Four Kids and It

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

Four Kids and It
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]

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

Plot

The film portrays a family on holiday in Cornwall. Two siblings and their father, along with his girlfriend and her two daughters, have to live in the same house. Although the kids hate each other at first, they start to get along after they discover a mysterious creature with magical powers called the Psammead.

They start making wishes because of the creature's "one-wish-a-day" policy, until they wish 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). This is why they made sure that their parents did not cancel the holidays.

They travel to the past (around a hundred years before) where the grandfather of Tristan (a man whom they met during their holidays) learns about the Psammead. He then holds Ros at gunpoint and forces her to tell him about the creature. However, Smash, Robbie, and Maudie; who asked for superpowers, rescue her.

They went to the past to ask four other kids how to make a wish permanent, so that they can wish for their parents to be together with them again. Those kids don't know how, and the four return to the present where Tristan is trying to find out the creature for his own dastardly deeds.

Tristan finds Psammead's 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 then take the creature with them and trap Tristan on the beach.

Afterwards, they realize that they actually like each other better than they thought, and Smash finally starts respecting her mother. They take the creature to their house without letting their parents know, hiding him in the bathroom. As the creature collects "offerings" (which are things that he finds nearby), he ends up collecting many things. Before Ros could make her wish, her father takes them to the beach.

Cast
  • Billy Jenkins as Robbie
  • Ashley Aufderheide as Samantha/ "Smash"
  • Teddie-Rose Malleson-Allen as Ros
  • Ellie-Mae Siame as Maudie
  • Paula Patton as Alice
  • Russell Brand as Tristan Trent III
  • Michael Caine as the voice of Psammead
  • Matthew Goode as David
  • Cheryl as Coco Rayne
  • William Franklyn-Miller as Carl
  • Paul Bazely as Sgt. Gascoigne
  • Finbarr Doyle as Security Guard

Production

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

Reception

The film has an approval rating of 48% based on 42 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, 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 take away from the sourcebooks, 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. "Four Kids and It Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  3. 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. Lodge, Guy (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.
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