The Magic Faraway Tree

 The Magic Faraway Tree, the film of Enid Blyton’s book series, premiered in the UK back in March, and locally as of this weekend. Let’s just get to it.

Meet the Thompsons. Tim (Andrew Garfield) dreams of a lucrative homemade pasta sauce business, while Polly (Claire Foy) has just invented a smart fridge. Their three kids - Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy), Joe (Phoenix Laroche), and Fran (Billie Gadsdon) - are really addicted to their tech. Polly’s employers add spy cameras to her smart fridge, so she quits. Tim promptly moves the family out to farm country, where he hopes to make his dreams come true. The farmer (writer Simon Farnaby) whose barn they’re renting warns them not to go into the woods.

Fran goes into the woods anyway, where she encounters the titular tree. There, she encounters various fair folks, such as Silky (Nicola Couglan); Moonface (Nonso Anozie); Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns); and Mr. Watzisname (Oliver Chris). Every day, the fae and their guests can climb their big ladder to a random, wondrous world. It could be The Land of Goodies one day, The Land of Birthdays the next. Fran’s siblings join her on the next visit.

Unfortunately, Beth, in her impatience, gets her cold-hearted grandma (Jennifer Saunders) breathing down her parents’ necks. Then, she accidentally wishes for her dad’s crops to go bad. Perhaps one of the other worlds can help her make it right. That’s pretty much it.

I never actually read the novels, nor watched their TV adaptation Enchanted Lands in the 1990s. But from what I’ve been told, some of the books’ concepts wouldn’t fly today. Case in point is Dame Snap (Rebecca Ferguson), a sadistic teacher who originally debuted as Dame Slap, a change she laments. It is what it is, I guess. There’s a more pressing issue related to her, though, which is her role.

Snap is set up as the film’s magical big bad, much like He Who Must Not Be Named. She’s petty, childish, and absolutely bonkers thanks to Ferguson’s performance. Just wait until you hear her menacingly sing Teddy Bear’s Picnic; she doesn’t want anyone to laugh at it, but what did she expect? So, what’s the problem with her? She shows up during the last twenty minutes and is another thing that happens instead of the thing. Two sequels have already been greenlit, so maybe she should - nay, she should - show up for a larger role.

The phrase “things happen” describes much of the plot. Throughout it, Fran is nearly arrested for “being greedy” in The Land of Goodies, Mr. Oom Boom Boom (Mark Heap) tries to sell Silky to Santa (who never appears), and Joe flies a magic bus that can fall asleep. The film is mostly too light for these perils to hit their mark. It’s not all frivolous, though, when Beth enters the Land of Birthdays (that’s where she makes her wish). It’s pretty clear this was made for kids, and they might take to some of its crudest humor better than their parents.

Speaking of parents, Garfield and Foy are likable enough as Tim and Polly. Their kids, whose tech addiction is played to satirical levels, take a while to endear themselves to the audience. Beth and Joe fuss around, while Fran is selectively mute for reasons. It’s a bit much, but they get better once they start their magical adventures. Admittedly, Fran didn’t need much character development, but Beth’s progression is the strongest of the trio. 

Much like Ferguson, the actors playing the Fair Folks go full pantomime in their roles. Moonface, in particular, thinks highly of himself, and Anozie playing up his ego is pretty fun. He gets a surprisingly moment of tenderness later on, though that requires me to reveal Tim’s secret. I can reveal, however, that Mr. Watzisname is surprisingly entertaining, while the Angry Pixie (Hiran Abeysekera) is just there. A few more notable folks include the Know-it-Alls (Simon Russell Beale, Lenny Henry and Michael Palin), a policeman in the Land of Goodies (Michael Dapaah) and a group of Birthday elves. Their broad acting is reflected rather well by their costumes (designed by Ann Maskrey), worlds (Alexandra Walker) and makeup designs (Karen Hartley).

The Magic Faraway Tree is just an easy time at the movies. It looks nice, feels nice, and plays nice. It's a decent movie, don't get me wrong, but it didn't entirely sell me on its esteemed books. I am, however, curious about its sequels, just in case they move along better than this one. See this installment if you're curious; I said enough about it.