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Nanny McPhee
"When you need me, but do not want me, then I must stay. When you want me, but no longer need me, then I have to go."
The eponymous nanny; a mysterious woman who babysits unruly children and gives them life lessons. She has many supernatural aspects to her, including a stick that she can bang on the ground to make magic, and warts that disappear after the children learn lessons. Played by Emma Thompson.- Ambiguously Human: Given her supernatural powers, it's unclear whether she's human.
- But Now I Must Go: Part of "the way she works" is that she must leave when she's wanted but not need."There is something you should know about the way I work. When you need me, but do not want me, then I must stay. When you want me, but do not need me, then I have to go."
- Catchphrase: Has several tag lines:
- "Hm."
- "Small 'C', big 'P'" on her name.
- Cool and Unusual Punishment: Her punishments involve things like making children unable to control their bodies and making them share beds with animals.
- Dark Is Not Evil: She's intimidating and wears all black, but she works to improve people's lives.
- Magical Nanny: As well as being literally magical, she always greatly improves her charges' behaviour and their parents' home lives.
- No Full Name Given: We never learn her first name.
- Radish Cure: Some of her punishments involve giving the children too much of what they wanted (for instance, when the Brown children want to sleep in, she glues them to their beds all day).
- Really 700 Years Old: Decades passed between the first film and the sequel, yet while Aggy is a baby in the first film and an old woman in the second, Nanny McPhee didn't age at all.
Isabelle Green
Norman Green
Megsie Green
Vincent Green
- Animal Lover: He likes scratching the pigs and playing with the elephant.
- Cheerful Child: While he is rude like his siblings, he's a lot more happy-go-lucky than them, for instance, he is the only one happy when McPhee makes the children share beds with animals.
Cyril Gray
"Greetings, oh covered-in-poo people!"
The male cousin, and the mouthier of the two. Played by Eros Vlahos.- Bratty Half-Pint: Has a smart mouth, for instance referring to the farm as the "Land of Poo".
- Catchphrase: Boasts several times, "My father is very high up in the war office!". Which becomes a major plot point later in the movie.
- Character Development: Starts off as a lazy, entitled brat, but over the course of the movie, he learns to step up and appreciate the family who opened their door for him and Celia to stay.
- Freudian Excuse: Having a strict classist upbringing with a father in the War Office, said father and mother having a divorce will have a negative influence on you.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He might start off as snobbish, but as he spends time helping the Green family, he proves he does have a sense of loyalty towards his family, and will step up accordingly. Sooner or later, he happily accepts his cousins as his family, and would do anything for them.
- When the family gets a telegram saying that Rory, the cousin’s father and aunt’s husband, was killed in action, the first thing Cyril does is offer his condolences. When Norman wants to prove his father’s still alive, Cyril suggests they visit his estranged father in the War Office.
- Sweet Tooth: Is of the impression that "marshmallows are always a wise choice" and eats a chocolate bar.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Like Celia, over the course of the movie, Cyril becomes more responsible and better mannered, and even drops his previously established classism.
Celia Gray
- Bratty Half-Pint: She whines about her clothes being "ruined" (even though they were just dirty and could be washed) and snaps at everyone.
- The Fashionista: Yells dramatically when her clothes are dirtied, critiques all of Megsie's outfits, and fantasises about buying new shoes.
- Kiddie Kid: She appears about twelve, but she grabs hold of something and whines, "Let go!", which is more befitting a kid of about six.
- Large Ham: Is very prone to yelling and exaggerating. For instance, when her clothes get dirty, she shouts, "I'm in HELL!".
- Neat Freak: Hates getting dirty.
Phil Green
- Big Bad: Tries to get Isabelle to sell the farm so he can clear his gambling debts.
- Chick Magnet: When meeting Topsy and Turvy, he initially flirts with them and they seem rather flattered before explaining who they are.
- Evil Uncle: Of Isabelle's children.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Initially, he's just a desperate fool trying escape death. Then he makes fakes his own brother's death to drive Isabelle to despair and loses all sympathy points.
- Trapped by Gambling Debts: He lost the Greens' farm (his legal half of it anyway) at a casino whose owner sends Topsy and Turvy to get either the deed or Phil's kidneys .
Topsy and Turvy
Two employees of Mrs. Biggles, a casino owner whom Phil owes, who are sent to collect the farm. Played by Sinead Matthews (Topsy) and Katy Brand (Turvy).
- Fat and Skinny: Topsy is tall and chubby, while Turvy is short and slim.
- Greater-Scope Villain: They provide the incentive for Phil's villainy.
- No Name Given: Their first names are unrevealed.
- Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: In a movie that is otherwise about a lighthearted adventure with a magical nanny, these two murderous organ harvesting loan sharks really stick out.
Mr. Edelweiss
A talking jackdaw who Nanny McPhee finds annoying.
- Blow You Away: Topsy and Turvy are blown out of the Green family's farm by Mr. Edelweiss's giant burp near the end of the film.
- Extreme Omnivore: One of the reasons McPhee finds him annoying is that he eats her window putty.
- Gasshole: He burps a lot, ostensibly due to his diet of window putty.
- Talking Animal: Is a non-anthropomorphic jackdaw who can talk.
Agatha Docherty (neé Brown)
- Canon Character All Along: She turns out to be Aggie from the first movie.
- Forgetful Jones: She tends to forget things.
- No Infantile Amnesia: She claims to remember being a baby.
- Scatterbrained Senior: Is elderly and commonly forgets things and makes dumb choices like storing loose treacle away in drawers.
- Strong Family Resemblance: To her great aunt Adelaide.
- Tragic Keepsake: She still has the rattle that belonged to her mother, and Mrs. Docherty showing that she still has it pretty much confirms that she and Aggie are indeed the same person.
Algernon Docherty
Mrs. Docherty's husband, and a police officer. Played by Sam Kelly.
- Large Ham: He is very dramatic and animated when explaining what would happen if an enemy pilot catches a cold.
Rory Green
- Cool Uncle: When reuniting with his family at the end, he meets his nephew and niece Cyril and Celia and welcomes them to the family.
- Disappeared Dad: Spends most of the movie away in the war and then becomes MIA. He does come back at the end.
- Happily Married: With Isabel, as she remembers happy their wedding day, becomes heartbroken when believing Rory to be dead. They embrace when reunited at the end.
Lord Gray
- Aloof Big Brother: To his sister Isabel, whom he criticized for her marriage to Rory and also initially refused to help to find information about Rory's whereabouts until Cyril criticized him.
- Also Aloof Uncle, as he's distant from his nephews and niece, to the point he didn't recognize Norman until Cyril told him.
- Parental Neglect: Sends his children to live in their cousins's farm under the pretext to protect them from bomb attacks, but Cyril reveals to him, he's aware his parents are getting divorced.
- Pet the Dog: After being criticzed by his son over his neglect, he agrees to investigate about his brother-in-law Rory's status and reveals to Norman and Cyril that Rory was actually missing in action, not dead, thus revealing they got a fake telegram and also preventing his sister Isabel from selling her husband's farm. Also he gives his son a handshake and tells him that farm life did well on him.
