'Nanny McPhee Returns,' fine family fare

The wondrously unattractive Nanny McPhee, inspired by Christianna Brand's "Nurse Matilda" books, seemed the anti-Mary Poppins when she first appeared in the 2005 family film "Nanny McPhee." She also seemed like the more genuine character, and still does in "Nanny McPhee Returns."

More so, in fact, given a recent flood of books (beginning with 2007's "The Nanny Diaries") that have examined the problematic relationship between wealthy parents and those who are paid to nurture their children. Mary Poppins remains an impossible ideal of love-for-hire - a temporary mommy, "practically perfect in every way" - while Nanny McPhee is more a headmistress, uninterested in affection, intent only on instilling discipline and manners. She is, even more than Ms. Poppins, a decidedly British figure, somewhat unfamiliar to Americans, which may explain why Ms. Poppins still has greater appeal here.

Emma Thompson again plays the stern, snaggletoothed McPhee but also serves as sole screenwriter. She has traced the first film's outline and made some substitutions. Replacing Colin Firth's widowed Cedric Brown is Maggie Gyllenhaal's Isabel Green, a mother of three whose husband (Ewan McGregor, fleetingly) is at war. Class again rears its head: The Greens live on a farm, though the children will be thrown together with their visiting rich cousins (Rosie Taylor-Ritson and Eros Vlahos, excellent as spoiled London toffs). Rhys Ifans has fun playing the hapless villain who covets the family farm.

The concrete lessons Nanny McPhee first taught ("do as you're told") have become somewhat misty ("have faith"), but her no-nonsense approach keeps the film from dissolving into mush. As before, the fewer spoonfuls of sugar from this nanny, the better.