FIVE CHILDREN & IT

Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Zoe Wanamaker, Freddie Highmore, Jonathan Bailey, Jessica Claridge, Poppy Rogers, Eddie Izzard (voice of)

GENRE: Family comedy

CERTIFICATE: U

GUIDE: No swearing, no sex, no violence

RATING PPP

WHEN their pilot father (Alex Jennings) is sent behind enemy lines during the First World War, Cyril (Bailey), Anthea (Claridge), Robert (Highmore), Jane (Rogers) and baby Lamb are evacuated to the countryside to stay with their bumbling Uncle Albert (Branagh) in his dilapidated mansion.

The children are taken under the wing of zany housekeeper Martha (Wanamaker) but rarely see their uncle, who demands absolute silence while he writes his book.

They also make an immediate enemy of Albert's son Horace (Alexander Pownall), an evil scientist in the making with a laboratory in the basement full of pickled 'monsters'.

Whilst exploring one day, the children stumble upon a secret passage that leads to a beach.

There, they dig up an 8,000-year-old sand fairy called a Psammead (voiced by Izzard), who agrees to grant the excited quintet one wish every day.

The ancient sand-dweller - It, as the children call him - takes impish delight in misinterpreting the youngsters' demands, causing maximum devastation until sunset when the power of each wish fades.

When devastating news arrives from their mother (Tara Fitzgerald), Robert takes matters into his own hands to rescue his father from the battlefields and reunite his fractured family.

Five Children & It is a likeable adaptation of an old favourite and doesn't stray too far from E Nesbit's source text.

The additional characters of Uncle Albert and Horace set the scene for broad comic interludes, even though Branagh is wasted in his role.

The lead children don't gel convincingly as a family unit and their performances, on the whole, are stilted.

Thankfully, the genius of Izzard sparks the film to life. Providing a hysterical, rambling voiceover, the surreal stand-up creates moments of comic genius.

The theme tune to television quiz show Countdown and deadpan one-liners pour forth from It's withered lips, mining one belly laugh after another. It's a virtuoso turn from Izzard.

The computer-generated effects, live action and animatronics courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Shop are largely convincing, although some of the blue screen work is a little rough around the edges.

Ironically, adults will probably find more to enjoy in Five Children & It than the pint-sized target audience, especially anyone partial to Izzard's mental flights of fancy.

More half-term fun is provided by THE PRINCESS DIARIES 2 - ROYAL ENGAGEMENT (U), the sequel to the phenomenally popular The Princess Diaries.

Now that Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) is princess she has to prepare to ascend the throne. But she can't govern until she is married - so she has just one month in which to find her groom.

But who will she choose? Aristocratic Andrew who looks perfect for the role, or rough diamond Nicholas, who might have a hidden agenda to his wooing of the princess?

Safe, romantic fun with no surprises, this is as fluffy and girly as you could wish. Delightful.