When it comes to the movies we loved as kids, there seems to be something they all have in common – they can transport you to a different world and help you escape. But what happens when that fantasy world is barely held together with bubble gum and shoe strings? The fantasy world doesn’t work, and even with an all star cast at the helm, there may be nothing that can save it. The Magic Faraway tree, unfortunately is one of those movies. And despite having big names like Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy and Nicola Goughlin on the banner – the movie barely holds together a cohesive story let alone sets up a fantasy world worth watching and enjoying.
After Tim Thompson (Andrew Garfield) loses his job, he decides to rent a place in the countryside where he grew up and move his whole family away from everything and everyone they know. Instead of a cottage like he thought, he actually ended up renting a derelict barn that doesn’t have walls, plumbing or even electricty. His technology obsessed children are now tossed into living a world without the basics and technology they are used to. Hoping the children will be able to disconnect, the kids are basically left on their own in the woods to play.
On the way to their new home the youngest daughter, Beth, notices a fairy in the woods, and shortly after befriends Silky (Nicola Coughlin). After a short while the kids end up following Beth to the tree where Silky and others fae live – and they’re transported into a world of magic – but need to find their way out again to help save their family and their father’s dream.
There are so many inconsistencies in the movie, and so many things that will have you shaking your head. Normally you can excuse some of them as part of the fantasy world but even back in the real world things just aren’t right. How many charges would the Thompsons be facing for child endangerment? And this is one of the rare cases where you absolutely agree with the overbearing grandparent, after you see the situation the kids are put in.
Probably one of the biggest problems with The Magic Faraway Tree is it feels like it’s trying too hard to recreate the campy fantasy movies of the 80s and 90s. This heavy reliance of nostalgia is lost quickly on costumes that feel like they were made and rejected by highschool theater projections, over acting and a story that doesn’t seem to connect. Yes, some of the fantasy movies we grew up with may have some parts that were nightmare fuel – but the movies committed to the story and the overall fantasy movie. The Magic Faraway tree doesn’t – it seems disjointed, it hops from one thing to the next. Sure, this could be written off as it being a childrens story or a child’s imaginatoin. But shouldn’t we give more credit to the audience and give kids something to actually enjoy?
If you have kids that want to see The Magic Faraway tree, maybe they love the book or just really want to see it – it may be best to wait until it’s streaming. The movie definitely has the feeling that it will be a story that younger viewers may watch over and over and each time drives their parents a little more crazy as they do. It just doesn’t seem like it’s worth the cost of theater tickets to see a movie that doesn’t even seem to try the majority of the time.
About The Magic Far Away Tree
The Magic Faraway Tree follows Polly (Claire Foy), Tim (Andrew Garfield) and their three children – a modern family forced to relocate to the remote English countryside. As they adapt to their new lives, the children discover a magical tree and its extraordinary and eccentric residents including treasured characters Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Silky (Nicola Coughlan), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning) and Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns). At the top of the tree, they are transported to spectacular and fantastical lands and, through the joys and challenges of their adventures, the family learn to reconnect and value each other for the first time in years.
THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE is released by Entertainment Film Distributors in UK and Ireland cinemas on 27 March 2026