Metacritic reviews

What actors! The great Miriam Margolyes has a wonderful cameo as a scullery maid, and Colin Firth manfully endures a face full of frosting. And then there's Angela Lansbury, playing her first movie role in 20 years as the villainous Aunt Adelaide.

Will kids like the movie? I suspect they will. Kids like to see other kids learning the rules even if they don't much want to learn them themselves.

Nanny McPhee maintains a satisfying, all-ages balance between broad comedy and human warmth.

Under the surface, the movie has a streak of Roald Dahl-style darkness that dilutes the sugar.

A spicy little pastry with just the right proportions of flakiness and gooeyness.

An excellent movie… if you're a seven-year old girl. That's less a negative evaluation than it is a statement of fact. This isn't a "family film;" it's a "children's film."

Colorful, noisy and brimming with special effects, the picture may please young audiences simply looking for loud action, but its corny storyline and brittle lack of warmth may discourage both parents and children.

If you have someone under 10 to take to the movies, this one is charming and painless.

One of those raucous, hyperactive kiddie flicks that knocks you upside the head from its opening frame.

Even Thompson, the one you look forward to watching, is disappointing.