Direction: Ben Gregor
Country: UK / USA
This fantasy adventure film, written by Simon Farnaby and directed by Ben Gregor, is more idiotic than funny. Visually gorgeous yet incredibly boring, it offers an overly childish depiction of pixies, fairies, and other eccentric creatures inhabiting enchanted forests and whimsical lands. As if that weren’t enough, it is burdened by several egregious musical numbers that nearly made me run out of the theater.
Based on The Faraway Tree series by British author Enid Blyton, the film lacks even a stitch of personality. Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man, 2012; 99 Homes, 2014) and Claire Foy (First Man, 2018) feel completely adrift, unable to bring conviction or vitality to their underwritten roles. The odds are high that you'll leave the theater disappointed because the larger the scope becomes, the less there is to care about. With such low dramatic stakes, don't be surprised if you find yourself begging for the end much sooner than expected.
