The Ava Report(?): GOOBY and NANNY McPHEE

Renting dvds for kids is an exercise in blind Faith or, at least, near-sighted Hope. Other than the obvious titles from Pixar and Disney and Dreamworks Animation (ugh!) most family films arrive in video stores or your on-line queues with less fanfare than a Falco comeback tour. So, you take your chances and pray for a distraction that doesn’t stupefy as it mollifies.

You’re crazy if you think I’d take these risks on my own. So, I  hoodwinked my six-year-old daughter, Ava, into watching a couple of kids’ pics with me. (Never too early to mentor an apprentice, a possible successor, right?) Below, our Short Cuts for your viewing pleasure — my comments are followed by her direct quotes. (She insisted I make that clear.)

Monterey Video snuck GOOBY into video stores last week much the way the title character — a life-size manifestation of a lonely child’s bear doll as voiced by Robbie Coltrane — is kept secret by his owner. (However, neither need be so cautious; they have needn’t be embarrassed.) Together the tyke and the teddy conquer the fear of a new home and the heartache of a distant, work-first father (David James Elliott). There are absolutely no surprises here, other than the appearance of Eugene Levy who hams his way, winningly, through an underwritten role. However, Ava didn’t mind. A fart joke, some pratfalls and the warm-fuzzies of a goofy guy in a bear suit were enough to keep her relatively entertained.

“This movie is a good movie and it’s really sweet. And, it’s also funny. Two-year-olds may not understand it and may be frightened by the monsters the kid makes up in his mind. GOOBY was kind of crazy but nice.”

I concur. Crazy, but nice… sort of like the kind, yet flatulent uncle you see once a year at a funeral: tolerably charming for the duration of the ceremony, but no more.

Far more engaging is NANNY McPHEE, Emma Thompson‘s adaptation of Christianna Brand‘s Nurse Matilda series. It’s a twisted, soulful family film that’s just a bit off, just a bit odd… like Tim Burton desecrating MARY POPPINS in his spare time. Colin Firth is a harried widower with seven incorrigible imps who will either prove the end of him or, worse, his wicked Aunt’s largesse. If he doesn’t remarry within a month, she’ll pull the rug(rats) out from under him. Of course, he’ll have to keep them in line, a near-impossible task until the arrival of the eponymous Supernanny, who uses just a dash of wizardry to cure the brood’s very naughty behavior. Ava was perfectly behaved throughout, enchanted by the colorful set-pieces and mischievous pranks.

“I liked it because there’s a lot of magic in it. And it was also a good lesson for kids to learn. They learn they should listen when they have to go to bed and put on their clothes in the morning and other stuff. I’d like to watch it again because it’s a really good movie. The kids were very good at making nannies go away like the time they pretended to eat the baby. They didn’t really eat the baby, they took a chicken and put the baby’s shoe on the drumstick and really the baby was just hidden in the cooking pan.”

Truth is, I could stand to watch NANNY McPHEE again, high praise for any family film. While I wish Thompson’s take on the material had been as complete as her immersion in make-up, this simple story scores as suitable for all ages. Well, at least 6-45.