Having penned the first two Paddington movies and Wonka, Ghosts star Simon Farnaby has now turned his whimsical writing skills to adapting Enid Blyton’s 1940s children’s fantasy novels about The Magic Faraway Tree.
Reimagined for the modern day, Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy star as charming parents Tim and Polly with their device-addicted three kids.
Upending their city-bound life, the family moves to a dilapidated barn in the countryside as Dad grows tomatoes in an effort to master his Italian heritage pasta sauce to sell to a big company.
Encouraging his kids to put away their phones and play outside near an enchanted forest, it’s not long before Beth, Fran and Joe find themselves up an enormous The Magic Faraway Tree.
There they meet Nicola Coughlan’s boyant fairy Silky, Nonso Anozie’s pompous Moonface, Oliver Chris’ ditzy Mr Watzisname (who’s forgotten his real name) and a slightly underused Saucepan Man played by Dustin Demri-Burns.
As in the Magic Faraway Tree books, there’s a ladder to different enchanted lands in the sky with themes beyond their wildest dreams. From the Goodies’ baskets of giant sweets, to the Land of Birthdays, where you can make a wish that you might regret. Each land is occupied by more surreal beings, mixing inspiration from Monty Python and the screenwriter’s own time on the Mighty Boosh. At times, it even feels somewhat akin to a live-action Adventure Time. A particular highlight is the Great Know-Alls, white-bearded heads played by Lenny Henry, Michael Palin and Simon Russell Beale. Additionally, Mark Heap’s Mr Oom Boom Boom, who can’t stop shouting, and Rebecca Ferguson’s villainous Dame Snap are particularly wild.
It’s all wonderfully imaginative, with plenty of laughs along the way at the plethora of eccentric characters, including Jennifer Saunders’ German grandmother, back on the ground. A film full of heart and wonder, it invites viewers to put down our phones too, in a celebration of being present in the company of others, enjoying community and the natural world around us. I counted only five lands visited, so fingers crossed this will spawn into a film trilogy like Paddington.
The Magic Faraway Tree is out now in UK cinemas.
