Flipper (Elijah Wood)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s over twenty years since we watched the family film ‘Flipper’ about a teenage boy and his special relationship to a dolphin. I didn’t remember much about it, other than that it was a somewhat bittersweet ending with some tension along the way.

I had quite forgotten that the show stars Elijah Wood as fifteen-year-old Sandy, well before he became a household name as Frodo in the Lord of the Rings series. He was apparently prolific as a child actor, and plays the part of the somewhat fed-up Sandy very competently.

Sandy’s parents, we quickly learn, are separating, and they have sent Sandy to stay with his uncle, Porter (Paul Hogan), for the summer. Porter lives in a ramshackle building on the coast of Florida, and mostly lives on canned food, which he acquires in bulk from various ships. He doesn’t much want someone around, and Sandy doesn’t want to be there, but when Sandy tries to run away Porter follows him and brings him back.

Nim's Island (Abigail Breslin)

(Amazon UK link)

We’ve picked up a lot of DVDs over the years, many of them second-hand. Since we have regularly had young friends coming to watch a DVD, we made sure that there was a good collection with U rating for them to select from when they were small. There were some which we were familiar with, of course; I bought quite a few children’s classics when our own sons were younger. But others were completely new to us. 

Recently I thought it would be a good idea for us to watch some of them - not the 3d animated ones which I dislike intently, but the ones with real people. Last night we decided to watch ‘Nim’s Island’.  I had no idea what it was about, but I know our young friends quite liked it a few years ago. 

The star of this film is Abigail Breslin, who is perfectly cast as 11-year-old Nim. She narrates the start of the story, illustrated with cartoons, showing how her mother was eaten by a whale when Nim was three. So she lives with her father, Jack (Gerard Butler). They went around the world a couple of times on his boat, as he’s a marine scientist, always looking for new forms of microscopic life.  And now they have settled on a tiny island which doesn’t have any other human inhabitants. 

Hotel for dogs (Emma Roberts)

(Amazon UK link)

About eighteen months ago, when we bought some extra DVD shelving (used), we were offered a selection of children’s DVDs. Some of them are of no interest to me, although visiting children sometimes like them. But I thought that the 2009 film ‘Hotel for dogs’ sounded quite interesting, based on the blurb. So last night we decided to watch it.

Andi (Emma Roberts) is sixteen, and very close to her ten-year-old brother Bruce (Jake T Austin). They were orphaned three years earlier - we don’t learn why - and are living in foster care. It’s clearly not working well for them; their foster parents, Lois and Karl, provide a lot of the comedy in the film as they are so dreadful, and clearly unsuited to the role. She makes extremely unappetising food, and the two of them spend most of their time trying to record bad quality music.

Andi and Bruce have a dog called Friday, whom they adore. But no dogs are allowed in their foster home, so they have to sneak him in at night-time. And since they have no money, they try to ‘earn’ enough to feed Friday, through very dubious scams. Their social worker Bernie (Don Cheadle) is excellent; he clearly cares about them, and regularly gets them out of trouble. Although he knows their foster parents are neglectful, there are very few foster families willing to take on siblings of their age. And they are desperate to stay together.

In their neighbourhood there is a van that goes around collecting stray dogs, and unfortunately they come across Friday and impound him. And while they manage to release him, they’re shocked to see that there are many other delightful dogs, and that they’re only allowed to be there, uncollected, for 72 hours…

It’s quite poignant at first, contrasting the young people’s love of dogs, and concern for strays with the rigidity of the dog police. Andi and Bruce discover an abandoned hotel where some of the dogs have made themselves at home. And they decide to take it over, with the help from some friends they gradually acquire. Bruce is a technological genius, and makes some impressive devices from items left behind in the old hotel, and also things he has taken from his foster home…

There’s a lot of humour in this film, which we thought was beautifully made. The dogs are wonderful, more and more of them appearing and being adopted by Annie and Bruce. There are scenes showing the dog police wondering where all the stray dogs have gone. And we loved the way Bruce gradually manages to automate not just the dogs’ feeding time, but their exercise, toilet needs, and other preferences. It’s quite surreal, of course, but while we were watching, we felt quite drawn into the film, rooting for the teenagers and the dogs.

Naturally enough, things can’t continue this way forever, and there’s some tension and an exciting race towards the end. Bernie makes a heartfelt speech which makes for a happy ending - this is, after all, a children’s film - and an even more surreal conclusion, which we thought very amusing.

The acting is excellent, and the dogs are amazing. We watched some of the ‘extras’ on the DVD, which included a section about the dog training, which was impressive. And there was a heartfelt comment from the actor who plays Bruce, saying that there were times when he did everything correctly, but the dog with him didn’t. So they had to do seventeen takes. 

It was clear both from the film and from the ‘making of’ extra that the cast loved dogs - and the crew, too. Some of the dogs used were themselves strays, who were then adopted by cast or crew members. I am not, in general, a dog person. But I thought that, as well as being a well-made and amusing film, it gave a very important message about the responsibility that comes with having a dog. 

Overall, I would recommend it to adults as well as teens and children who want something light-hearted, so long as you don’t mind a bizarre storyline that’s a bit like a 21st century fairy-tale. Apparently this was loosely based on a book of the same name. The teenage actors - or those portraying teenagers - are excellent, carrying the film entirely. Other than Bernie, most of the adult characters are either caricatures, or in some way against the teens' efforts. 

The rating is U, which reflects the lack of anything ‘adult’. There are one or two very minor uses of bad language, and the film might, perhaps, be disturbing to a child who had problems in foster care, or who had lost a dog. I think I would probably rate it PG, suggesting that parents should take responsibility for deciding whether or not their children would be likely to find it upsetting, or funny.

Review copyright 2025 Sue's DVD Reviews

Annie (Alicia Morton)

(Amazon UK link)

Towards the end of 2009, we watched the DVD of the 1982 version of the musical ‘Annie’, with Aileen Quinn in the title role. We liked it on the whole, and thought it well-done. But I didn’t feel that it was entirely suitable for young children. There was some extreme drunkenness, some innuendoes and a very tense scene towards the end.

Last year, when we bought some extra DVD shelving, we also acquired, inexpensively, some more children’s films on DVD. One of them was the 1999 Disney version of ‘Annie’, with Alicia Morton in the title role. We wanted something light to watch last night, and this was the DVD my husband chose.

The story opens in the orphanage, showing interactions between the half dozen or so children. One of them cries for her mother at night, and Annie comforts her, while reminding everyone that she is not an orphan. She has a letter that was left by her parents, and part of a locket. She believes that, one day, they will come to find her.

As with some other Disney films, the action is quite rapid. Even so, I was a bit surprised that almost immediately Annie decides to get out of the orphanage to look for her parents. She creeps downstairs and is unlocking the front door when Miss Hannigan (Kathy Bates) appears. She is the owner of the orphanage, and appears to be the only member of staff. The children have to say, repeatedly, that they love her, although in private (including in song...) she expresses how much she loathes little girls.

Everyone else is woken up to be punished, by extra thorough cleaning of the floors. Nobody seems to resent Annie for having brought this on their heads… instead, musical style, they launch once again into song. There seem, in my view, to be rather an excessive number of songs in this film, although they’re very well done.

The plot is, as far as I recall, reasonably close to the story in the 1982 version. A wealthy bachelor wants to foster an orphan for a week, and Annie is chosen, much to Miss Hannigan’s disgust. It all happens rather rapidly, and Annie is thrust into a world of wealth, with new clothes, toys and plenty of food. And she becomes quite attached to the rich Mr Warbucks (Victor Garber). Again, this happens a tad too quickly, it seems… 

There’s low-key tension as Mr Warbucks and his PA Grace (Audra McDonald) attempt to locate Annie’s parents, and a sneaky plot is hatched by Miss Hannigan and her scheming brother Rooster (Alan Cumming), along with his intellectually challenged girlfriend Lily (Kristin Chenoweth). They are delightfully wicked, and I liked their song-and-dance routine, with Miss Hannigan, as they discuss how to go about getting rid of Annie.

There’s more humour in this than I recalled in the earlier version, and it’s generally more family-friendly, so that the rating of U seems appropriate. Miss Hannigan makes a lot of threats to the orphans, but it’s clear that she has never actually hit any of them. She’s unpleasant, but there’s no hint of drunkenness. Lily is dressed proactively, but there’s no nudity or any bad language. The tense scene in the 1982 version isn’t there at all. And the dog is very cute.

It’s undoubtedly ‘Disneyfied’, with that feel-good sense, and little time to think about or anticipate anything very much; it’s under 90 minutes in length, and I thought it could have benefitted from being a bit longer. However, as a piece of light-weight entertainment, it certainly filled the bill. And since it takes place in December, with the (inevitably) happy ending on Christmas Day, we’ve decided to put this with our Christmas DVD collection for the future.

Recommended if you like this kind of child-centred musical with some caricatured villains and a positive outcome. 

Review copyright 2025 Sue's DVD Reviews

Heidi (Emma Bolger)

(Amazon UK link)

As a child I loved the book ‘Heidi’, which I had initially in abridged form. It’s the classic story of an orphaned girl who is sent to live with her hermit-like grandfather who lives high in the Swiss alps. Grandfather is rather spurned by the people of the local village, who fear him due to some damaging rumours. 

Heidi is lively and friendly, and her grandfather, despite his rather dour appearance, becomes very fond of her. She loves the simple life in the mountains and befriends Peter, the goatherd, who is the son of their nearest neighbours. When her aunt appears to take Heidi into the town to work as a companion to a wealthy disabled girl, Clara, Heidi is heartbroken… 

It’s a delightful story, one which I think I should read again some time soon. We watched the 2005 film adaptation on DVD over twelve years ago, and decided to watch it again last night. And it sticks pretty closely to the original story. The scenery is stunning, and given that it’s not a long film (not much over an hour and a half) it packs in plenty without adding anything unnecessary. The pace is good, and we were both engrossed in the story. 

But we were both disappointed by the three main child actors. We weren’t sure if they were over-directed, or if they weren’t involved enough in the story to be really believable. Emma Bolger plays nine-year-old Heidi, and she does it as an enthusiastic, animated child. She has a slight Irish accent, which is a little weird, but I quickly got used to that. However she shows little emotion at the more poignant times. When she has to wait (more than once) outside her grandfather’s chalet, she doesn’t look at all anxious or afraid. When she’s supposedly crying, there are no tears - just some artificial-sounding sniffs. When she’s tossing and turning in bed, it doesn’t look real at all. 

Worse is Clara (Jessica Claridge), who comes across as likeable but rather twee, as if she’s repeating her lines rather than acting. And although Peter is more believable, he seems much too clean to be a believable goatherd. And his jealousy of Clara, later in the film, is not really explored at all and doesn’t seem to fit with what we see of his character in the earlier scenes. 

However, I thought that Heidi’s grandfather (Max von Sydow) was excellent. I could believe in him entirely as a lonely, irritable old man whose heart is softened by his lively granddaughter. I wasn’t sure why he seemed so old - he could have passed for eighty, which seems to me the age of a great-grandfather to a nine-year-old girl. But that wasn’t a huge issue and only occurred to me towards the end. 

Diana Rigg is also very well cast as Clara’s grandmama. She comes across as a delightful, realistic woman who looks as if she’s in her late sixties. She’s kind and understanding, and quite lively too.  And I liked Sebastian (Del Synott), the servant in Clara’s household, who befriends Heidi. His face is very expressive at times, as he attempts to be discreet and almost invisible serving at table, but also reacts to Heidi’s liveliness and naivete. There are one or two quite amusing scenes involving Sebastian, where his facial expressions made us chuckle. 

There are two obviously caricatured adult characters in the film. Pauline McLynn plays Heidi’s strict, penny-pinching aunt, and Geraldine Chaplin is the appalling Miss Rottenmeier, who for some reason is employed as housekeeper at the house where Clare lives. Neither is supposed to be liked, and the exaggerated nastiness is a good ploy in a children’s film, so that - hopefully - they’re not taken too seriously, and therefore won’t provoke nightmares.

It’s a story about families, and friendship; about loyalty and the importance of looking out for other people.  Despite the rather wooden acting of the younger people, I would recommend it, on the whole. The rating is U, and that reflects the wholesome story with a lack of anything that would merit a stricter rate. I don’t think it would be of much interest to anyone younger than about seven or eight, but for older children and teens (and adults who loved the book as children) it’s a good adaptation. 

Our DVD doesn’t have any extras. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

Matilda (Mara Wilson)

(Amazon UK link)

We were both feeling a bit tired yesterday evening. We wanted to watch a film that was light, undemanding and not too long. We realised that although we had owned the film of ‘Matilda’, based on Roald Dahl’s book for children with the same title, we had never seen it. So that’s what we chose. 

‘Matilda’, made in 1996, stars Mara Wilson in the title role. She was nine at the time, and clearly already an accomplished and confident actor. I knew the outline of the story, which I read more than once when my sons were small, but I hadn’t remembered the details. And the film, inevitably, has a more visual approach than the book. It’s also set in the United States rather than the UK, with American accents rather than British ones. But although that disturbed me slightly at first, I quickly got used to it. 

So it starts with Matilda’s dreadful parents, Mr and Mrs Wormwood. They are brilliantly played by Danny DeVito and Rhea Pearlman (who was his wife in reality as well as in this film). They are caricatured slobs, in the best Roald Dahl style. Mr Wormwood is a used car salesman who buys stolen car parts and cheats his customers. Mrs Wormwood uses a lot of makeup and dyes her hair, and spends her afternoons playing bingo. 

Matilda has an older brother, Michael, who is likely to follow in his father’s footsteps. But her parents have no interest in her. And the film shows this: Mr Wormwood wonders if he can send her back after she’s born, and basically ignores her. She’s left home alone from a very young age, and quickly becomes self-sufficient. We see a younger Matilda dressing herself at age two, teaching herself to read all the family’s magazines at age three, and then daring to ask her father for a book to read when she is four.

When this is refused, the action moves to the library, and eventually she starts school. She has a lovely class teacher, Miss Honey (Embeth Davidtz).  But the school headmistress is the dreadful villain Miss Trunchbull (Pam Ferris), who terrorises the children, and makes examples of any who dare to stray outside her strict rules. She’s a former athlete who thinks nothing of throwing a child around by their hair and out of the window…

If it were taken seriously this would be a terrible catalogue of abuse. But the action is so exaggerated, Miss Trunchbull so horrendously caricatured, that it feels like fantasy rather than reality. and Pam Ferris plays the part to perfection (or whatever is the unpleasant equivalent). As one of the children comments, they can’t complain because their parents would not believe that a school head could be so appalling.

Matilda is highly intelligent, already reading Charles Dickens and other classics, and doing complex arithmetic in her head. And she also realises that when anyone gets angry with her, she has strange magical powers that can move objects. At first this happens a bit randomly but she manages to train it. 

The acting from the villains is all overdone, but then that’s the way Dahl’s books work. Danny DeVito is the director as well as playing Mr Wormwood, and he sticks pretty closely to the story.  I read the book this morning to see just how close it was. There are a few changes made, which probably work better from the point of visual continuity. There are some extra scenes in the film, too, such as a delightful sequence where Matilda dances in her living room as she moves blinds, pictures and other objects without touching them. 

There’s also a lengthy sequence when Matilda and Miss Honey venture inside Miss Trunchbull’s house. It’s entirely in Roald Dahl’s style and fits well with the overall story, adding some action and tension, and also some humour. And there are scenes in Mr Turnbull’s garage, whereas the book just describes him talking to his son about what he does. I thought it a very good balance of following the book closely and adding in new scenes that demonstrate people’s characters or behaviours in ways that wouldn’t work in a book.

We were engrossed in the story right from the start, and even though I knew it would end satisfactorily, there are some quite stressful moments. The images of Miss Trunchbull glaring at children, her face distorted close to the camera, demonstrate brilliantly how the children might have seen her. 

The rating for this film is PG, which makes sense. Most children would probably find it funny, with Miss Trunchbull taking the place of a vicious dragon or other monster of fantasy stories. But some might find her disturbing, particularly her worst punishment - the ‘chokey’ - and others might be upset at the way Matilda’s parents are so neglectful. So parental guidance is recommended; ideally a parent should watch this with a sensitive or young child seeing it for the first time. 

But with that proviso, I would definitely recommend it.  Particularly for children who have enjoyed the book. 

Our DVD came with a few ‘extras’, which surprised us.  One required re-watching the film to be able to see how the 'magic' scenes were made, and we did see a few of those, which were quite interesting, but we didn't want to see it all again. One 'extra' was an ironic and mildly amusing list of etiquette rules, illustrated (or not!) by snippets from the film. 

Another of the extras was about libraries, perhaps for children who weren't familiar with them. Oddly, the librarian was portrayed as rather a scary-looking woman with bright red lips and a face that came too close to the camera, almost like Miss Trunchbull, though clearly the librarian was a likeable person.  And the final extra that we watched was a rather wobbly video made by Mara Wilson herself. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews)

(Amazon UK link)

After re-watching ‘Saving Mr Banks’ a week ago, I was eager to see the film of ‘Mary Poppins’ which I had not seen for at least twenty years, possibly more. I saw it as a child, possibly in the cinema, and certainly on television, when I was a teenager. But although we have had the DVD for a long time, and it’s been seen many times by other people, I don’t recall watching it myself. 

What a delight it is! It’s a long film, over two and a half hours but I didn’t find it over-long at all. Made in 1964, this was the first film role for Julie Andrews, who’s probably better known as ‘Maria’ in ‘The Sound of Music’. She makes an excellent Mary Poppins, the nanny who arrives at the Banks household, floating down from the sky…

The story is set in 1910. Mr Banks (David Tomlinson) is a very regimented man who works at a bank in London. He arrives home at six o’clock on the dot (emphasised by an eccentric captain neighbour who sets of a cannon at this time) and goes through the same routine each day. He’s fond of his young children Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber) in a vague kind of way, but wants them to behave impeccably and mostly keep out of his way. 

Despite the fact that several nannies have left in less than a week, Jane and Michael are not badly-behaved or wild children. Sometimes they get distracted, or decide to hide, but they’re basically kind, honest and likeable. We were very impressed by the two children playing their parts; both were less than ten years old, and entirely realistic in their roles.

Mrs Banks (Glynis Johns) is in stark contrast to her husband, although she’s very fond of him and entirely defers to him as head of the household - at least, when he’s with her. She’s an active campaigner for women’s votes, and spends a lot of her time on protest marches. She and the two main household servants Mrs Brill (Reta Shaw) and Ellen (Hermione Baddeley) provide most of the humour of the film.

On the children’s first outing with Mary Poppins they meet her old friend Bert (Dick van Dyke) who is working as a street artist. We’ve already seen him as a one-man band, earlier in the story, and he appears later as a chimney sweep. He’s multi-talented, and his tap dancing skills come to the fore in several scenes. 

In addition to the ‘realistic’ story featuring the family, there are some surreal mystical adventures, the first one including a countryside break, with singing animals and merry-go-round horses that take the children onto a racecourse… this is all done in animation, and I was full of admiration, knowing this was all done by hand long before the days of CGI or even computer-aided animation. There are some delightful sequences, very cleverly produced.

There are a lot of songs, as this is a musical production. Some of them are well-known, others less so, but all are very well done, most accompanied by excellent choreography. I have have a slight criticism, it’s that some of the songs are a bit drawn-out. Modern directors would have cut them much shorter, and made the film faster-paced; I’d have preferred it just a little faster in places. But in the 1960s films were longer, and apparently people had better attention spans. 

Overall I thought it an excellent production. Our DVD set is an anniversary edition which has an ‘extras’ disc, including interviews with the musical director, one with a rather older Julie Andrews and Dick van Dyke, looking back on the making of the film, and quite a long documentary ‘extra’ about the making of the film. All very interesting. I was surprised to learn that the whole outdoor setting of the Banks’ street was a set in a studio. None of the film was shot in London. 

I’m glad we watched it after seeing ‘Saving Mr Banks’, particularly the extras, as that story - which is mostly true - gives a lot of useful and personal background. 

Highly recommended, to adults and children so long as you don't mind suspending reality somewhat.  

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

The Box of Delights (Devin Stanfield)

(Amazon UK link)

I knew it was a few years since we acquired the DVD of ‘The Box of Delights’. It's a six-part adaptation of the book by the same name written about a hundred years ago by John Masefield. I was startled to realise, on searching my Amazon lists, that we were given this DVD for Christmas 2011 - eleven years ago - and that it’s been sitting in our to-be-watched drawer all this time.

But on New Year’s Day, we decided to watch something in the afternoon for a change. We looked at our Christmas DVD collection, and chose this one, knowing we had plenty of time - and that, if it turned out to be something we didn’t want to see, we could stop after one episode.

It turned out to be an extremely well-made film, if a tad long-winded in places. The hero is a boy called Kay (Devin Stanfield) who must be about eleven. He’s on his way back home from boarding school for the Christmas holidays when he encounters an old man called Mr Hawlings (Patrick Troughton) with a friendly dog at a station. There’s an instant rapport, then Kay has to run to get his second train. On that he meets two rather less pleasant characters. They are dressed as clergymen but cheat him out of some money.

Kay starts getting messages about wolves running, and an old lady with a star ring. It’s a little confusing - perhaps I should have read the book first, but somehow it has never appealed - and is thrown into some exciting, sometimes tense adventures. It’s hard to know who to trust, at first; but the film does a very good job at distinguishing the ‘bad’ guys by evil grimaces, and camera action that distorts their faces.

The film was made in 1984 so the special effects look rather basic and dated now, but they were cutting edge technology at the time, very cleverly integrated into the film. A picture comes to life with a waterfall that moves, for instance, and a mule that becomes real. With today’s CGI and other computer techniques it would probably have been quite straightforward, but the 1984 version is remarkably well done.

There was one sequence, in the second episode (as far as I recall) that was animated entirely, after Kay meets someone called Herne the Hunter. I didn’t understand this sequence, nor why it was included, unless to demonstrate that there are always enemies about. But although it was nicely done, it didn’t take the story any further, other than introducing Herne, but with no explanation as to who he was, or what his relevance is (though he does appear again later when Kay needs help).

There’s some violence in the book, and some tension - I kept wondering when Kay was going to be spotted as he observed or listened to different ‘bad’ guys plotting and, at times, giving monologues. There’s a dramatic escape for a lot of people towards the end, although I was a little bewildered as to how people imprisoned for two days, splashing through dirty water, and trudging through snow were clean, dry and singing Christmas carols without any warm baths, change of clothes or even hot drinks. Suspending reality for a fantasy film is fine. I had no problem with the idea of a magical box that enabled people to shrink in size, or move at speed. But somehow the lack of dirt or damp felt like a plot hole.

It’s undoubtedly a Christmas show. It was broadcast over six weeks with the final one on Christmas Eve of 1984 and was apparently very well received by children of all ages, caught up in the magic and mystery of the story. The whole thing takes place over just a few days, culminating in a huge midnight service at the cathedral.

I was a bit disappointed with the very final scene which I was not expecting and which made it all feel rather like cheating.. although it’s apparently left more open than in the book by the presence of two people sitting in the station. I think I prefer an open-ended finish than the one Masefield wrote.

That apart, it’s a classic ‘good vs evil’ story with an exciting climax, and the unusual factor in the ‘evil’ guys being apparently respectable clergymen. Some of it looks dated now - such as the fights with wolves, which clearly didn’t involve any actual or even computer-generated wolves - but some of it is very well done. The acting is excellent, and the tension real.

We hadn’t expected the ‘extras’ to be anything more than lists or photos, given the era of the series, so were very pleasantly surprised to find three archive scenes from the TV shows ‘Blue Peter’, ‘Pebble Mill at One’ and ‘Take Two’ in which some of the actors were interviewed, and some of the technicalities of effects were discussed - I thought them rather more interesting than many ‘making of…’ extras which tend to be a bit long-winded and sometimes self-indulgent.

I would definitely recommend ‘The Box of Delights’ for adults or children of about eight and older, who like action stories, either to watch in one three-hour session, or as individual half-hour episodes.

Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews

Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (Emma Thompson)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s some years since I watched ‘Nanny McPhee’, starring Emma Thompson as the nanny who appears when she’s not wanted, and leaves when she’s not needed. We thought it amusing, and it’s been seen several times by visiting children.

So when we saw the sequel on offer, inexpensively, it seemed like a good idea to buy it although it’s taken a while to decide to see it. We were prepared for disappointment - sequels are sometimes poor imitiations of the original - but were pleasantly surprised.

Having said that, the overall plot isn’t too different from the first. It’s set in the 1940s and features a family with three wild children whose father is away in the war. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays the part of Isabel, the stressed mother who is trying to keep the family farm together. The family are expecting two cousins to come and stay, as evacuees from London. They turn out to be spoiled and snooty, and sparks fly… until Nanny McPhee arrives and treats the children to her rather coercive style of ‘teaching’.

The whole thing is caricatured and rather silly in places, with slapstick humour and a predictable (if satisfactory) ending. Isabel’s brother-in-law Phil (Rhys Ifans) makes an over-the-top villain who wants to force her into selling the farm so he can repay his debts. And there’s a delightful cameo role by Maggie Smith as Mrs Docherty, the elderly and scatty Mrs Docherty.

The star, of course, is listed as Emma Thompson, but her role is little different from that in the first DVD. We thought that the children were excellent, with good rapport and almost believable relationships that vary from antagonistic to caring. There are some quite poignant moments too, and the importance of family life and growing friendships was what pulled this movie above the average.

There are nods to some other films, not just the obvious Mary Poppins; there’s a flying scene depicted on the front of some editions of the DVD that could have been out of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Mr Docherty, the air raid warden, had a marked similarity to Mr Hodges in Dad’s Army. These (and more) are not particularly forced, and probably add to the appeal for adults although I doubt if most children would notice them.

The action was well-paced, the dialogue good, and some quite tense scenes (at least from an adult perspective) played out nicely. The CGI isn't particularly impressive, but still amusing in places.

The UK rating is U, presumably because there’s nothing specific that would trigger a higher rating, but I’d see this more as a PG, as it's rated in the US: there are a few scenes that could scare a sensitive child.

Overall, though, we thought this a pretty good sequel. Recommended.

Note that 'Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang' may be marketed as 'Nanny McPhee Returns' in the US.

Review copyright 2015 Sue's DVD Reviews

We Bought a Zoo (Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Colin Ford, Maggie Elizabeth Jones)

(Amazon UK link)

We picked this film up, inexpensively, at a supermarket in the UK on a recent visit. We had not really heard of it, but it looked as if it could be rather different from others we’ve seen recently.

The story is about Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon), who has been recently widowed. He has a moody teenage son, Dylan (Colin Ford) who keeps getting into trouble at school, and a seven-year-old daughter, Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones) who is trying to take on some responsibility for the house already. I could feel for Benjamin’s growing frustration, trying to raise his children while still grieving himself. So it was no surprise when he decided to look for a new house, in a completely different area, to start afresh.

There are some amusing scenes as Benjamin and the delightful Rosie are taken around some entirely unsuitable houses by an enthusiastic agent who’s new to the job. Eventually they discover what seems like the perfect property: a bit run-down, but with several acres of land, and a wonderful view. There’s just one slight problem: it comes with a zoo.

Determined to make it work, Benjamin puts money into better enclosures and renovating the zoo, only to find that it’s considerably more expensive than he imagined, and there’s no guarantee that he’ll pass the stringent inspection necessary to re-open…

This film, set in the US, is based on a true story about a real zoo in the UK, although many of the details have been changed. It makes for a very interesting couple of hours, and has a good balance of themes: the obvious one of renovating the zoo runs alongside Benjamin’s often stormy relationship with Dylan, who reminds him all too often of his late (and much-loved) wife. There are also a couple of low-key romance elements, nicely done in an entirely family-friendly way. There’s some humour, mixed with some mild suspense and some quite moving scenes too.

The rating is PG, which I think is probably right; there’s some bad language, although nothing that would warrant a 12 or 15 rating. However a strong word for ‘dung’ is used repeatedly, and there are other slang phrases that some parents might prefer their little ones not to hear. The suspense is mostly mild, but Dylan does produce some quite intense and potentially frightening pictures as he works through his anger. Parents should check before showing this to sensitive children.

We enjoyed this film very much, and would recommend it highly. I was particularly taken with little Maggie Elizabeth Jones' delightful and entirely believable performance as young Rosie, and will be looking out for other films in which she features.

There's just one extra: a documentary about the production, showing how some of the animals were trained (entirely humanely and lovingly). It was very interesting.

Review copyright 2015 Sue's DVD Reviews

The Railway Children (Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett, Gary Warren)

(Amazon UK link)

When we started collecting DVDs, I included several classic children's films, many of them excellent value. These have turned out to be useful, as we sometimes entertain young friends. Last night we were babysitting four of them, aged 11 down to three-and-a-half, and decided to watch 1970 version of 'The Railway Children' with them. It's a good story, adapted from the classic children's book of the same name (by E Nesbit), and unlikely to give nightmares. The older three had watched it about a year ago.

The story is well-known. Roberta, usually called Bobby, narrates to start with, explaining how they used to be well-off and fortunate in many respects, but were never really aware of how happy they were. They had a large house, a wealthy and loving father, and a caring mother who - unusually for the era (very early 20th century) - spent a lot of time playing with them.

Then one day, shortly after Christmas, two men come to visit their father and he goes away with them. Their mother is distraught, and things start to change rapidly in the household, until they move to a much smaller house in the countryside, where they explore the local railway lines, and start to befriend some of their new neighbours...

All the children who watched with us were entranced, with barely a wriggle for the full 109 minutes. We enjoyed it ourselves, too. Made in 1970, this adaptation of 'The Railway Children' is a little slow-moving in places, but faithful - on the whole - to the original story.

The children's voices are perhaps a bit over upper-class English... but then that's probably not unrealistic for the society they moved in, and the era . Lovely costumes, attractive scenery, believable people, and a few humorous moments to lighten the (slight) tension.

Totally suitable for the entire family. Definitely recommended to anyone who enjoys classic children's films. Apparently there was a re-make in 2000, but I don't see any need for an update, as this is just about perfect.

Note that the above links are to the DVD  containing just this film, but there are sometimes double-film DVDs, such as the one we have, which contains another classic film in addition.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Heidi [2005] (Emma Bolger, Max von Sydow)

(Amazon UK link)

I have loved the classic children’s story ‘Heidi’ for many years. So when I learned that there was a fairly recent film adaptation of the book, I thought I'd put it on my wishlist.

While I haven't read the book for many years now, my initial impression was that this 2005 version of 'Heidi' was pretty close to the original. Having said that, there were a few odd digressions - the 'Alm Uncle' being referred to as 'Uncle Alp', for one thing, and the goats' names being changed. Both are so minor as to seem rather pointless to have changed, although I'm not such a pedant as to worry over-much.

Still, the basic plot follows that of the book pretty well. Orphaned Heidi (Emma Bolger) is taken by her aunt to stay with her grumpy grandfather (Max von Sydow) when nobody else wants her. He isn't keen at first, but they grow to love each other, and Heidi makes friends with the goatherd Peter (Sam Friend).

Then, out of the blue, Heidi's aunt returns and snatches her away, to become a companion to the wealthy but disabled Clara. There, Heidi has her first taste of fine living, befriends people of all classes, and takes the fancy of Clara's grandmother...

The scenery is stunning at times, but the pace is a bit slow; it's not that I wanted to rush through the film, but there were times when almost nothing seemed to be happening. Moreover, although the adults were well in character: I particularly liked Heidi's grandfather, and also the delightfully horrible Miss Rottenmeier (Geraldine Chaplin), we found the child actors disappointing.

Peter was mostly believable, but Clara (Jessica Claridge) seemed rather twee and unreal, and Heidi herself, though believable in places, seemed over-done, with exaggerated yawns and tears at times, and little show of emotion in general. I wasn't worried by the faint Irish accent which came through, but it did seem rather incongruous.

Still, overall we thought this a likeable film which would probably be enjoyed by children of any age who have enjoyed the classic book.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Annie (Aileen Quinn)

(Amazon UK link)

The only reason we have the 1982 musical 'Annie' in our collection is that it came as a special offer combined with a different musical film. And although I am sure I had watched it at some point in the past, our DVD version sat on our shelves for at least a couple of years. Finally I watched it a few weeks ago with some friends, including children down to the age of four.

The children's mother remembered enjoying it very much in her childhood, and the rating was 'U' ('G' in the USA). While we vaguely remembered a tense moment at the end, we assumed this film would be entirely suitable for children of all ages.

The story is a classic, and the DVD was based on the broadway stage show, which was itself apparently based on a cartoon comic strip. The precocious orphan Annie (Aileen Quinn), who loves to sing, longs to be adopted. She is fostered for a week by a wealthy man, and turns his life upside down in many ways.

So we were rather shocked - given the rating - that there was some bad language (albeit minor) in the film. There was also some drunkenness (supposedly humorous, but rather extreme) and even some sexual references. We felt that the rating should have been at least PG, possibly even 12/PG-13.

While I don't mind musicals, I have to admit that I don’t particularly like the music in this film. In addition, I found Annie slightly annoying rather than adorable. Perhaps it was the old-fashioned style, despite having been made in the 1980s. The ending is melodramatic and rather predictable by the time it appears.

But still, it's a likeable film in some ways. I didn't give up in boredom but watched it to the end, and might even consider re-watching it again one day.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson)

(Amazon UK link)

'Nanny McPhee' is one of those films that's highly rated on Amazon, and, for some reason, was recommended to me. Possibly it's because I was looking for 'Mary Poppins', the classic that seems to remain highly priced. Or perhaps it's because I had rated films with Colin Firth or Emma Thompson.

Either way, I thought it looked interesting so added it to my wishlist, and received it for Christmas. We thought we would watch it as a family, despite not having any young children at home any more.

And, yes, it is a children's film. The beginning of the story is a bit like an updated version of Mary Poppins. Colin Firth is a rather bemused father of a large family, who has lost his wife. He employs nannies to look after the children while he is at work, but the children are so horrible that they manage to drive them all away.

Then the agency sends Nanny McPhee, played brilliantly by Emma Thompson, looking as she has never looked before - she is dressed as an ugly witch, covered in warts, speaking in a harsh, disciplinarian voice.

I'm not sure I liked her methods much, but then again, nothing else seemed to help. It becomes a bit predictable plot-wise, but the children are delightfully horrible, with some excellent acting by the younger ones in particular.

Brain-dead fun, nicely done, and entirely suitable for all the family. Recommended.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Johnny Depp and Freddie Highmore)

(Amazon UK link)

Many, many years ago I saw the 1970s film 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory', which I remember enjoying. So I was a bit surprised when there was a remake in 2005, retitled 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' like the children's book by Roald Dahl which it is based on.

I don't suppose we would have bothered to see this film, but our teenage son was interested. So he put it on his wishlist, and received it for his 17th birthday. Then we decided to watch it as a family.

I was a bit surprised at first to find that Willy Wonka, brilliantly played by Johnny Depp, is really nothing like the more cuddly Wonka of the 1971 adaptation. He is truly bizarre. But I had to admit that he was a lot closer to the eccentric, show-host-like Willy Wonka of Dahl's creation.

Freddie Highmore co-stars as Charlie. He is a very poor boy who lives with his parents and bedridden grandparents. He is kind and likeable and - amazingly - manages to find a golden ticket that will allow him to spend a day in the world famous chocolate factory. The other children who win tickets are spoilt rich kids, all unpleasant in different ways, and delightfully caricatured.

The special effects in this film are stunning, particularly the oompa-loompas. We were amazed at what we thought was the brilliant choreography, too, until we saw the 'extras' and learned that they were played by just one person.

The only odd thing about this adaptation is that there is a whole extra storyline about Willy Wonka's father. It does not appear to have anything to do with the Roald Dahl book, and, in our opinion, did not add anything much to the film, other than some length. Moreover, it didn't seem as if it would be of any interest to children, who should be the primary audience.

Nonetheless, overall we thought it a very good film and would recommend it.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Flipper (Paul Hogan, Elijah Wood)

(Amazon UK link)

'Flipper' is a delightful film for all the family. I acquired it after spotting it on special offer, and having vague memories of a TV show with the same name in my younger days. 

This film stars Elijah Wood before he became famous as 'Frodo' in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In this film, Wood, aged 15 at the time, plays Sandy. He is a rather morose boy who has been sent for the summer to stay with his Uncle Porter (sensitively played by Paul Hogan).

At first Sandy complains about everything and is determined not to have any fun at all. But then he sees Flipper, a friendly and very intelligent dolphin. A special relationship develops between the two of them, and Sandy's summer is transformed.

There are some rather tense moments - which is, I suppose, why this film is rated PG rather than U - and some unpleasant bad guys. But overall, we thought this is an uplifting story about the influence a dolphin can have over a moody teenager.

Watched with my husband - like me, he vaguely remembered the television series of the same name from our childhood - and our 17-year-old son who was a little cynical at first about watching a children's film. But we all enjoyed it very much.

Definitely recommended.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews