At last, we might be free of the hegemony of Paddington. That well-mannered ursine need not be the British public’s sole cinematic obsession. One of the franchise’s co-writers, Simon Farnaby, is quietly building his own empire of wholesome whimsy, all spiritual successors to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968). Post-Wonka (2023), he’s come back for another spin on a literary classic, this time adapting Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree series (here titled The Magic Faraway Tree) for director Ben Gregor.
Farnaby keeps it fresh and witty, combining the wordplay and low-stakes surrealism of his roots in The Mighty Boosh and Horrible Histories with a keen eye for literary adaptation. He’s never precious about the source material – Wonka was, after all, an origin story prequel to the Chocolate Factory – yet keeps a core respect for the wonder and imagination that makes literary classics out of bedtime stories.
