Francesca is away with the fairies. Fran, in short, is, in short, off her tree. The Magic Faraway Tree.
Adapted from the beloved The Faraway Tree series of novels for children, THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE follows Polly and Tim and their children Beth, Joe and Fran – a modern family who find themselves forced to relocate to the remote English countryside. Soon after their arrival, the children discover a magical tree and its extraordinary and eccentric residents such as the treasured characters Moonface, Silky, Dame Wash-a-lot and Saucepan Man.
This handsome screen adaptation starts off exceedingly well thanks largely to Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy playing light and easy as the bright and breezy parents.
Billie Gadsdon as Fran is sunnily charming, Nicola Coughlan as Silky sunnily funny, and Rebecca Ferguson as Dame Snap wickedly unsunny.
Jessica Gunning is gunning for funning as Dame Washalot, Jennifer Saunders saunters through Germanic grannyism, and Michael Palin does a Pythonesque turn as one of the Knowitalls.
With all this talent, the finished film seems, dare I say trunk-ated, as if narrative blooms had been weeded out, ending up on the cutting room floor.
Still and all, THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE is a commendable school holiday attraction, and maybe an entree into the works of Enid Blyton, who has been on the nose over Big Ears, but now getting the Noddy from the flim flam film folk.
THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE is written by Simon Farnaby, scribe of Wonka and Paddington 2, and is directed by Ben Gregor. It is beautifully shot by Zac Nicholson and boasts an amazing production design by Alexandra Walker.
