Enid Blyton’s beloved children’s book The Magic Faraway Tree has been adapted into a feature film by the writer of Paddington 2.
With a cast including Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Nicola Coughlan and Rebecca Ferguson, The Magic Faraway Tree tells the story of Polly and Tim and their children Beth, Joe and Fran – a modern family who find themselves forced to relocate to the remote English countryside.
A first look image of the film was released yesterday.
Who is who in The Magic Faraway Tree?
The confirmed cast so far is as follows:
- Claire Foy as Polly Thompson
- Andrew Garfield as Tim Thompson
- Delilah Bennett-Cardy
- Billie Gadsdon
- Phoenix Laroche
- Nicola Coughlan as Silky
- Nonso Anozie as Moonface
- Jessica Gunning as Dame Washalot
- Dustin Demri-Burns as the Saucepan Man
From what we know so far, the film will be pretty faithful to the book. All the essential elements are there: the children discover a magical tree, and inside that tree they meet eccentric residents like Moonface, Silky, Dame Wash-a-lot and Saucepan Man.
At the top of the tree, they are transported to 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 was first published in 1943, the second book of a trilogy by Blyton. The first title of the main ‘Faraway’ trilogy, The Enchanted Wood, was published in 1939, although the Faraway Tree and Moon-Face had already briefly appeared in 1936 in The Yellow Fairy Book.
The screenplay for the new film is written by Simon Farnaby (Wonka, Paddington 2) and directed by Ben Gregor (Britannia, Cuckoo, Black Ops), with cinematography by Zac Nicholson (The Death of Stalin).
Farnaby was originally attached as a writer in a planned adaptation of the book in 2017, with production by StudioCanal. In January 2024, it was reported that Elysian Film Group, led by staff that had left Studio Canal, would be producing instead, alongside Neal Street Productions.
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Academy Award-nominee Pippa Harris (Empire of Light) and Nicolas Brown (Britannia) of Neal Street Productions are producing, along with Danny Perkins (Greatest Days) of Elysian Film Group, and Jane Hooks (Golda).
Executive Producers include Ashland Hill Media Finance’s Simon Williams, Joe Simpson and Jonathan Bross, and Palisades Park Pictures’ Tamara Birkemoe.
The highly anticipated film will be released in Australia and New Zealand on 26 March 2026. It will be distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors in the UK, and VVS Films in Australia and New Zealand.
