Four Kids and It

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Four Kids and It
Four Kids and It poster.jpg
Official promotional poster
Directed byAndy De Emmony
Written by
  • Simon Lewis
  • Mark Oswin
Based onFour Children and It by Jacqueline Wilson
Produced by
  • Julie Baines
  • Anne Brogan
Starring
CinematographyJohn Pardue
Edited byAlex Mackie
Music byAnne Nikitin
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • 3 April 2020 (2020-04-03) (United Kingdom)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$588,001[2]

Four Kids and It is a 2020 British fantasy film directed by Andy De Emmony and written by Simon Lewis and Mark Oswin, based on the 2012 novel Four Children and It by Jacqueline Wilson, which was in turn based on the 1902 novel Five Children and It by E. Nesbit.

The film stars Paula Patton, Russell Brand, Michael Caine and Matthew Goode.[3][4]

Premise[]

While on holiday in Cornwall two siblings and their dad, along with his girlfriend and her two daughters have to live in the same house. Although they don't get along at first, they start to get along when they discover a mysterious creature with magical powers called the Psammead. They start making wishes (before and after they start to get along) because of the creature's "one-wish-a-day" policy until they wish each of their parents to reunite (Ros wants her father to live with her mother while Smash wants to live with her father and thinks her mum hates her). They made their parents not cancel the holidays for this. For this they travel to the past (around a hundred years before) where Tristan (a man whom they met during their holidays)'s grandfather knows about the Psammead when he holds Ros at gunpoint and forces her to tell him about the creature. However, Smash, Robbie and Maudie; who went again and ask for superpowers, come and rescue her. The reason they went to the past was to ask four other kids how to make a wish permanent so that they can wish for their parents to be together with them. They couldn't fulfill that wish, but they return to the present where Tristan is trying to find the creature for his own dastardly deeds. Tristan finds his location by putting a tracking device under Ros's shoe while she and her family went to his mansion for a while. He knew about her because of the picture his grandfather drew after they went to the present (although he didn't know that they were from the present). They take the creature with them and trap Tristan in the beach, with no way out. They realise that they actually like each other better than what they thought and Smash finally starts respecting her mum. They take the creature to their house without letting their parents know and keep him in the bathroom. As the creature collects "offerings" (which are actually things which he finds nearby), he ends up collecting many things. Before Ros could make her wish, her father takes them to the beach.

Cast[]

Production[]

Principal photography started in July 2018 in Ireland.[3]

Reception[]

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 48% based on 42 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Four Kids and It has a few moments of whimsy and charm, but it's not enough to leave a lasting impression."[5] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 42 out of 100 based on reviews from 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[6]

Guy Lodge of Variety wrote: "“Careful what you wish for” may have been the essential moral takeaway from the source books, but that wasn’t to discourage wishing for anything at all: In all respects, this serviceable but anodyne programmer could dream a bit bigger."[7] Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter called it "More curio than classic, Four Kids and It may hold children’s attention (and sometimes test adults’ patience) over the movie’s brief running time, but seems unlikely to inspire many a rewatch."[8]

Anna Smith of Empire Magazine wrote: "The kids and Caine are good, but this lacks the magic of its source novels. Younger children may enjoy it, but its attempts to entertain older viewers mostly fall flat."[9]

It earned $588,001 at the global box office.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (19 December 2019). "Sky Picks Up 'Four Kids and It'; Sets Day-And-Date Easter Release". Variety. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Four Kids and It Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b Report, Electronic Urban (22 July 2018). "Paula Patton Joins Russell Brand, Michael Caine in Action Adventure Film 'Four Kids and It' Based on a book written by Darren Hotchkiss from Gosport - EURweb". Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Four Kids and It". British Film Council. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  5. ^ "Four Kids and It (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Four Kids and It Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  7. ^ (4 April 2020). "'Four Kids and It': Film Review". Variety.
  8. ^ Justin Lowe (2020). "'Four Kids and It': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  9. ^ Anna Smith (3 April 2020). "Four Kids And It". Empire.

External links[]

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