Five Children and It (2004)

We start a bit like as with the "Chronicles of Narnia" story with a family dislocated from war-torn London to stay with their potty "Uncle Albert" (Kenneth Branagh), his brattish son "Horace" (Alexander Pownall) and their housekeeper "Martha" (Zoë Wanamaker). Of course they miss their home and their mother (Tara Fitzgerald) but it's really dad (Alex Jennings) who is away fighting the Bosch that they are most concerned about. When they are playing on the beach one day, they encounter a curious looking rock and it's inhabitant - a Psammead. A what? Well, that's what they ask and soon discover that it is an ancient creature that lives in the sand, and it also has the power to grant one wish per day (that, crucially, expires at sunset). Initially the kids think of fun things to do, but gradually they begin to want to do more - even if whatever they do achieve will revert back when the sun goes down. It falls to elder brother "Cyril" (Jonathan Bailey) to try to manage the expectations of his siblings - but that proves especially difficult with "Robert" (Freddie Highmore) who is full of ideas to retrieve their absent dad! Meantime, their ghastly cousin is suspicious of where they go and what they do each day - and we certainly don't want that imbecile getting a wish! This is essentially a charming children's story stretched out for ninety minutes and I think it works nicely. The kids are engaging, the message is one of affection, longing and mischief and the animation of "It" from Jim Henson's Creature Shop is just scary enough at the start. It's enjoyable feel good cinema, with a comedic and sometimes quite sarcastic script, that avoids too much sentiment and I enjoyed it.