FIVE CHILDREN AND IT is another sterling example of Children's BBC back when they made decent, cultured fare for children. This one's a six-part adaptation of the E. Nesbit (THE RAILWAY CHILDREN) novel, featuring a quartet of kids who discover a mysterious Psammead (or 'Sand Fairy') living in the local sandpit who has the power to grant a wish a day.
Okay, the quality of this production - not to mention the acting - isn't up with the likes of, say, THE BORROWERS, but it's still a lot of fun and I loved it as a kid. The child cast are, shall we say enthusiastic, if not incredibly talented, but they come second to the excellent Psammead, whose combination of animatronics, voice acting, and mannerisms is unforgettable. I particularly love the way he sings the lyrical song over the closing credits.
Each of the six episodes offers a mixture of mini-adventures as the kids wish for something that inevitably goes wrong somehow. The special effects are dated, but the budget extends to some fairly impressive milieus of circuses and medieval castles. Some of the sub-plots are better than others, but there's plenty of wry humour which works well, and by the end you've fallen in love with both characters and Psammead. A sequel, RETURN OF THE PSAMMEAD, followed, but avoid the 2004 Hollywood-ised film like the plague; it takes the original novel, shreds it, and throws in nonsense about dinosaurs and assorted nonsense.
