Synopsis

Recently widowed undertaker Cedric Brown struggles to control his seven unruly children, who have driven away 17 previous nannies. With pressure from his wealthy aunt to remarry, Cedric summons the mysterious Nanny McPhee. Using magic, discipline, and five important lessons, she gradually transforms the children's behavior while helping the family confront grief, responsibility, and the possibility of happiness.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is based on Christianna Brand's three Nurse Matilda books: Nurse Matilda, Nurse Matilda Goes to Town, and Nurse Matilda Goes to Hospital.

• Emma Thompson spent nine years developing the screenplay, including about seven years in development. She later described the adaptation as unusually difficult because the books provided a character and situations but not a conventional film story.

• The original books centered on Nurse Matilda, but the film uses the name Nanny McPhee.

• The Brown family house and the surrounding village were constructed from scratch on the grounds of Penn House Estate in Buckinghamshire. Building the setting allowed the production to avoid modern features such as power lines appearing in the background.

• The location began largely as a muddy field covered with brambles. The production added the house, village, roads, garden, trees, and other landscape elements.

• Emma Thompson's transformation into Nanny McPhee reportedly took about an hour in makeup, despite the character's elaborate prosthetic features.

• In one scene, the worm placed in Celia Imrie's mouth was real rather than a prop or visual effect.

• The film was released in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2005, and was followed by Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang in 2010.