Tapping into nostalgia, The Magic Faraway Tree has combined family values with imagination through a charming, yet slightly quirky, way.
Based on the beloved Enid Blyton stories, The Magic Faraway Tree has been brought to the big screen by director Ben Gregor and screenwriter Simon Farnaby. It follows the adventures of a family taking the bold step of leaving the city behind and venturing into the countryside to grow tomatoes.
While technology has taken over the lives of children Fran, Beth and Joe, their parents believe going outside and playing is a better way to spend a childhood. This is, however, until the magical Faraway Tree is discovered, and they suddenly find themselves in lands beyond their wildest dreams.
The film stars powerhouse leads, including Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man), Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton) and Claire Foy (The Crown), as well as legends of British stage and screen Jennifer Saunders, Lenny Henry and Michael Palin.
Just like every all-rounded family movie, it had all the right compartments to entertain. From fantasy creatures to evil characters, quirky one-liners to a contagious bout of farting, the silliness of it all made it complete.
Having said that, it was difficult to overlook its faults. It stumbles in trying to layer narrative depth onto material that was never built to carry it. Its central emotional thread of a family trying to reconnect together is unfortunately outweighed by the absurdity and whimsy of it all.
While there were intended plot twists or key events in the movie, they kept fizzing out in a string of missed opportunities. The storyline was quite choppy from time to time, and there were certainly moments that could have been left on the cutting room floor, such as the children’s painful rendition of “The Family Song”.
The movie seemed to focus on long, unnecessary, and never-ending scenes that contributed very little to the storyline, while its climax seemed rushed and underdeveloped. Although the late arrival of the villainous Dame Snap, played by Rebecca Ferguson (The Greatest Showman), was enjoyable, it just would have been nice to have seen more of it.
While finding the faults may be easy to do, it’s essential to remember that this is supposed to be a fun movie and not taken overly seriously.
While it is unlikely that The Magic Faraway Tree will have the legacy as the best family movie of all time, it was a charming two-hour watch that kept viewers engaged until the end.
2/5 Stars
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