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DVD Description
The Psammead' - an ancient, extremely irritable, sand fairy - has the ability to make wishes come true.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is a fairly faithful (in concept) retelling of Edith Nesbit's moralistic children's classic, although the story is reset in the first world war period. This film is very gentle and occasionally moving to watch, although it is more amusing than laugh out loud funny (at least when Eddie Izzard isn't about). It's more 'The railway children' or 'The secret garden' than 'Spy Kids' (hardly surprising as Nesbit also wrote The Railway Children).
The stalwart British adult actor's Zoe Wannamaker and Kenneth Branagh are in good form and all the children are excellent and likable leads, particularly the young Freddie Highmore [now the new Charlie in Charlie & the Chocolate factory] and his tubby 'nasty cousin' Horace (Alexander Pownall) - although perhaps it might have been a little less cliched if their roles had been reversed. The wise & witty old sand fairy naturally steals all his scenes (and Eddy Izzard is really great as his voice). The only downside is the rather naff static dinosaur sequence, more than made up for though by the breathtaking Zeppelin scene (best viewed on the big screen). There are some other famous UK faces as well, including Norman Wisdom in a micro cameo. The film hasn't got the depth or historical accuracy of the three hour BBC's TV adaptation of the book from 1991, and is far less faithful to the book's plotline set in the earlier late Victorian/Edwardian period. However the film is quite acceptable fun and has the advantage that it can easily be viewed as a sequel to the superb BBC adaptation. The actual sequel to the book though is BBCs later 'all star' serialisation 'The Phoenix and the carpet', at present only available highly edited as a region 1 import 'Disney film' from Amazon resellers (and this DVD is also highly recommended - until the proper BBC region 2 DVD set appears).
On release, my 10 y old daughter and I chose this 'Five Children and it' film over Sharks Tale and didn't regret it. My daughter was absorbed throughout it (and cried a bit). My 8 y old son and mum really enjoyed this DVD later. So well worth couple of viewings on quiet winter Sundays.
The stalwart British adult actor's Zoe Wannamaker and Kenneth Branagh are in good form and all the children are excellent and likable leads, particularly the young Freddie Highmore [now the new Charlie in Charlie & the Chocolate factory] and his tubby 'nasty cousin' Horace (Alexander Pownall) - although perhaps it might have been a little less cliched if their roles had been reversed. The wise & witty old sand fairy naturally steals all his scenes (and Eddy Izzard is really great as his voice). The only downside is the rather naff static dinosaur sequence, more than made up for though by the breathtaking Zeppelin scene (best viewed on the big screen). There are some other famous UK faces as well, including Norman Wisdom in a micro cameo. The film hasn't got the depth or historical accuracy of the three hour BBC's TV adaptation of the book from 1991, and is far less faithful to the book's plotline set in the earlier late Victorian/Edwardian period. However the film is quite acceptable fun and has the advantage that it can easily be viewed as a sequel to the superb BBC adaptation. The actual sequel to the book though is BBCs later 'all star' serialisation 'The Phoenix and the carpet', at present only available highly edited as a region 1 import 'Disney film' from Amazon resellers (and this DVD is also highly recommended - until the proper BBC region 2 DVD set appears).
On release, my 10 y old daughter and I chose this 'Five Children and it' film over Sharks Tale and didn't regret it. My daughter was absorbed throughout it (and cried a bit). My 8 y old son and mum really enjoyed this DVD later. So well worth couple of viewings on quiet winter Sundays.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This film is a masterpiece that puts together information on wartime britain with the mischievous lives of children. It is about a group of children who discover a secret that has been hidden in the ground for thousands of years to be awoken. It was funny in some bits although it does have a moral which is cleverly hidden in the story. A must se for the whole family.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I was thoroughly capivated by this dvd. The story is fairly simple. City children are evacuated to the country to stay with their cousin. On arrival they are given free rein of the house, but are not to go to the greenhouse. Needless to say, it is the first place they explore. Inside exists a secret passage to a special beach, the home of the Sand Fairy, aka IT. IT grants wishes but, with a twist...
Kenneth Branagh is wonderful as the excentric uncle.
A lovely family movie.
Kenneth Branagh is wonderful as the excentric uncle.
A lovely family movie.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Five Children and It DVD and Book
Grandchildren aged 8 and 6 adored it. The 6 year old hid her face at times but at same time could not bear to miss any of it. Book is equally riveting. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Lottie
What a great film.
Good fun for all the family. Takes you back to an innocent age with great performances from the likes of Kenneth Branagh. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Riggers
Gentle fun for the family
What a relief to find a family movie which isn't "trendy",but simply good old-fashioned entertainment. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Aceras
Bordering on the unwatchable
You might think that as it is based on a Nesbit novel, this would be worth watching but it has little to commend it. Read more
Published 9 months ago by LORD BEAU
five children & it
Me and my 4 year ol son loved this film and have watched it around 6 time's since purchased I would recommend it to anyone with children aged 2-15 Brilliant
Published 11 months ago by hannahlucy
unfaithful to book
Awful sensationalist re-working of a lovely old book. Why did they have to give it the Harry Potter treatment instead of keeping to E.Nesbit's original story ?
Published 11 months ago by DreamingMarianne
bad! Bad! BAD!
FIVE CHILDREN AND IT is a terrible film! Utterly despicable. It is a very strong U and not suitable for kids! It is boring, has a bad plot and is just unappealing to all viewers. Read more
Published 12 months ago by G. Stephenson
Where's EPISODE 2 The Return of IT?
Where's Episode 2 The Return of IT, that's announced at the end of the movie by IT (voiced by Eddie Izzard)?
Does anyone know anything about this at all?
Does anyone know anything about this at all?
Published 13 months ago by Alan
Perfect family viewing - old style!
My 6 year old son loves this film. It is a great story for children of adventure and fantasy set at a time when the world was a little bleak. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Julie Price
Not faithful to original but entertaining
This film has several significant deviations from the original story, some of which work, and some of which don't. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Comical Engineer
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