Official Trailer
Rating: 6.3/10 | Genre: Family, Fantasy, Adventure | Runtime: 110 min
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Nicola Coughlan, Jessica Gunning, Rebecca Ferguson
I took my kids to see The Magic Faraway Tree last weekend, and honestly, I went in with low expectations. Modern adaptations of classic children’s books usually feel either too safe or too trying-hard. This one actually found a decent middle ground, though it’s not without some pretty significant stumbles.
The setup is straightforward. A family moves to the countryside for a fresh start, and the kids find this massive tree in the woods that’s basically a portal to different magical worlds. There’s a cloud land, a candy kingdom, that kind of thing. The tree itself is full of weird characters living in it, and they guide the kids through each adventure.
Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy play the parents, and they’re the weakest part of the movie if I’m being honest. They’re barely in it. The whole first act is spent with them being distant and stressed about work, and then they basically disappear for most of the film. I get that the story is about the kids bonding with each other, but you’d think two actors of that caliber would have more to do. They feel like they’re in a completely different, way more serious movie than the one the kids are in.
The kids actually carry this thing. Nicola Coughlan’s character is the oldest and she’s the skeptic at first, which makes sense. Jessica Gunning plays one of the tree residents, and she steals every scene she’s in. She’s genuinely funny without being annoying. Rebecca Ferguson shows up as this ethereal sky queen character and leans all the way into the weirdness of it, which I appreciated.
Here’s where I have to be real with you though. The middle section drags. Like, there’s this whole sequence in the candy land that goes on way too long. The kids are doing tasks to earn some magical object, and it’s just repetitive challenges set to upbeat music. My seven-year-old was checking his watch. That’s not a good sign. The pacing needed work, and at 110 minutes, they still managed to make it feel longer.
The visual effects are where things get interesting. The different worlds look great. Not Pixar-level great, but genuinely charming. The cloud land has this soft, dreamy quality. The candy kingdom is exactly as colorful and ridiculous as it should be. My kids were glued to the screen during those parts. It’s clear they spent money on those sequences, and it shows.
What actually works best is when the movie remembers it’s supposed to be about family stuff. There’s this moment near the end where one of the kids has to make a choice between staying in the magical tree world or going home to be with their family. It’s not some heavy emotional beat, but it lands. The movie understands that the real magic is in reconnecting with each other, and it doesn’t beat you over the head with it.
The problem is getting to that point takes too long and involves a few too many “let’s solve this puzzle” sequences that feel like padding. The script could have been tighter. Some of the dialogue is groan-worthy in a way that wasn’t intentional. There’s this running joke about one of the adults not understanding technology that gets beaten to death.
Is it a good movie? Not really. Is it a bad one? Not quite. It’s stuck in that middle ground where kids will probably enjoy most of it, parents won’t hate sitting through it, but nobody’s going to remember it in six months. My kids want to watch it again, which means something. I’m not rushing back to the theater for a second viewing though.
If you’ve got kids between five and twelve and you’re looking for something to take them to this weekend, there are worse options. Just know you’ll probably be checking your phone during the second act. Have you seen this one yet, or are you thinking about taking your family?
Where to Watch
Rent on: Apple TV Store, Rakuten TV, Amazon Video, Sky Store, JustWatch TV