to have eaten their infant sibling, Aggie, placing her in a large roasting pan with a lid, which can be unsettling. Later, a food fight erupts during the wedding preparations, involving both adults and children, where Mr. Brown knocks Mrs. Quickly's hat off, sending her to the ground.

Romance and Sexual Content

Romantic elements are present, revolving around Mr. Brown's need to remarry. Sexual content is limited to mild innuendo, suggestive behavior from a character, and mistaken interpretations of physical actions rather than explicit depictions.

Mrs. Quickly, Mr. Brown's intended bride, is depicted wearing very low-cut dresses and frequently draws attention to her breasts, often talking about her 'passions' in relation to men. In several scenes, Mr. Brown, attempting to thwart his children's pranks, inadvertently falls on top of Mrs. Quickly or has his face in her bosom, which she misinterprets as him seeking 'sexual favors' or being overcome with lust. Furthermore, there is a moment of mistaken identity where Aunt Adelaide believes Mr. Brown intends to marry his scullery maid, Evangeline, who she mistakenly thinks is his daughter, leading to her exclaiming 'Incest!'

Scary & Intense Content

The film contains several scenes that could be frightening or intense for younger viewers, particularly concerning Nanny McPhee's initial appearance and some of the children's more extreme pranks and the consequences.

Nanny McPhee's initial arrival is often described as 'alarming,' with her 'haggish appearance,' including a bulbous nose and a snaggletooth. One scene depicts a child, Sebastian, needing to walk down a 'creepy, long corridor full of spooky shadows and eerie noises' to reach Nanny McPhee's room, which could disturb young children. Additionally, the children's cruel pranks, such as pretending to eat baby Aggie, create an intense and potentially disturbing atmosphere.

Anti-Christian Themes

While the film's core narrative promotes universal moral lessons, the pervasive use of unexplained magical powers by Nanny McPhee, whom some religious outlets describe as a 'witch' or her actions as 'witchcraft,' presents a worldview that could be concerning from a Christian perspective. However, the film also includes positive moral content and features a Christian wedding.

Nanny McPhee employs supernatural magic to enforce discipline and teach lessons, which is characterized by some Christian reviews as a 'very strong occult worldview' and 'a kind of witchcraft' due to the undisclosed origin of her powers. Despite this, the film includes positive Christian elements, such as a 'positive Christian wedding officiated by a church official' for Mr. Brown and Evangeline, symbolizing values of love and family.

Low3

LGBTQ & Gender Identity

No explicit LGBTQ+ or gender identity themes or characters are present in the 'Nanny McPhee' (2005) film. Extensive searches across various platforms yielded no relevant content for this media, indicating an absence of such representation in the narrative or character development.

Profanity

Profanity in the film is minimal and mild, aligning with its PG rating. It includes some crude language used by the children and light exclamatory profanities, primarily for comedic or childish effect.

Substance Use

Substance use is infrequent and limited to adult characters consuming alcohol in a social context, without depictions of intoxication or abuse.

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Nanny McPhee presents a family-friendly narrative rich with moral lessons that largely align with biblical values, despite its fantastical elements. Core themes such as obedience, discipline, respect, and family unity are central to the film's message, as Nanny McPhee guides the mischievous Brown children towards virtuous behavior. The movie clearly portrays a system of moral accountability where characters are rewarded for their good choices and face consequences for their unruly actions. The children's transformation from rebellion to responsibility directly correlates with the improvement of their circumstances and Nanny McPhee's own physical metamorphosis, illustrating that internal change leads to positive external outcomes. The worldview presented is primarily a transcendent one, where moral principles and virtuous living bring about order and beauty, rather than a materialistic or relativistic view. While Nanny McPhee's magic is supernatural and not explicitly Christian, some analyses suggest she can be viewed as a 'prophetic angel figure' or 'guardian angel,' highlighting a divine intervention narrative to restore a broken family. The film also carries strong redemption themes. The initial state of the Brown family, marked by chaos and grief, undergoes a profound redemption as the children learn valuable lessons like 'no fighting,' 'share,' 'work together,' 'be brave,' and 'have faith.' The character of Evangeline, whose name means 'good news,' volunteers a sacrifice, further underscoring themes of selflessness and grace, ultimately leading to the family's restoration and a joyous new beginning. Family values are strongly emphasized, portraying the importance of a loving household, parental authority, and children's respect for their elders. The film showcases Mr. Brown's journey in becoming a more attentive father and the children's growth in valuing their family bonds. While faith or Christianity is not explicitly detailed, 'faith' is extolled in a general sense, and the film includes a positive depiction of a Christian wedding, without any disrespect or negative portrayal of Christian beliefs. Overall, 'Nanny McPhee' offers Christian parents a media option that reinforces many positive virtues and the redemptive power of transformation within a family context.

Additional Context

Best For Ages

The movie is rated PG, and generally recommended for ages 8 and up. Younger children (under 8) may find some scenes, particularly Nanny McPhee's initial appearance and the children's extreme misbehavior, to be unsettling or too intense. Parental guidance is suggested for children under 13 due to mild thematic elements, rude humor, brief language, and the pervasive use of magic.

Good to Know

The sequel, 'Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang' (also known as 'Nanny McPhee Returns'), introduces more pronounced physical and verbal violence among the children compared to the first film, where children are depicted hitting, slapping, choking, and slamming each other's heads. The underlying lessons in the sequel shift from basic obedience to themes of sharing, courage, and faith.

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