The Magic Faraway Tree

Weird things happen up the Magic Faraway Tree. Zany characters reside in its branches, a big slide careers down the trunk with no obvious structural implications, and at the top, a long ladder leads up to a revolving carousel of equally magical kingdoms. A sugary confection for a wartime generation deprived of goodies (and their parents) during the early 1940s, it’s Enid Blyton at her most escapist, a colourful caper that makes The Famous Five look like one of the grittier episodes of Columbo. 

Transplanting all the hippy-dippy goodness from a three-book series into a movie is a challenge that Simon Farnaby’s adaptation half-overcomes. With a game cast and good vibes throughout, it’s a smart update of the Blyton stories for the smartphone era, but with the plot hinging on some small-batch pomodoro sauce, the stakes never match the eccentricity levels. 

Hold on to your pearls, Blyton purists, because the three children are no longer Jo, Bessie and Fanny but too-cool-for-school Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy), shy Fran (Billie Gadsdon) and sweet-natured Joe (Phoenix Laroche). And they’re not wartime evacuees but the distracted, tech-absorbed offspring of inventor Polly (Claire Foy) and cheery stay-at-home dad Tim (Andrew Garfield), a self-professed pasta sauce pioneer. The trio are whisked off for a reset in bucolic, wifi-free rural England when Polly loses her job. 

It’s a jukebox of British comedy styles – for better or worse

‘Boredom trauma’ takes minutes to set in until Fran’s encounter with a magical fairy called Silky (Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan) introduces her – and, soon, her siblings – to the mystical tree and its eccentric inhabitants: Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), Mr. Watzisname (Oliver Chris), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning) and the Angry Pixie (Hiran Abeysekera). Awaiting them are many perils, too, and an 11th hour villain in the shape of child-hating disciplinarian Dame Snap (Rebecca Ferguson giving unexpected dominatrix).

It’s a jukebox of British comedy styles – for better or worse. Some gags are pin-sharp, notably one involving a smart fridge (voiced by Judi Dench) and a killer callback to a‘wifi’/‘wifey’ joke; there’s a Pythonesque bit with a multi-headed seer called The Great Know-All (Michael Palin, Lenny Henry and Simon Russell Beale); and some fart jokes. One hammy sing-song steps awkwardly into the realms of musical.

The Magic Faraway Tree isn’t on Wonka’s level, let alone Paddington 2’s – two other Farnaby joints – and the aesthetic is occasionally a bit CBBC, despite the bucolic settings and intricate sets. But with the cracking cast, thoughtful message and the odd rollicking adventure, it’s a fun family movie that’ll finally give you permission to switch off the wifi. We give it tree stars.

In US theaters Fri Aug 21.