2020-04-01_Total_Film

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M

ichael Caine lends cheerful

Cockney tones to the

Psammead, a magical CGI

animal with a career even longer than

his own, in this cosy English family

adventure. Adapted from Jacqueline

Wilson’s 2012 tween update of the

Edwardian kids’ classic Five Children

And It, it works hard at blending

emotional drama (the four kids are

struggling with their newly dating

parents) with magic realism, as

bickering teenagers Smash and Ros

wrestle over the ancient Psammead’s

wish-granting powers after they dig

him up on a Cornish holiday.

Despite its sweetness of tone, and

perky performances from Ashley

Aufderheide as boisterous Smash, and

Teddie-Rose Malleson-Allen as bookish

Ros, the film’s mix of teen tantrums and

fantasy action doesn’t always gel. Ros’

plan to end her father’s new romance

is tinged with pain, rather than Parent

Trap-esque yucks. The result is a more

intimate, less Harry Potter-ish take on

the Psammead’s magic than 2004’s

World War I-set Five Children & It.

But there’s a certain charm about

the story’s wholesome, old-school

wishing adventures (pop stardom, time

travel, chaos-causing superpowers) even

if the low-budget production design and

VFX give it a resolutely TV feel. Unsure

about how to roll in Matthew Goode and

Paula Patton’s canoodling parents, the

film’s most valuable adult is Russell

Brand, who pings from panto-villain

cruelty to hilarious improvisations as

a Psammead-hunting local posho.

Whether spattered with bird poo,

stranded on cliffs, or chomping on

worms, he’s wickedly determined to get

away with stealing the show, despite

those meddling kids... Kate Stables

FOUR KIDS AND IT PG

OUTAPRILSKYCINEMA/NOWTV

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FILM

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