Five Children & IT

Cast: Freddie Highmore, Poppy Rogers, Alec & Zak Muggleton, Jonathan Bailey, Jessica Claridge, Alexander Pownall, Kenneth Branagh, Zoë Wanamaker, Alex Jennings, Tara Fitzgerald, voice of Eddie Izzard
Director: John Stephenson
Genre: Family/Adventure/Fantasy
Rated: PG mature themes, low level violence
Running Time: 89 Minutes

Anything Can Happen If You Believe In IT

Synopsis:
With their father at war and their mother nursing the wounded, five children from London are sent away to stay with their Uncle in his dilapidated mansion by the sea. There they encounter a strange household, comprising Uncle, who demands absolute silence in order to write his book, Martha, the friendly but crazy housekeeper and Uncle's son Horace, a small boy with a laboratory in the basement - an evil scientist in the making.

While exploring, the children find a secret passage under the house that takes them to a strange beach. What they thought was going to be a dull summer in the country is about to become the most exciting summer of their lives when they accidentally dig up an 8 000 year old sand fairy, a Psammead.

My Verdict:
Not wanting to sound facetious, 'Five Children & IT' is such a nice, sweet movie. Based on the novel by E. Nesbit ('The Railway Children', 'The Phoenix and the Carpet'), this is a fantasy story about the adventures of five siblings as they encounter a creature that can grant them wishes whilst staying with their unconventional, eccentric Uncle. The London children, Cyril (Jonathan Bailey), Anthea (Jessica Claridge), Jane (Poppy Rogers), Robert (Freddie Highmore) and 'The Lamb' (Alec & Zak Muggleton) are sent to their Uncle Albert's (Kenneth Branagh in delightfully weird mode) to stay whilst their father goes off to war and their mother nurses the sick during WWI. When the children arrive at the house, the mysterious maid meets them, Martha (Zoë Wanamaker) who tells the children that they can go anywhere they like, except the greenhouse. Anyone who knows children will realise that telling a child not to go somewhere is basically an open invitation to want to go there - the forbidden is the most enticing - and it's Robert who discovers the greenhouse first. From the greenhouse is a secret passage that leads to a beach where the children discover a sand fairy, which they decide to call "IT" (voiced by Eddie Izzard). This fairy explains that they are entitled to a wish every day, with the only condition being that the wish will expire before sunset, and the movie goes on to show what the children wish for, and the consequences of their wishes.

The ancient sand fairy, or Psammead - full name Psammead Crustacea Anostrraca Decapodlium Anthropodolous Wishasarus - is an almost ugly looking creature, yet still cute enough to want to cuddle. He is voiced by Eddie Izzard and is initially very hard to understand but the accents become clearer as time passes. At times, he does look a little too computer generated but in the main, is passable as real.

The children are all delightful, with the standout being Freddie Highmore as Robert. Similar to his recent role in 'Finding Neverland'(2004), Highmore brings such a breath of fresh air to every scene and is a pleasure to watch - his enthusiasm in his role is also very contagious. As Robert, it is his steadfast belief in magic and the power of his faith that he insists is what is essential to the siblings maintaining hope for the future.

The setting of Uncle Alberts house allows for exploration, as it is a large house with plenty of rooms and staircases, and includes a basement where cousin to the children, Horace, has his monster laboratory. Mullet hairstyled Horace, is an obnoxious misunderstood child who uses a wish from the sand fairy, to almost horrific consequences and it is in this scene that the youngest viewers may find distressing or particularly scary. The other wishes that the children choose all initially seem pretty simple and straightforward, but as time passes they realise to be careful for what you wish for.

'Five Children & IT' isn't an almighty blockbuster, but it does have more than enough redeeming features to entertain and might even suck you in to wishing for your own 'IT'. It is hard not to sit and think about what you would wish for if you were in the same situation as the children, remembering that the wish only lasts until sunset.

Rating : B

Christina Bruce