Product Info

Studio

Ashland Hill Media Finance

Director

Ben Gregor

Genre

Adventure, Family, Fantasy

Rated

PG

Theatrical Release Date (NA)

Aug 21, 2026

Film Length

1hr 50min

Purchase From

Home » The Magic Faraway Tree (Review)

The Magic Faraway Tree takes the audience on a whimsical journey where family, imagination, and adventure grow together. While it showcases a promising magical world, the film spends more time exploring family relationships and self-acceptance, leaving most of its enchanting ideas undeveloped.

A New Adventure Begins

© 2026 Entertainment Films. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

The Magic Faraway Tree is based on the Faraway Tree book series by British author Enid Blyton, drawing from the first two books in the series. It follows a family who moves from the fast-paced, electronic-driven city to the slow-paced countryside. There, the kids discover a fairy and a magic tree that allows them to go to other worlds full of magic and wonder, in between daily life and growing closer as a family. 

The film opens with the father, Tim Thompson, played by Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man, The Social Network), and Polly Thompson, played by Claire Foy (First Man, All of Us Strangers), who abruptly move their family to the countryside after Polly quits her job at an unethical company. They move to a small town nearby where Tim lived as a child and has a dream to make tomato sauce from scratch using the tomatoes he grows himself.

The rundown home, which is actually a barn, lacks luxuries such as electricity and internet, preventing the kids from using their much-loved technology. The parents hope that the family will become closer, but the upset caused by the move, which prevents two of their three kids from having any contact with their previous life of games and friends due to the lack of technology, presents a significant challenge.

© 2026 Entertainment Films. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Andrew begins growing tomatoes and, while a loveable character, has many challenges in what he tries to accomplish. During these challenges, Polly shows a positive and upbeat attitude and is questionably pleased with moving to a barn that is pretty run-down in the country. Despite these challenges, she finds ways to make things better for everyone by learning to repair and create things she never would’ve experienced had they not moved to the country. Working together, the parents become closer, but it is a lot of work, and often their children are unsupervised and find themselves on adventures of their own.

During this time their daughter, Fran, played by Billie Gadsdon (Tales of Babylon, Cruella), has gotten a letter from a fairy whom she helped on their way to their new home and is now being invited into a forbidden forest. There she finds a magic tree, which allows her to visit the fairy, Silky, played by Nicola Coughlin (Derby Girls, Harlots), and meet her other fun and quirky friends. They go on a journey to other worlds and have adventures.

Magic Lost in the Woods

© 2026 Entertainment Films. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

This film, despite its potential, fails to establish a deeper connection with both the story and the magic. The movie focuses more on family and self-acceptance than on magic and wonder. The small amount of magic the family experienced was handled wonderfully. Imagine a blend of Narnia, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and Harry Potter. The whimsy in the scenes is wonderfully imagined and captured. It’s a shame because the film has so much potential with such a wonderful story, but there was little time to develop these worlds further and take up a small portion of the film. That said, the cast was strong, with the highlights of the film being both Garfield and the eldest daughter, Beth played by Delilah Bennett-Cardy (Tom Jones, The Royal Variety Performance 2025). Tim, a fun-loving dad, is always positive even in the most uncomfortable circumstances. Garfield delivers an upbeat and positive performance, and his upbeat and positive performance resonates even during intense emotional moments between the characters. even when emotions run high between the characters. His heart and hope are contagious, even to the audience. 

Then there is the oldest daughter, Beth, who delivers a range in her performance, which is outstanding. Beth is the most dynamic of the film as she begins as an angsty teen upset at the move, losing contact with her friends and not having luxuries like electricity or technology, and then becomes a loving, supportive, and caring friend, sister, and daughter. She demonstrates accountability and maturity later in the movie when she realizes that there are more important things than wifi, talking to friends online, etc. She learns to love her family and new friends and that her actions affect those around her. She delivers a remarkable performance, showcasing a wide range of emotions.

Despite some excellent performances, many characters and the story felt disconnected. Some more backstory and connection by way of an emotional performance would have enhanced this film.

The Final Adventure

Overall, The Magic Faraway Tree is a solid and fun family-focused film with some whimsy and wonderful actors and is worth watching. Kids may even love seeing it again and again based on the silly characters and adventures if they can get through the lengthy family relationship building.

An early screening provided for this review. The Magic Faraway Tree arrives in theaters on August 21, 2026. Viewers can visit the film’s official website for more information.