The Magic Faraway Tree: Enid Blyton's books get a modern-day film adaptation | First Take

So for the first time since August, I'm not in film festival mode, looking at films for consideration - so it was very nice to actually see a feature from the family friendly realm as my first assignment back on the film critic beat for nearly 8 months. Enid Blyton's beloved Faraway Tree novels have captivated children (and bigger children) since the 1940s, and following a decade in development hell, two distibutors, and many production challenges, the brand new version of the stories have landed in UK cinemas, opening relatively well in the process. However, as much as it has its positives, there are a few things that hamper it.

A modern family relocates to the countryside where the children discover a magical tree with eccentric residents. They're transported to fantastical lands, rekindling their family bond through adventures.

Now this isn't a straight, beat for beat adaptation - the setting has been brought to the modern day, naturally, and this is where having someone like Simon Farnaby on screenwriting duties comes in handy. You can totally see where his experiences writing Paddington 2, Wonka, and the BBC's Horrible Histories comes to the fore, as there's plenty of humour that lands within a U rated film, however, it is a bit overly long at 1 hour 50 minutes, partly as director Ben Gregor has worked more within the worlds of TV drama and documentary than he has on feature films. Yes, it's whimsical, yes, it's got some questionable CG, but that ultimately adds to the charm of the piece, which is shot pretty well by Zac Nicholson, and the score from Isabella Summers (the long-time keyboardist to Florence + The Machine) serves its purpose for what is, in essence, a relatively low budget British feature film.

Gregor does, however, manage to work with a really good cast to make this independent British production come to life - with the proven duo of Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy (who worked together on Andy Serkis' directorial debut Breathe back in 2017) leading the cast alongside woman of the moment Nicola Coughlan as Silky, and a supporting cast that includes Mark Heap, Lenny Henry, Jennifer Saunders, Michael Palin, Nonso Anozie, and blink-and-you'll-miss-it roles for Rebecca Ferguson and yes, Dame Judi Dench. The three kids who anchor the film are also relatively good - Billie Gadsdon is a particular standout, but ultimately the quality of the writing lets it all down during the second act, which the film only just recovers from. However, as a Sale Sharks fan the presence of two very, very familiar names in the credits came as a real surprise - the club's owners Simon and Michelle Orange are credited as associate producers. From Northern rugby to UK cinema, I never thought I'd see their names attached to any film!

THE VERDICT

The Magic Faraway Tree is a nice way to spend a few hours with the family - while it isn't the strongest film on the market through this Easter holiday block, it says a lot about how the production sector here in the UK is going for independently produced films to open as well as this. If Mario is too much, this is a really good alternative.

RATING: 3/5