Updating the action to World War I England, director John Stephenson brings an element of Bedknobs And Broomsticks to Nesbit's gentle yarn, with Izzard's dino-like Psammead, or sand fairy, filling in for Angela Lansbury's witch. Stumbled upon on a secret beach by five London evacuees, sent to live with their dotty uncle (Kenneth Branagh) in his dilapidated mansion by the sea, this cranky creature agrees to grant them one wish a day. The catch is that the magic wears off at sunset, leaving them no better off than they were before.