Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang

Empire by

With flying pigs and magical nannying, this will charm children - but it could have been a little more charming for adults.

Arizona Republic by Bill Goodykoontz

The results of her work are predictable yet pleasantly played out.

Time Out by Keith Uhlich

Thompson's imagination-she's also the screenwriter-knows no bounds, and she does a brilliant job of connecting the fantastical elements to the sobering realities of life during wartime.

Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum

Thompson, who also wrote the script, has skittery, baffling fun enjoining her plummy guest actors (including Ralph Fiennes, Rhys Ifans, and Maggie Smith) to play broad Brit types.

Austin Chronicle by Marjorie Baumgarten

For American children, Nanny McPhee Returns may seem something like a foreign film, but the movie has enough spoonfuls of sugar to make the Britishisms go down.

Chicago Tribune by Michael Phillips

Too much of the contrasting comedy in Nanny McPhee Returns is shrill, laden with routine computer-generated effects and pounded into dust by James Newton Howard's shut-up-already musical score.

Village Voice by Nick Schager

McPhee's latest saga neither conjures the humanistic heart of "Babe" nor addresses father-son separation issues with the sobriety of "The Water Horse." Instead, it's merely a compendium of photocopied elements, cartoonish special effects, and easy-bake happily-ever-afters.

Orlando Sentinel by Roger Moore

Sweet, sentimental, silly and star-studded, Nanny McPhee Returns is one of the best children's movies of the year.

The A.V. Club by Scott Tobias

On balance, more dignity is lost than gained.

Boston Globe by Tom Russo

The initial close-up of Thompson - all sourly snaggletoothed and begoggled - is as funny as anything in the original. And just that one quick glimpse would have been perfect.