August 19, 2026
FILM: THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE
DIRECTED BY: BEN GREGOR
WRITTEN BY: SIMON FARNABY, Based on the book by ENID BLYTON
STARRING: ANDREW GARFIELD, CLAIRE FOY, BILLIE GADSDON
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Here’s a story that some may be more familiar with than I was. The Magic Faraway Tree was written by English author Enid Blyton and published in 1943. It was part of a series of children’s books about a tree that reaches into the clouds and has magical places, characters, and fruits. The new adaptation from director Ben Gregor and writer Simon Farnaby is an enjoyable and fantastical film which manages to relate the story to today’s technology-absorbed families and offers hope for togetherness.
In the early scenes, Tim Thompson (Andrew Garfield) and his wife Polly (Claire Foy) have a 21st Century family life with her being the breadwinner while he takes care of their three children, Beth, Fran, and Joe, and also plans to market his well-received, home developed, pasta sauce. Polly works for a tech company and all three kids are glued to their electronic devices. One day, Polly decides to quit her job leaving the family without a means to keep up their way of life. Tim takes the family to the rural location where he grew up and buys what turns out to be a web-filled, ramshackle barn in which to live and work. This, of course, leads to gasps from the children, especially the oldest girl Beth (annoying) who can’t imagine a teenaged life without her phone.
However, young Fran is visited one night by a fairy, played by Derry Girls and Bridgerton actress Nicola Coughlan who invites the girl to visit the magical land where she lives high up in a tree. Soon, Fran is exposed to her colorful world filled with characters such as a pixie, a moonface, and Saucepan Man, whose costume is made up of various assorted pots and pans.
Some of you may groan at the fantasy elements and avoid the film at all costs. But there is something visually stimulating and mesmerizing about the world that Gregor creates. It’s not high tech special effects which are visible but a simpler storybook land which in many ways resembles the Hollywood studio sets of The Wizard of Oz and Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory with its candy and trees of marsh mellows. The characters have a whimsical quality, including Emmy winner Jessica Gunning as Dame Washalot (her name is indicative of her character’s primary role.)
Fran is an interesting character herself as the once silent girl becomes drawn into this world and finds a sense of who she is. Eventually her siblings also become part of the adventure, bringing the family together to accomplish something other than developing an online social network.
The cast of the film is all in for this fairytale-like trip. Andrew Garfield possesses a boyish charm as the kids’ father Tim. He’s sprightly, bumbling, and wide-eyed making him relatable to the child within many of us. He’s really fun to watch. Nicola Coughlan is warm and inviting as fairy Silky and Claire Foy is more relaxed and animated than in her usual more serious film and television roles (The Crown, Women Talking, etc.)
What’s the story trying to say? It touches on values such as avoiding greed, holding on to dreams, working together as a family, and perhaps more than anything, diving into stories and one’s imagination for real growth and change rather than electronic devices. Yes, it’s kind of an old-school fairytale but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for people looking for a family friendly film. Those that are more cynical and tightly gripped to reality may balk at some of the fantastic leaps the story makes and might want to think twice about engaging with the fairly predictable material. However as much as I generally fall into this latter category even I was a bit enchanted with the film.
The Magic Faraway Tree opens in theaters this week.
FILM: THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE
DIRECTED BY: BEN GREGOR
WRITTEN BY: SIMON FARNABY, Based on the book by ENID BLYTON
STARRING: ANDREW GARFIELD, CLAIRE FOY, BILLIE GADSDON
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Here’s a story that some may be more familiar with than I was. The Magic Faraway Tree was written by English author Enid Blyton and published in 1943. It was part of a series of children’s books about a tree that reaches into the clouds and has magical places, characters, and fruits. The new adaptation from director Ben Gregor and writer Simon Farnaby is an enjoyable and fantastical film which manages to relate the story to today’s technology-absorbed families and offers hope for togetherness.
In the early scenes, Tim Thompson (Andrew Garfield) and his wife Polly (Claire Foy) have a 21st Century family life with her being the breadwinner while he takes care of their three children, Beth, Fran, and Joe, and also plans to market his well-received, home developed, pasta sauce. Polly works for a tech company and all three kids are glued to their electronic devices. One day, Polly decides to quit her job leaving the family without a means to keep up their way of life. Tim takes the family to the rural location where he grew up and buys what turns out to be a web-filled, ramshackle barn in which to live and work. This, of course, leads to gasps from the children, especially the oldest girl Beth (annoying) who can’t imagine a teenaged life without her phone.
However, young Fran is visited one night by a fairy, played by Derry Girls and Bridgerton actress Nicola Coughlan who invites the girl to visit the magical land where she lives high up in a tree. Soon, Fran is exposed to her colorful world filled with characters such as a pixie, a moonface, and Saucepan Man, whose costume is made up of various assorted pots and pans.
Some of you may groan at the fantasy elements and avoid the film at all costs. But there is something visually stimulating and mesmerizing about the world that Gregor creates. It’s not high tech special effects which are visible but a simpler storybook land which in many ways resembles the Hollywood studio sets of The Wizard of Oz and Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory with its candy and trees of marsh mellows. The characters have a whimsical quality, including Emmy winner Jessica Gunning as Dame Washalot (her name is indicative of her character’s primary role.)
Fran is an interesting character herself as the once silent girl becomes drawn into this world and finds a sense of who she is. Eventually her siblings also become part of the adventure, bringing the family together to accomplish something other than developing an online social network.
The cast of the film is all in for this fairytale-like trip. Andrew Garfield possesses a boyish charm as the kids’ father Tim. He’s sprightly, bumbling, and wide-eyed making him relatable to the child within many of us. He’s really fun to watch. Nicola Coughlan is warm and inviting as fairy Silky and Claire Foy is more relaxed and animated than in her usual more serious film and television roles (The Crown, Women Talking, etc.)
What’s the story trying to say? It touches on values such as avoiding greed, holding on to dreams, working together as a family, and perhaps more than anything, diving into stories and one’s imagination for real growth and change rather than electronic devices. Yes, it’s kind of an old-school fairytale but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for people looking for a family friendly film. Those that are more cynical and tightly gripped to reality may balk at some of the fantastic leaps the story makes and might want to think twice about engaging with the fairly predictable material. However as much as I generally fall into this latter category even I was a bit enchanted with the film.
The Magic Faraway Tree opens in theaters this week.