Magical nanny a dazzling delight

Nanny McPhee is a movie with dazzling special effects and a valuable message. It deserves a special place in every child's heart.

The touching film opens with a shot of an empty chair. It once belonged to Mrs Brown, the mother of seven children, and is their widowed father's (Colin Firth) most cherished object.

The children's reckless behaviour has driven

him - and a string of 17 nannies - to despair. In one humorous scene, a nanny flees from the house screaming: 'They have eaten the baby!' after being fooled by a cleverly disguised roast chicken.

Order is restored when the children's 18th nanny moves in. Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson, below) with her black cloak and warts on her nose, looks like a witch. Her secret tool is a magic wand which, in one hilarious scene, is used to glue the children to their beds after they pretend to be sick.

But magic is not the focus of the film, despite its delightful special effects.