‘The Magic Faraway Tree’ Adaptation Heads Towards Production With Neal Street, Elysian, Ashland Hill & ‘Wonka’ Scribe Simon Farnaby — EFM

Andreas Wiseman
·4 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: The long-gestating modern-day movie adaptation of Enid Blyton’s children’s classic The Magic Faraway Tree has got fresh impetus with new financiers and creatives aboard and a start date lined up for June of this year.

Elysian Film Group and Neal Street Productions (1917, Call The Midwife) are behind the project which is scripted by BAFTA winner Simon Farnaby, riding high off the success of box office hit Wonka, which he co-wrote with Paul King.

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Ben Gregor (Britannia) is newly aboard to direct the feature, based on the book series by beloved British author Blyton, also known for creating hit kids properties such as Noddy and Famous Five.

Casting is in process on the film, which will be repped for worldwide sales at next month’s EFM by Tamara Birkemoe’s US and UK-based Palisades Park Pictures. CAA Media Finance is co-repping domestic.

Updated for a contemporary audience, The Magic Faraway Tree will follow Polly and Tim and their children Beth, Joe and Fran – a modern family who find themselves forced to relocate to the remote English countryside. Soon after their arrival, the children discover a magical tree and its eccentric residents such as the characters Moonface, Silky, Dame Wash-a-lot 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.

The idea, we hear, is for a modern tone akin to that Farnaby achieved on his Paddington 2 script, which was also co-written with King.

Oscar nominee Pippa Harris (1917) and Nicolas Brown (Penny Dreadful) of Neal Street Productions will produce alongside Danny Perkins (Greatest Days) of Elysian Film Group. Perkins developed the film alongside Harris while running Studiocanal UK, where the project was formerly set up. Ashland Hill Media Finance, whose upcoming credits include The Crow reboot and Wind River: Rising, is fully financing.

“Enid Blyton’s timeless story The Magic Faraway Tree has long been captivating the hearts and minds of children and adults alike, and I have no doubt that Farnaby and Gregor’s adaptation will resonate with modern audiences across the globe,” commented Danny Perkins, CEO, Elysian Film Group. “Pippa and I are thrilled to bring this wonderful project to the big screen with the backing of Ashland Hill Media Finance.”

“The Magic Faraway Tree was the first book I ever read as a child and it captured my imagination like no other. Blyton’s joyous stories explore the importance of family, childhood creativity and the environment, themes which are just as resonant today, if not more so. I’m thrilled to be bringing the delights of this enchanted tree to a whole new generation,” added Pippa Harris, Co-founder, Neal Street Productions.

“The amazing group of filmmakers assembled to bring The Magic Faraway Tree to life for family film audiences worldwide is a testament to the strength of this enchanting and classic story,” said Ashland Hill Media Finance Managing Partner, Simon Williams. “It’s set to be a magical journey both in front and behind the camera and we are thrilled that principal photography is set for June.”

Farnaby most recently penned the screenplay for Warner Bros’ box office and critical hit Wonka starring Timothee Chalamet, which has topped the international box office since its release in December 2023 with a gross of more than $465M worldwide and counting. He also wrote Paddington 2 for Studiocanal and served as creator and writer on the BBC series Ghosts.

Following his debut feature film All Stars, director Gregor has also helmed musical feature Fatherhood and TV projects including BBC’s Black Ops, Cuckoo with Andie MacDowell, and Britannia, starring Sophie Okonedo.

Elysian, which recently released Ghibli movie The Boy And The Heron in the UK, is currently in production on Jim O’Hanlon’s Fackham Hall starring Hero Fiennes Tiffin and Katherine Waterston.

Farnaby is represented by Independent Talent Group and Gallant Management. Gregor is represented by Curtis Brown Group and WME.

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