When it comes to childhood nostalgia, few authors can match the impact of Enid Blyton. Now, The Magic Faraway Tree has been brought to life on the big screen - and it's got a stellar cast of British icons to boot.
The magical new adaptation, directed by Ben Gregor, stars Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy as Tim and Polly Thompson, a couple who relocate to the countryside with their three children (played by Billie Gadsdon, Phoenix Laroche and Delilah Bennett-Cardy). There, they discover a magical tree that transports them to various lands, meeting a varied cast of characters along the way.
It's not just the main family that boasts an A-list lineup. Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan appears alongside giants of TV and film, including Michael Palin, Sir Lenny Henry, Rebecca Ferguson, Jessica Gunning, and more.
HELLO! was at the UK special screening of the film, where we spoke to the cast on the red carpet. Here's what they had to say…
A 'weight of expectation'
While The Magic Faraway Tree is a childhood classic for many, Claire Foy revealed that the story was entirely new to her.
"The first time I read the book was doing the film. I never read it as a child, and so this was my first engagement with it," Claire told HELLO!, revealing that this was an advantage in her approach to the role.
© Getty"I feel really lucky about [that] because I think if I'd read it [then], it would have had such a huge weight of expectation.
"Now that I meet so many people who are saying it's their favourite book and how much they love it and how they read it to their kids, I'm quite pleased that I was at a slight distance from it, to be honest."
Speaking of childhood and nostalgia, what would leading man Andrew Garfield's younger self say if he could see himself now? Taking a moment to reflect on his incredible journey, Andrew smiled as he said: "Wow, you get to play for a living, you lucky thing. How cool that we made it to this place!"
© GettyA close-knit cast
This is the second time we see Andrew and Claire play a husband and wife duo, after the pair played Robin and Diana Cavendish in the 2017 film Breathe. Their easy working relationship was clear for all to see as they reunited on the red carpet. In fact, it was hugs and smiles all around as cast members got together to celebrate.
It was clear to see how the sense of family onscreen had translated onto set, too. Nonso Anozie, who plays Moonface in The Magic Faraway Tree, revealed a sweet cast tradition that had taken place while filming.
"A lot of the time you work with actors, you do your scenes and you don't see each other off set. But on this cast, we would often have dinner, meet up, and actually have a life outside of work."
© GettyBillie Gadsdon, the talented young actress who plays Fran Thompson, spoke highly of her onscreen parents and siblings. "They were my family away from my family. And the same with the Treefolk family, like Nicola, Dustin [Demri-Burns], Nonso and the rest of them. They were both my families away from my family.
"They really just made the whole film so much better."
While we were excited to see so many big names on the carpet together, Sir Lenny Henry, who plays The Great Know-All, had his own superfan moment on set. The comedy icon revealed he was thrilled to work with Andrew Garfield after loving the Spider-Man stories since childhood:
"Now bearing in mind it's a multiverse, I'm judging them all equally. They're all wonderful and Andrew is my favourite.
"I just loved anything that was magical that made me not think about growing up as a working class kid in Dudley, and it worked. Reading and using imagination uplifted me and made me think there's other things than not having enough to eat."
What's next for the cast?
© GettyIt's a busy time for Andrew, who has been working on his latest venture, Wild Things, alongside co-star Jude Law. Andrew gave us an insight into how he has been feeling while working on the project, which follows legendary magicians Siegfried and Roy: "Great, love Jude, it's been a really amazing shoot. We're two months done, two months yet to go."
