Before C.W. Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, Enid Blyton penned The Magic Faraway Tree series, offering young readers the chance to escape into a magic world full of adventure and in which kindness and courage were rewarded.
Published amidst a time in which British children experienced air raids, rations, and absent fathers and brothers off to war, Blyton’s books were a safe haven of joy and possibility in an otherwise dire world. Now, nearly 100 years after the original book’s publication, a film adaptation introduces a new generation to Blyton’s classic story and demonstrates how timeless and full of wonder it is.
From director Ben Gregor and screenwriter Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2, Wonka), The Magic Faraway Tree follows the Thompson family as they relocate to the English countryside. Tim (Andrew Garfield) and Polly (Claire Foy) hope that the rural setting will do their technology-obsessed children Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy), Joe (Phoenix Laroche), and Fran (Billie Gadsdon) some good, especially the latter, who refuses to speak and is increasingly insular.
As the family adapts to their new lives, Fran discovers a magical tree that transports her to a world full of eccentric residents, including Moonface (Anozie), Silky (Coughlan), Dame Washalot (Gunning), and Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns). Through the wonder and obstacles of their adventures in the fantastical land, Fran and her siblings learn the value of family and begin to reconnect.
One unfamiliar with the rich history of Blyton’s classic novels would never know that The Magic Faraway Tree is based on a series of books that began in 1939. The film begins with an all too relatable conflict parents are forced to reckon with nowadays: Children hooked to their devices, unable to turn away from screens, and, in turn, cut off from the real world. In anchoring its story in a family increasingly fractured by the addictive qualities of the digital age, Gregor’s film immediately makes for relatable, relevant viewing.
Garfield and Foy’s characters’ concerns about the effects of disconnection from nature leads them to relocate to a remote setting, where their children embark on an adventure that is as joyous as it is healing. Screenwriter Simon Farnaby, no stranger to high quality family fare, given his work on Paddington 2 and Wonka, intelligently structures this adventure around the episodic nature of Blyton’s four books.
The source material follows the children as they visit a number of fantastical lands and embark on different adventures within these lands, posing a unique challenge for Farnaby to weave the stories of Blyton’s books together into a single, cohesive narrative. Thankfully, Farnaby takes this challenge in his stride and pens a script that propels forward at a brisk pace, while allowing ample time for the characters (and the audience) to enjoy each of the different realms.
The adventures themselves feature all manner of quirky characters, fantastical visuals, and broad humor destined to make younger audience members chuckle. More mature viewers, however, may find the more adventurous, action-oriented stretches of the film to be a tad juvenile. The most apt comparison for these stretches is that of a well-crafted and tightly scripted children’s film that adults can appreciate, while recognizing that they are not the target audience.
Where The Magic Faraway Tree will resonate more strongly with adult audiences is with its poignant themes. While somewhat reductive in its positioning of technology as an antagonist and relative oversight of the ways in which technology can foster the kinds of connections the story champions, Gregor’s film is undeniably and refreshingly warm and wholesome in its adoration of the wonder of childhood.
In many ways, the film plays like a billboard for putting the phone aside and embarking on an adventure of one’s own in the beautiful outdoors. It’s the kind of movie that reminds audiences, both adults and children alike, that the world can be an extraordinary, enchanting place, if we just take the time to pick our heads up from our screens.
Hand-in-hand with the film’s relevant central theme is a resonant emotional throughline about reconnecting with family. Garfield and Foy bring unbelievable warmth and passion to the Thompson parents and, although they remain on the periphery relative to their children, ground the film with an altruism and kindness.
As the kids gradually learn about the beauty of the natural world and reform connections with one another and their parents, it is difficult to not get swept up in the emotion and relatability of it all. Admittedly, The Magic Faraway Tree doesn’t quite tug on the heartstrings the way Farnaby’s Paddington 2 did, but this is a high bar to reach and perhaps an unfair comparison to make. There exists nonetheless an infectious energy and palpable tenderness embedded in virtually every moment of the film.
The Magic Faraway Tree overwhelmingly succeeds in bringing a nearly 100-year-old book series to modern audiences with relevant themes and colorful visuals. For children, the film packs a valuable message about all the wonderful outcomes of looking beyond one’s devices and into the real world, in addition to all sorts of fantastical worlds and quirky characters.
For adults, it taps into a disturbingly relevant reality about the digital age, yet ultimately offers hope that rebuilding family and reforging connections are never truly out of reach.
The film opens Friday, August 21, only in movie theaters, via Vertical Entertainment.