Once upon a time—in the 1930s and ’40s—Enid Blyton wrote a series of books about a trio of children who find a magical tree in an enchanted wood. She wrote a lot of other books, too, and while she is not necessarily a household name in the U.S., in the U.K. she was, in 2008, voted the country’s favorite writer. At that time, The Guardian noted, more than eight million of her books were sold every year. But there has never been a live-action movie adaptation of her work.
Now, an impressive team is working on changing that. Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man) and Claire Foy (The Crown) are set to star as the parents of the aforementioned children in The Magic Faraway Tree, which will be directed by Ben Gregor (Brittania, Bloods) and—possibly most importantly—has a screenplay by Simon Farnaby, who co-wrote Paddington 2. (Farnaby also co-wrote Wonka, but let’s ignore that for now.)
Here’s how Variety sums up the story:
The Magic Faraway Tree follows Polly (Foy) and Tim (Garfield) and their children Beth, Joe and Fran — a modern family who find themselves forced to relocate to the remote English countryside. Soon after the family’s arrival in the countryside, the children discover a magical tree and its extraordinary and eccentric residents including treasured characters Moonface, Silky, Dame Washalot and Saucepan Man. 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.
Blyton’s work has been criticized, over the years, for being racist, sexist, and otherwise full of outdated stereotypes and attitudes. Updated editions have come and gone, and it will certainly be interesting, for Blyton fans, to see how this adaptation plays out. No premiere date has been announced, but filming is expected to begin next month.
