Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Mild
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- whimsical
- playful
- warm
- family movie night
- rainy day
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film a refreshing but uneven family fantasy, with Eddie Izzard's performance standing out amid less impressive effects and supporting performances.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Psammead grants one daily wish, and each wish creates unexpected difficulties before sunset.
The children are sent from war-torn London to their uncle's mansion while their father is away fighting.
The ancient Psammead is explicitly ugly and irritable, turning wish fulfillment into comic friction.
The children repeatedly discover that sensible wishes are hard to formulate and that magic has awkward consequences.
Films like Five Children and It, and why
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
family fantasy adventure centered on children discovering magical wish fulfillment and learning responsibility
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
warm children's fantasy combining wartime displacement, eccentric adults, and encounters with magic
The Borrowers
British children's fantasy with mischievous magic, comic complications, and a young ensemble
The Last Mimzy
classic family fantasy about children whose magical wishes produce unexpected comic difficulties
Movie Details
- Director
- John Stephenson
- Release Date
- 2004-10-15
- Runtime
- 88 min
- Rating
- 5.6 / 10 (234)
Cast
- Tara Fitzgerald
- Freddie Highmore
- Alex Jennings
- Jonathan Bailey
- Jessica Claridge
- Poppy Rogers
- Zoë Wanamaker
- Kenneth Branagh
- Suzy Eddie Izzard
- Duncan Preston
Common questions
- What is Five Children and It about?
- A group of displaced siblings discover an irritable sand fairy whose daily wishes turn seaside wonder into comic chaos.
- What is Five Children and It like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Five Children and It as brisk, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Five Children and It violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Five Children and It as mild.
- What did critics think of Five Children and It?
- Critics broadly found the film a refreshing but uneven family fantasy, with Eddie Izzard's performance standing out amid less impressive effects and supporting performances.
- Which films are like Five Children and It?
- Films with a similar feel include Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Borrowers, and The Last Mimzy.
- How long is Five Children and It?
- Five Children and It runs 88 minutes.
