“The person you need, is Nanny McPhee…”

As an off-screen voice whispers these words to beleaguered single father of seven Mr. Brown (Colin Firth, “Bridget Jones’ Diary”), I never would have thought they would have been talking about a necessity affecting more than just the man’s need for good childcare. But as the mysterious nanny (Emma Thompson, “Dead Again”) with a hideous snaggletooth and a pair of appallingly repulsive warts works her magic on the Brown children, it becomes quickly apparent I needed the beguiling woman every bit as much as her employer. Quite frankly, movies this good simply do not come out in January, director Kirk Jones (“Waking Ned Devine”) and Oscar-winning screenwriter Thompson crafting a family fable so winning and wondrous I left the theater literally speechless.

Based on the acclaimed series of Nurse Matilda books by author Christianna Brand, “Nanny McPhee” is more than just another “Mary Poppins” wannabe. In fact, this tale is so fun, frothy and frivolously fabulous I’m sure I haven’t stopped smiling ever since I got out of the press screening over two weeks ago. This movie is absolutely divine, so full of life and pure unadulterated childlike joy the heart soars right along with Mr. Brown’s and the children’s. More, this is one of the most exceptionally written features I’ve seen in ages, Thompson’s muse losing none of its vitality or creative exuberance since penning “Sense and Sensibility” back in 1995.

The basic plot is simple enough. Sad undertaker Mr. Brown, still smarting over the tragic death of his wife, is reeling after his unruly seven children chase off their seventeenth nanny by convincing her the elder six of them have eaten their baby sister for lunch. He needs a new nanny, but none will work for him. Understandably, he’s more than a bit surprised when the mysterious Nanny McPhee arrives at his doorstep offering her assistance. But she proves to be a lifesaver, taming the children by giving them a taste of their own medicine, finally even winning over their ringleader eldest boy Simon (Thomas Sangster, “Love, Actually”) with her magical tough-love.

What none of them know is that Mr. Brown has been given an ultimatum by the widower’s imperious Aunt Adelaide (a terrifically terrible Angela Lansbury, “Bedknobs & Broomsticks”). She’ll cut off his family’s allowance if he doesn’t remarry within the next month, forcing him into debtor’s prison and the children into workhouses unless a suitable woman can be found. The children, clueless to any of this, only see that their father is callously forgetting about their mother, searching for a new wife as if he was going about buying a suit to wear to work. It is up to Nanny McPhee, her own ghastly appearance mysteriously changing every time the children learn an important life lesson, to show the family what they’re really looking for has been right in front of them all along; they just needed to open their eyes to see it.

“Nanny McPhee” is a great movie. Sure, it has its moments of heavy handedness, a bit involving a CGI donkey a tad too over-the-top for my tastes, and I definitely could have done without a “Hook”-like food fight, but none of this ends up mattering. So much of the film is flat-out perfect, Jones and Thompson winning over viewer’s hearts and minds every bit as thoroughly as the nanny wins over the Brown family. It is a priceless parable, crafted with intelligence and caring so tender and strong I’m sure it is one I’ll be talking about in one fashion or another eleven months from this January release date.

The acting is universally excellent. Young Kelly MacDonald (“Trainspotting”) is invaluable as the family’s loving and beautiful young maid Evangeline, while Oscar-nominee Imelda Staunton (“Vera Drake”) has a joyous time camping it up as blustering cook Mrs. Blatherwick. Firth is his reliably sexy and stoic self, while Sangster nearly steals the picture right out from under his more seasoned costars. But, no surprise here, it is Thompson who makes the most indelible impression, her embodiment of the enigmatic Nanny McPhee so deliriously delicious it ends up ranking right up with some of the highly respected actress’ best. She’s splendid, and every twitch of her nose, lift of an eyebrow and slam of her twisted walking stick can’t help but make a person fall in love with her.

The perfection extends beyond the performances. Jones has assembled a crackerjack team of craftsman, including cinematographer Henry Braham (“Bright Young Things”), production designer Michael Howell (“Ever After”), costume designer Nic Ede (“Wilde”), Oscar-winning makeup designer Peter King (“King Kong”) and composer Patrick Doyle (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”). All are at their best, Doyle in particular crafting a score so sublime and lyrical the movie wouldn’t be the same without it. Jones juggles it all with ease, keeping every facet of the feature chugging along so effervescently it’s easy to forget this is only the director’s second outing at the controls.

There is a point early on where Nanny McPhee stares at Mr. Brown with her caring eyes hitting him like daggers, exclaiming calmly, “I won’t stand for loose vowels.” Well, I don’t stand for loose (or inept) movies, coming down on them with a hammer when they inevitably fall apart. Family features, in particular, tend to do this more often than others, setting their sights low and still missing their modest mark.

This isn’t the case with “Nanny McPhee.” Jones and Thompson set their sights high, remembering adults like to enjoy their movies every bit as much as their children do. The duo hit their target crafting a family adventure so excellent, so wonderful there almost aren’t words to do it justice. In fact, before you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, this tale of a nanny and her wares might just become something no one involved with its creation could have anticipated: A classic.

Film Rating: êêê1/2  (out of 4)