In “Nanny McPhee Returns,” Oscar-winning actress and screenwriter Emma Thompson returns to the role of the magical nanny who appears when she’s needed the most.

“Nanny McPhee Returns” (PG, 108 minutes): Emma Thompson reprises her 2005 role as the title character, a strict old bag, who looks more Roald Dahl than Mary Poppins.

Her appearance is startling: hairy moles, bulbous nose, a unibrow and one colossal front tooth. But her physical disarray is balanced by her supernatural ability to clean up a chaotic scene. Such is the plight of Isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a quirky, loving mother who tries to protect her children from the horrors of World War II.

To complicate matters, her scheming brother-in-law wants her to sell her half of the family farm so he can pay off gambling debts, and her hoity-toity niece and nephew are visiting from London. As expected, the Green children are at odds with their spoiled big-city counterparts. Contains rude humor, some language and mild thematic elements.

DVD extras: Commentary with director Susanna White; deleted scenes; featurettes, including Thompson’s transformation into Nanny McPhee through time-lapse photography and working with pigs and mud.