Product Details

• Actors: Simon Godwin, Nicole Mowat, Charles Richards, Tamzen Audas, Lewis Wilson
• Format: Color, Live, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: September 14, 1999
• Run Time: 139 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302864828
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #265,623 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A Yoda-like gnome grants the wishes of four siblings on summer holiday in this BBC adaptation of Edith Nesbit's 1902 children's book, Five Children and It. The fifth child is their baby brother whom they call Lamb. The poor child suffers various indignities as a result of his elder sibling's magic wishes, ranging from kidnapping by a loathsome rich woman to turning into a foolish grownup for a day. The rules are: One wish a day and the magic wears off at sundown. Sounds simple enough, but with each wish the children get into more complicated trouble, until they wind up inadvertently framing their mother for theft. The movie's message is to think before speaking, but mostly it's filled with the stuff of children's fantasy: growing wings and flying, becoming a giant, and living in a castle. The special effects are unsophisticated for a film made in 1991, but keep with its general innocence. This makes the film appealing to parents and grandparents weary of the push to make kids older faster. However, its length, (137 minutes) restricts it to patient children ages 5 years and older. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sand Fairy, August 3, 2000

By 

Carol J. Culp (Escondido, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sand Fairy [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is one of the finest childrens videos I have ever seen. My grandson (age 8) just loved it. Unfortunately the library lost their copy and we cant find it to buy. This story is about 5 kids who find a fairy and get to make 1 wish per day which ends at sundown. Some of their choices were not well thought out...The fairy...is an endearing muppet like character who I fell in love with at first sight. It is a well acted English film. A must see for kids of all ages.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Children And It - A Fine BBC Version of a Classic !, August 16, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Sand Fairy [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a wonderful 1990s British production of the classic Victorian children's book, *Five Children And It* by Edith Nesbit (I'm not sure why the title was changed for North American release!). My five-year-old loves this, as does her eight-year-old cousin. Five children vacationing in the country one summer discover an ancient Egyption creature who grants wishes that last for one day. The children wish away and have a series of adventures that teach them the vanity of all wishes. The adventures are fun and the effort the story makes to get children to think about the consequences of their actions ingenious. A child who grew up with Edith Nesbit's stories would have a helpful friend in teaching him or herself to think for themselves. This tape is as charming as the 1970s films of *the Railway Children* and *Swallows and Amazons* or something a little newer like *the Secret of Roan Inish.* It also makes for fine family entertainment, very easy and enjoyable to watch with your children. Another good family bet with our five-year-old was the Jeremy Brett-acted Sherlock Holmes' movie, *The Hound of the Baskervilles* - the hound was agreeably scary without being too frightening, Sherlock Holmes was intriguing with all his rushing about and strange mannerisms, a spooky tale was solved by reason and deduction, and the strongest expletive was Holmes' cry of "the BRUTE!"

1 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars 5 Star movie for Children! 1 Star movie for teenagers...., February 2, 2002

By 

Derek Case (Bellevue, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sand Fairy [VHS] (VHS Tape)

True, I have no children, nor do I have an adequate ability to judge children's films.... All I can say that if you are a parent of a teenager son or daughter, do not buy this film on the assumption that they will automatically enjoy this film (like my parents unfortunately did)! Okay, I understand how children around the age of 8 might enjoy a movie like "The Sand Fairy," but it will bring only shear terror to those individuals of a less-naive nature. Believe me, I know. And to this day, I am still haunted by the images of children flying through the air with Swan Wings. Even more traumatizing was the notion of a shriveled little gnome living under a sand patch and granting strangers wonderful wishes that always turned out to be the opposite of "wonderful." I am reminded of such films like "Wishmaster" in which a horrible genie would grant unsuspecting Americans wishes that were quite contrary to their actual wish. Okay, I excuse many of the films random aspects due to the fact that it was produced by an English film company, but for an American Teenager, like myself, this film can become the worst film experience ever. "The Sand Fairy" is nothing more than a five star film for children; a one star movie for teenagers.