Five Children and It

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Five Children and It

2004

1h 29m

Fantasy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

63%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

42%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

When their father goes off to war, a group of children that includes the mischievous Robert (Freddie Highmore) and Cyril (Jonathan Bailey) stay with their uncle, who has a greenhouse on his property. There, they discover "It," a creature they recognize from bedtime stories as being a sand fairy. "It" can grant wishes -- but as the children and their cousin, Horace (Alexander Pownall), soon find out, the more outlandish their desire, the greater the chance for disaster to result.

James Christopher

The Times (UK)

Oct 21, 2004

Five posh First World War sprogs are despatched to Uncle Kenneth Branagh's Gothic pile in a Devon nook. It's a ghastly film

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Andrea Beach

Common Sense Media

Nov 14, 2017

3/5

Funny wish-granting story has some mild scariness.

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Joseph Proimakis

Movies for the Masses

Oct 3, 2006

2/5

full review in Greek

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David Cornelius

eFilmCritic.com

Jul 5, 2005

4/5

Its eccentric charms and light humor will most certainly win over anyone looking for a brisk family adventure.

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Leah J

@Leah23 Jun 11, 2026

i loved this so much as a kid!!

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andrew H

@andrew512 May 22, 2026

the worst movie ever, weird, stupid, and boring!!!!!!!! stupid, did i mention that!!!!!!!!!!!!! it's not the book, I'm usually okay if it goes off a little but this a whole new trashy story!!!!!! if the academy awards had the worst picture award this would have won for the 2004 academy awards!!!

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Steph H

@RT62740104 Jun 24, 2025

For a 2000s (2004 to be exact) fantasy movie. I actually quite liked this movie. I would recommend it for those who want something nice to watch, even if you don't have kids. I mainly watched it for Jonathan Bailey but I stayed for the movie as a whole, the five children, except Robert, were good to watch, Freddie Highmore is a great actor but his character Robert was just a brat. Kenneth Brannagh as Uncle Albert was unrecognisable when I first watched it, which is not a bad thing at all. Eddie Izzard as Psammead was great, brought humour and likeableness to the character. Overall, I liked this movie.

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Steve D

@RT35616104 Jan 31, 2024

How did they rope KB into this?

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Oct 22, 2018

Freddie Highmore is the highlight of this!

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Jan 3, 2015

Amazing movie that gets me in tears all the time :)

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John Stephenson

Director

Kenneth Branagh

Uncle Albert

Suzy Eddie Izzard

It

Freddie Highmore

Robert

Tara Fitzgerald

Mother

Zoë Wanamaker

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Synopsis

When their father goes off to war, a group of children that includes the mischievous Robert (Freddie Highmore) and Cyril (Jonathan Bailey) stay with their uncle, who has a greenhouse on his property. There, they discover "It," a creature they recognize from bedtime stories as being a sand fairy. "It" can grant wishes -- but as the children and their cousin, Horace (Alexander Pownall), soon find out, the more outlandish their desire, the greater the chance for disaster to result.

Director: John Stephenson
Producer: Nick Hirschkorn, Lisa Henson, Samuel Hadida
Screenwriter: David Solomons
Genre: Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 11, 2004, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 12, 2016
Runtime: 1h 29m
Sound Mix: Surround

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