Edith Nesbit is best known for writing The Railway Children: Five Children And It has a much lower profile. But this story of five children relocated to the seaside, where they encounter a creature with magical powers, shares many similarities with The Railway Children in terms of story dynamics and emotional heart (displaced children, absent father etc.).
This is a good adaptation. The children, headed by the excellent Feddie Highmore, are all very good. The sense of time and location are well realised, the adult support is solid, and the Psammead is a good mix of puppetry and CGI. The effects are not bad albeit often obviously effects: however, this sense of non-reality suits the story quite well.
My only reservation concerns the script, where the Psammead itself (well, if idiosynscratically, voiced by Eddie Izzard) is often resolutely contemporary in its turn of phrase. This is a small quibble because it is always entertaining.
This is an excellent film for family enjoyment.
This is a good adaptation. The children, headed by the excellent Feddie Highmore, are all very good. The sense of time and location are well realised, the adult support is solid, and the Psammead is a good mix of puppetry and CGI. The effects are not bad albeit often obviously effects: however, this sense of non-reality suits the story quite well.
My only reservation concerns the script, where the Psammead itself (well, if idiosynscratically, voiced by Eddie Izzard) is often resolutely contemporary in its turn of phrase. This is a small quibble because it is always entertaining.
This is an excellent film for family enjoyment.