Sadly, the family live action fantasy adventure is not a prolific genre at the movies right now. The risk reward is too volatile, especially with Pixar and Disney ready to animate the story right there. So when one of these films comes along, my heart is open wide, hoping and praying it is good. Thank goodness, The Magic Faraway Tree is good enough that hopefully it will ignite a spark in the imaginations of young kids everywhere, starting a love of movies, and maybe, if we’re lucky, reignite a life of play and dreams that phone screens cannot duplicate. Too ambitious? Maybe, but if one kid feels the way I felt watching The Magic Faraway Tree, that’s a win!
Stay at home dad Tim (Andrew Garfield) and inventive working mom Polly (Claire Foy) Thompson are living in a British city with their three tech addicted children: Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy), Joe (Phoenix Laroche), and Fran (Billie Gadsdon). After Polly’s AI supportive fridge proves, um, a little Orwellian with its reporting, she quits her job. A little lost, Tim and Polly go through their dream binder the did at university, choosing to go live out in the country where Tim grew up. No 5G out there, barely 1G, not ideal for the pissed off kids. That is, until quiet Fran notices a weird purse on the side of the road, and offers it back to Silky (Nicola Coughlan), a fairy living in the titular Faraway tree. Delighted, Silky invites Fran to the tree for a picnic, where she goes off to while her siblings sulk inside and mom & dad attempt to start a pasta making business.
The Magic Faraway Tree understands the assignment well. Not an ounce of artifice is present here. This is a movie for kids, so it’s best to be as clear and joyful as possible. Yes Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy are here, but the parents are not the heroes of the story. That’s the three kids, Beth, Joe, and especially Fran. Fran’s first visit to the Faraway Tree hits high points that Lucy gets to when entering the Wardrobe and going to Narnia. The quiet shy girl comes alive in an instant, as a new world unfolds in front of her eyes. It’s a place of magic, where anything feels possible, as she’s surrounded by a host of new friends and creatures she didn’t know existed until now, that wonders the heart and eyes with every second there. Beth carries the cynical heart, as all teenagers have. But her visits soften that hard heart as well, with the incredible costumes, sets, and clever practical effects showing off some of the magic of the Faraway Tree that would make believers out of anyone. Hell even the “villain” is cleverly a joyless irritable teacher, something each kid can relate to at some point in their lives. I can’t begin to describe how incredible it feels when you see someone like you onscreen; this film will help that phone addicted teen or more likely the ready to believe 7 year old open their minds to a world of new possibilities when a family goes to see The Magic Faraway Tree on family movie night.
And every actor in the movie believes it too, and gives their all wholeheartedly. Andrew Garfield was born to play a dreamer dad, dorkily coming up with family songs and waxing about his pasta making abilities; his heart is his best asset, as you feel emotion pouring out of him depending on what the scene needs, happy or sad. Claire Foy as well was born to be the buttoned up matriarch of a family, but inside is a dreamer waiting for permission to dream. My favorite scene of the movie is where she puts Fran to bed on the first night that almost made me burst into tears. The kids jobs are easy: play your role, and then become a happy family by the end. Billie Gadsdon is cute as a button, and Delilah Bennett-Cardy flirts with the insufferable line but never quite goes too far over it. The Faraway Tree residents all have a blast dialing it up to 11. Nicola Coughlan and Nonso Anozie probably channel years of theatre into their fun parts, but always saving a little nuance for their emotional moments which sneak up on you. Jennifer Saunders and Rebecca Ferguson have a blast just sucking the life out of everyone in insane ways that hurt, but only kid hurt, not adult hurt. And I was happy to see the underused Jessica Gunning and Dustin Demri Burns give just the right amount of British snark to make their scenes pop.
So parents, please consider The Magic Faraway Tree for family fun night? I promise all the messages are the ones you want to land. More importantly, it could give your kids a little movie kick that you could use to push them into some more cool stuff you like, like a Studio Ghibli movie, or Tuck Everlasting, Percy Jackson, or Laika Studios. Either way, I hope everyone’s imagination gets a little bigger from this, letting you put the phone down and just…play together, even if it’s just for a little bit.