Four Kids and It

Even at a time when new family entertainment will always be gratefully received, it doesn't feel too much to wish for that films for children - sorry, kids - should be built a bit more rigorously than this.

The problem boils down to this question of sincerity. Director Anthony de Emmony does not feel the magic of this story.

Sky Cinema's new family adventure seems built to be consumed and quickly forgotten.

Ros and Smash begin to understand how acknowledging they cannot have what they really want makes it possible for them to begin to move forward. That's the real magic.

There's a certain level of absurdity you have to accept with Four Kids and It, but once you do that, it's a pleasant-enough diversion.

This apparent lack of conviction leaves the pic feeling too trivial in comparison to a host of children's literary classics and too innocuous to make much of an impression as a memorable movie.

The school holidays are upon us, and I think this is probably the family film most likely to appeal to the whole family, and to find itself rewatched in years to come on the streaming services.

Very little kids will get a kick from the narky, farty magic critter voiced by Michael Caine. But that overlong running time will snap all attention spans in two.

A hard slog at getting up to 110 minutes...

Veteran British TV director Andy De Emmony... deserves plenty of credit for turning what could have been a mawkish diatribe against modern technology into a knockabout comedy the whole family can enjoy.