Now this is a movie made to remind us to believe in magic. A moment in time given to escape reality and find the purity in the world. While too many people are stuck on their devices, The Magic Faraway Tree takes us away from the small screens. Through a bigger one, it brings us on an adventure to rediscovering nature and the power of imagination. While being inspirational for kids to keep them believing, the film can also serve to bring adults back in time to when they were young, growing up, and believing in all things.
Written by Enid Blyton back in 1943, The Magic Faraway Tree books did wonders for young children. Now, almost a century later, writer Simon Farnaby has adapted the film through inspiration from the books. In his script he provides such a modern take on families and children. Though not personally having read any of these books, it does appear he stayed true to the characters. Or the film at least included those that could bring the magic to the big screen.
After quitting her tech job, Polly (Claire Foy) and husband Tim (Andrew Garfield) move their family to a home in the countryside. Soon after moving, the three children — Fran (Billie Gadsdon), Joe (Phoenix Laroche), and Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) — head to the woods and find a magical tree. Within the tree are extraordinary and unconventional residents: Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Silky (Nicola Coughlan), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning), and Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns). They are weary of the children at first, but soon come to appreciate their presence. With its residents, the children are taken on the most magical adventures through fantastical lands. In their journey, the kids are reminded of the value of staying off the internet and reconnecting with each other and with nature.
Bringing the magic to the big screen begins with director Ben Gregor. For someone who had not yet directed such a fantasy and supernatural film, he brought the best. There is a sense of pure imagination and childlike purpose in The Magic Faraway Tree. As a viewer you are being brought back to the mind of a child, whether already there yet or not. The film itself transports you into that body and mind.
While the magic you feel may come from the plot itself, the audience is brought deeper into the world by the performance of Garfield and Gadsdon. We all know that Garfield is a talented actor. He truly knows how to be a dad, but here it is something even more pure and wonderful. Then, as the film takes place mostly from the perspective of the children. It begins with little Fran, the casting of Gadsdon as the main protagonist does wonders for the film. She is pure and innocent, as she gets her voice. She takes both the audience and her family into the magic, reminding everyone the importance of getting away from the online realm and finding the physical and natural world instead.
For the child, The Magic Faraway Tree brings you on a whimsical adventure. But as an adult, watching the film you can appreciate how physical all the elements appear. Usually nowadays everything on the screen feels unrealistic or edited, pretty much fake, but here it feels at least practical. And yes, this might not matter to a kid, but as a more mature viewer, you can appreciate the chance to feel a greater transport into the world of the magic faraway tree. From the marshmallow trees, to the model airplane, to the costumes of the characters — especially Ferguson’s wig that somehow did not have her falling over — it was all quite fantastic.
There really is not much else you can say about The Magic Faraway Tree. You get what you expect from a children’s film, but add some extra layers to it and you get a message in it as well. From transporting kids and adults to a magic faraway place, to reminding us the importance of imagination, The Magic Faraway Tree does succeed in its beauty. Ahead of its release in cinemas on March 27, 2026, perhaps take the time to read a few of the kids books, or just get ready if you want to be swept up in fantasy.
