“However much I like his acting, I am not going to be casting Russell Crowe in a Nanny McPhee movie because that would be too difficult,” jokes British actress Emma Thompson at a press interview to promote the family friendly flick “Nanny McPhee Returns”.

Thompson, who returns to this children’s tale about a magical nanny who uses her powers to tame children, is talking about casting friend and fellow actress Maggie Gyllenhaal in this sequel to the 2005 flick.

“I think on a film like Nanny McPhee, it’s vital that you cast people you know are company members. People who play with the team,” continues the Academy Award-Winning actress, who is know for her work in such films as “Howards End” and “Sense and Sensibility. “It’s bliss working with someone you are close to. It’s always much easier than working with someone you are not close to, or you don’t like. Maggie was so fantastic with the kids and really did mother them.”

In this wonderful family movie, scripted by Thompson, Nanny McPhee, this time, appears at the door of Mrs. Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a young mother who is trying to run the family farm while her husband is away at war. Mrs. Green is at the end of her rope. Her three children are constantly fighting each other, her husband, Rory (Ewan McGregor), is away at war and hasn’t been heard from, and her brother in-law is pressuring her to sell the farm. To add to her existing woes, her posh niece and nephew have been sent to the farm for an unlimited time, and are not getting along with their cousins. She is trying in vain to stop the feuding when she hears a knock on the door, and opens it to reveal the unsettling figure of Nanny McPhee, who quickly takes control of the Green household. Aided by a magical walking stick, and relying on everything from a flying motorcycle and a stature that comes to life to a tree-climbing piglet, the loving but stern McPhee uses her magic to teach the children several lessons. As the children begin to discover McPhee’s magical powers, they soon realize that she is no ordinary nanny.

“She’s a bit like Batman in that she has her magic powers, and can operate in whatever way she deems necessary for the situation,” says Thompson. “I wanted her to visit a family in which the dad was away at war, and the mother was home trying to hold everything together. New problems for the children and new problems for the parents, and five new lessons for Nanny McPhee to teach,” continues Thompson who covers all the well-trodden bases of children’s entertainment in this family fantasy-comedy.

A magical tale perfect for the family to enjoy together, this mischievous, warmhearted flick, which is loosely adapted from the Nurse Matilda books by Christianna Brand, is a clever charming fantasy which every age will love.