March 28, 2026 • 24 mins
In this episode, Benjamin Norris and Brose Avard dive into the nostalgic world of The Magic Faraway Tree. A classic tale that's been adapted into a modern film. They discuss their differing opinions on the movie, with Brose enjoying its whimsical take on the beloved story and Ben being more critical of its changes. They touch on the film's casting, score and cinematography. As well as the challenges of balancing nostalgia with modern storytelling. This conversation is a must-listen for fans of the original book series and anyone interested in the process of adapting classic stories for the big screen.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Get everyone. Welcome back to TV reload. My name is
Benjamin Norris, and once again I am joined by the
man who would absolutely go up the Far Away Tree,
panic and then climb straight back down. Brose Art.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
I don't know if i'd panic, but i'd go halfway
up and need to catch my breath, and then once
I got there, I'd look down and go, what's high.
It's far away, but it's also high up, so I
don't know. Maybe I would go back down. But the
idea of going to the land of goodies, Hey, the
land of goodies. That's right, there are a land of
baked goods, because I reckon that'd be the best land.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Well, mate, we are diving into one of the most
nostalgic properties ever, The Magic Faraway Tree, a story that
is basically raised me. I'm going to say, actually, it
was my mum that raised me, and she read all
of these books to me, so kind of feels that way.
So The Magic Far Away Tree follows a group of
children who discover something pretty incredible hiding in the woods
near their house. It's a towering, enchanted tree that quite
(00:55):
literally stretches into the clouds every time they climb it.
They are transported into a completely new land, each one
with its own rules, its own chaos, and its own
kind of magic. Along the way, they meet a bunch
of eccentric characters like moon Vase, Silky, and a very
chaotic sauceman Man who guide them through these strange and
ever changing worlds. But what starts out as an adventure
(01:16):
quickly becomes something bigger, because not every land is as
friendly as it seems, and getting home isn't always as
simple as climbing back down the tree. To set the
tone for this, here is a thirty second promo. We've
moved to the countryside. Dad's crazy plan is infecting the
whole family, like their childhood is slipping away, Polly, they
(01:40):
can't need this. Just remember, don't go in that wood
up town.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Some folks I hit some jarmt strange creatures. Help you nights.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
You have the usual things. We would say that was
very usual. What does this place? The magic fire away?
It's amazing. At the top of that ladder a lambs.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Let women go, there's loops, except you must leave before
the lanterns.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Otherwise are we stuck there for good? You hear this
book is something that I think a lot of people
grew up with and so I think today what's going
to be very interesting is, Bros, did you grow up
reading these books?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
No? No, I've never read a Magic Faraway book. My
brother has them, apparently he was telling me before, but yeah, no,
I've never read one. I've never heard one, never don't
know the story really, So yeah, I enjoyed this film.
Is that alright to say?
Speaker 1 (02:38):
What is actually going to happen I think with this
film is it's going to divide people. I think people
who were brought up with these books are going to
hate this adaptation. And I think that people who did
not read these books a child are going to love it.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
That's exactly what I said when I left. If you
didn't read these books as a kid, you don't have
any expectations. And the magical, fantastical parts of the books
that they use are awesome, they're great fun. But if
you're expecting it to be a retail telling of a
story from the nineteen forties said in that time, with
all those bits and pieces, you're going to be disappointed.
And you'll probably be disappointed with some of the modern
things that have been included in this film. Look I'll
throw one thing out there. Were you disgusted by moonface
(03:12):
being replaced by moon hair?
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Or that's my number one gripe. That's so well, like, okay,
a pity of the fool who has to come up
and play this character moonface, because it is a very
celebrated character. But it is written on the tin that
the face is of a.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Moon nonzo and nosy, by the way, is moon hair?
He's actually called moonface in this but yes, he has
moon faced hair instead of a moon face.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Why would you do that? Like, honestly, I don't understand why.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Look, I can't explain it because I didn't read the books.
I liked it, but I like the simplification of it.
I thought it was a nice way and it gave
him my dignity, and which was part of the gag
was that he was so dignified yet kind of an idiot.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
So he was also ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Like is it not the true character? Then? Is that
you're telling me?
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Now? I think this is and I have to get
on board with this. This is someone and this person
someone being Ben MacGregor MacGregor. It's his version of this
very classic tale. So look, he has taken a lot
of liberties, you know, And obviously he made some clear
decisions to set this current day. But even still, the
current day seemed like some whimsical fairy tale land like
it almost felt like a lot of this I was
(04:20):
watching a high school production.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Well that's hush. It was much better than a high
school production. What are you talking about. It was produced magnificently,
looked gorgeous.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Nah, I just was expecting it to look more like
my understanding. Yeah, for Ben to have come into this
Ben's head and to have created this film for just me.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
And in the look, that is the point of the film,
and that is the point for everyone that goes to
see it. It's not an adaptation of the literally of
the book's word for word, it's using elements of the
Faraway Tree books into a modern kind of situation. I
thought that framing story in the modern story. I thought
it was excellent. I thought it was great, and I
love the way they unpacked it and the way it
unfolded throughout the movie. But if you love these books
and grab these books, you're going to hate that part
of the movie because you only want the in the
(05:00):
Faraway Lands. Because the Faraway Lands are magnificent. But I
did love the Eurotrash birthday party Elves.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
I thought they were lit again. That felt like I'd
sort of tuned into Eurovision late in the piece, like
I don't know, like did you? So, just to give
people some some context, this is about parents, you know,
that are sort of supposed to be like everyday parents,
like an amalgamation of everyone's sort of parent.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
And it's a working mother, very successful working mother working
in technology. And then you've got.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Well he had stay at home father Dad.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
It was a bit of a dreamer as well.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
I think in some ways as well, they did make
decisions that reminding you that they're making this movie in
twenty twenty six. You know, of course Dad is not
the full time worker, do you know what I mean?
And she's the genius, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
And Andrew Garfield, Andrew Garfield, who is magnificent in this
but anyway, he.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Could not be more unlikable. I thought it was ridiculous.
His costumes were so bad, like they looked like he, Okay,
this is what this movie is for me. Do you
remember when you go to grandma and Grandpa's house and
they would have a box full of what was actual
just old clothes. But his kids you thought were dress ups. Yeah,
(06:11):
you would then go into the back room if your
grandparents house and put on all these dress ups and
come out and do a performance for the adults. That
is the magic, faraway Press.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
That's not true. That's Ben's opinion perspective. I thought it
was magnificent. I thought Garfield was really charismatic. I thought
he was awesome. I thought his frustration seemed real, and
I loved his daggy Italian accent all the way through
it when he's talking about his bus does so stupid
but funny. I thought it was really good.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
I just felt like there was times where he had
to be really happy. And I just can only see
Andrew Garfield thinking inside his head, why am I dressed
like this? Why did I say yes to this movie?
Think about how much money you're being paid, because I'm
assuming it must have been alone.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
This is so bizarre because and it comes down to
a simple thing, right, And he is an example for me.
I always love Peter Jackson as a director. I thought
he is the most amazing creative direct at least he
was when he was younger, and then so when it
was announced he was doing Lord of the Rings. I
was super excited because I love Peter Jackson. So then
I went and read the pair of the books. I
read the first two books before I saw the first
two films, and each time I was like, Oh, it's
(07:10):
not adapted the way I wanted to. And then after
the first two films, after the second film, I'm like, yeah,
but I watched it for the direction, not because of
the books. I'm not a Tolkien fan per se. I
am now, but I wasn't then. And so the third film,
I didn't read the book. I watched the film and
I loved it. I love the way he directed it,
I love the way it was produced, on the way
it looked and everything. And then I read the book
and it was like, oh, well the movie didn't have that,
but I can see why it was taken out. So
if you didn't read these books as a kid, you're
(07:32):
not going to like this film. But it's still a
good I love this film because I've never read these books.
I'm not disappointed. I didn't have a high standards or hopes.
I didn't have a vision in my head of what
it should or shouldn't look like. I didn't know about
a framing story or not a framing story. But this
is also I've never been in this situation with you then,
where we're so diametrically opposed over the quality of a
film which you're only seeing through the lens of your
(07:53):
beloved Enid Blyton and not necessarily through the lens of
an impartial film review.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
But like they were going to go with the fact that, yes,
they managed to work out a way in which this
family would have to move out into somewhere where there
would be a magic, faraway dream. So they you know,
she loves her job. They decide to go through a
little clip book that they'd put together, you know, of
dreams that they have.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
They're at college or university.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Yeah, back in the day. Hey, I'm assuming that they
were stoned on whatever. They decided to take time out
from studying at UNI to put together a scrap book
of dreams. And one of them is just a giant
drawing of tomatoes, which turns out to be the dream
of Andrew Garfield wanting to move to the countryside to make.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
His magic far away tomatoes.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Again, I'm going to go back to no knowledge of
Andrew Garfield's way in which he spends his social time,
but I'm going to say that he's not a podsmoker.
But this character definitely was. Back in the brings three
children who I'm going to describe as the most unlikable
children I've ever seen in Oh No.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
No Friends. Not unlikable, but like, she doesn't talk in
the early parts, but she becomes likable very quickly once
she starts talking.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
The son is so forgettable in this movie that when
the movie finished, I even't forgot what the child looked
like because I, as a child, related to that character.
So that was sort of you wanted to be that
character who I thought I was, you know, the one
in the middle, the middle child that sort of went
along with the eldest one and understood the weird, you know,
younger one. Anyway, I thought that the children and their
(09:27):
acting was terrible, so bad it took me out of
the movie, like again and again and again. Am I
wrong by saying this.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Delilah Bennett Carby played the older daughter, Beth, and I
thought at times she was a bit I don't know,
over the top, or a bit intense, a bit too
much attitude at times, and that is her character. But
there are a couple of lines here or there where
it's a bit over the top, bit much. And then yeah,
I know what he's saying about Joe Joe played by
Phoenix Laroche, same kind of thing. Like I think he
was pushing the attitude of the gaming obsessed technology kind
(09:58):
of kid. So yeah, I can see we saying that
he is a bit forgettable. We gets a good scene
with the fly, the land hopper as we'll call it,
and then Billy Gadson played friend. I thought Billy Gadson
was great. I thought she was electric on screen. I
thought she really did a good job of holding a
space against some very big characters in The Far Away
Tree and Garfield and Fory, so I don't think they're
(10:20):
the worst kid actors I've ever seen, But yeah, I
know what you're saying about the other two kids. It
was a bit painful how much the script and their
performances reminded us exactly who their characters were, and they
were very broad. I hate being in the country. I
hate being in the country. Where's my gaming machine? Why
can't I play games? So I get you.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
There, and then I have to move on to of course,
the people that live up the tree. Now, these characters
are as dear to me as Dorothy from the Wizard
of Oz. But I was really shocked. I mean we
did talk about Moonface, but then like Silky. Did you
know the actress playing Silky.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Yeah, Nicola Coglin, And what did you think of her performance?
Like in terms of the fairy you had in your.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Head, Timu, Rebel Wilson dressed as a fairy is what
I've got. And I know people love her because I
was actually then going on a deep dive and she's
been in like Bridgeton and Harlotte's Dairy Girls.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
I'd much prefer her than Rebel Wilson any day of
the week. By the way, I Rebelilson his team who
up and down and all over.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
So I felt like, you know when you turn up
inside the Magic Faraway Tree and you meet these magical
characters that every single bit about them is just like
you know, the Charlotte's Web characters, like they're so dear
to you you love them. And this is also a
good point to make at this point, and that is
I loved the Paddington movies and this movie was sold
(11:33):
to me as by the makers of Paddington. You know,
there's a few connections from Paddington movies to this one.
So it's not like I don't understand kids books being
turned into feature films.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
It's not like Paddington was brought to a modern ear
or two or wasn't set in its original era either.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Everything came together with Paddington that was really seamless. Like okay,
I then move away from some of these magical characters,
including sorcemam Man.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Did you like Sorceman Man?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
I loved the Sorceman Man. I love and he in
this For some reason, they gave him a gag of
having to take off all of his saucepans. That's just
who he is, and they had him in his underpants.
I was like, no, do not do this to the saucepan.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Man got his Sorceman's bag and they all agreed, he's
better with the saucepans though, I mean, you know, at
least they they backed up the sauceman play.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
If only they could make the same adjustment with giving
Moonface his Moonface back.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
What did you think of miss uh No, sorry, dame,
I forget she was a dame wash a lot, which
is Jessica Dunning from Reindeer. Did you like her at all.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
I thought she was probably the best out of all
the casting.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
I loved her. I thought she was great.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
She was so good, and she also looked like she
was having a lot of fun in this. But I
would have really liked it if she did a baby
reindeer reference to the adult What did she used to
sign off her messages with little I don't know accent.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
I'm not even going to try trying to you do
it Scottish accent, having got any glease, woman, I'm not
going to do a lot of Reindy though.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Baby Raindy. So Rebecca Ferguson gets to play the villain
in this. This is a snap, Dame snap.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I didn't. It didn't dawn on me immediately that it
was Rebecca Ferguson. It was only w in the longest
scene later and I'm like, oh, that's Ferguson. She looks
quite different to Mission Impossible Order else. Yeah, isn't she
in Jumunji?
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Yeah, ju Munjie Jumanji depends on I think they call
it Jumanji. And I'm always getting so confused. Haven't you
seen that SNL clip where Christine's playing Jumanji and she's like,
and they keep calling it Jumanji, and you're like Jumungi.
Even in the movie Jumunji, they ju Munji and they
speak like maybe he says and Elk didn't have the
(13:36):
rights to.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Maybe the podcast should be pet Pee Friday.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
That's maybe this is true, that I am actually just
having a bad week and so this movie. Maybe I
will rewatch this movie again and love this film. There's
a good possibility that I may return to it because
all of my expectations will have washed away and I
will be able to enjoy it for the magic and
the wonder that it is that it is. What I
(14:00):
think did hurt this film the most is how many
times they went to the Magic Faraway Tree.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Yeah, we only went three times in all, and only
was it three times? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Three times?
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Yeah, yeah, twice with all three kids and only once
with just frown on our own. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Correct. So it sort of feels like the movie only
had two big adventures. I think I spent a lot
of the time on the farm wanting to go up
the tree again. I was like, if you've got that
magic Faraway Tree, y'ah highly going to go and stay
in the barn. You know, the bum the parents bought
for a dollar fifty with no electricity.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
But pounds apparently, which they're going to make back from
selling tomato sauce.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
There wasn't enough people in the town, and also they
put up advertising everywhere to be like, come to this
special opening of the source opening and anyway, the townsfolk
are on their way trying to get there, and there's
like fifteen of them, so there's only fifteen orders.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
They tried really hard to make that look like a
big crowd too, the way they shot it, but it
wasn't tricking anyone. They didn't have enough extras that day,
did they.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
They really did not have the extras. They didn't have
the budget.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
No, apparently they spend it all on cgi and moon
shaped wigs.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
So what are your thoughts on the trips to the tree?
Do you think that they maximized that possibility of adventure
because I felt like we didn't even go to enough lands.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Well, ultimately, this film is not about the tree adventures.
This particular film is about the tomato farm, right, and
that's where obviously a faraway tree fans are going to
be disappointed. We're not going for a ninety minute faraway
tree adventure. We're going for a ninety minute tomato farm
adventure that is helped and or harmed or whatever by
adventures in the Far Away Tree. And so by the
(15:33):
end of the film, when the film wrapped up and
it felt like a really nice resolution and there were
no real big gaps, you're still kind of left thinking, Ah,
we didn't go to the lands very often, except that
it's an open ended to a degree. There's an open
ending to this film, and we're obviously going to get
a sequel, or at least if it does well, we'll
get a sequel, which I assume will involve possibly Garfield.
They hint at Garfield possibly going back to the Far
Away Tree. Without giving too much away, I think that's
(15:56):
one thing you can take either way. I guess you
may be looking forward to a sequel, but there will
be more tree adventures, and the tree adventures are the
most fun parts of this film. So they've kind of
taken the magic Far Away Tree books. They're using them
to inform another plot. But we will get more adventures
hopefully if this film does well. What did you think
(16:16):
of the score? Isabella Summers did the score. She did
all the music for Physical on Apple with Rose Burn
as well, which is quite cool.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
I thought that the score was fine. I thought it
was magnificent. Yeah, I thought that delivered with the whimsy.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Yeah, no, I really love the score and there's some
really nice pieces and she does the orchestral as well
as some kind of acoustic guitar music and other bits
and pieces which suit each situation. Over the credits, Garfield
singing the Family Song was awesome, to a really nice
touch where he plays two characters. He plays the lead
singer of the country band singing the family song and
then like a really Southern American sounding yahoo kind of
(16:52):
echoing the lead singer and doing silly stuff, which I
thought kids would absolutely love as well, And I love
that part. But yeah, the score I thought was magnificent.
It doesn't look like the preview. I think the preview
was a bad choice. The preview looked tacky, looked like
it was trying to promote a different film, essentially, because
this is a really but it's got a beautiful rural
element to it, like really beautiful scenes and locations, really
well shot, and then the fantastical parts are just really
(17:13):
well done, almost like seventies McDonald's ads or something a
bit more past ali in some and others, but you know,
it's got that real Willy Wonka kind of feel in
those moments, which I think works perfectly. Whereas I don't
know what they did with the trailer. I think they
made the wrong choices with the trailer with the preview
showing people what the film was looking like, because it
looks so much better than it did, and the tree
looks incredible. I want to go and visit a tree
like that.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Yeah, we would definitely go up that tree. Run.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Oh, I'd get into that tree, No orry about that.
I'll be all over that tree. But yeah, I love
that element. And the cinematography we should mention about as well.
We wouldn't have those magnificent rural shots and things, the
big empty field, and then the way they shot the
woods was very good, as well as Zach Nicholson who
did lay misserab and did what was the other one?
(17:55):
The King's speech like there's a guy that's got some
experience but very good at shooting Englandish countryside looks look magnificent.
So those elements were spectacular. It's the nostalgia you didn't
get from it, though, That's the big problem. Isn't it Well?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Yeah, And I also found with the tree itself, I
also felt that to be a little bit clunky because
they'd sort of arrive at a you know, the middle
point of the tree, and then to get to the
other lands they would go up this step ladder. And
also the choice of like, hey, let's just put on
a record bump bump, bump, and disappearing land.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
So yeah, right, okay, So some of those elements you
didn't like that the changes and there was just no
nostalgia for you in this whatsoever. I know exactly how
you feel because I used to be a huge old
alphan and watching your adaptations and missing those elements. The
first time I saw Matilda, I wasn't happy that it
was American, for instance, because it's an English story in
Matilda's English, and little bits and leasers they changed throughout
that I didn't like. But you know, now you know,
(18:49):
decades later, I love that film. I think it's a
lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
So isn't it weird where you do that bog? This
happens with everyone who reads books, and I think that
nine times out of ten of your a book reads.
So it's why reading books is bad imagination could never
be duplicated or replicated, is what I'm saying, except for
just maybe the director Ben McGregor. This is his version,
this is what he always had imagined.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
And that being said, do you think this might have
been a compromise to some degree as well? That you know,
he wants to adapt this book for whatever reason, But
you've got a studio, you've got marketing, you've got to
sell it. You know, it's got to be valid or
accessible for current audiences. I mean, my brother said a
good thing. I said, Look, if you're a fan of
the books, you probably won't love the film. And he said, well,
I guess that's okay, because if this film is seen
by people that haven't read the books and it makes
(19:30):
them read the books, then maybe that's a better thing anyway.
But I think it would have been nice if it
appealed to Ben the audience who've read the book, and
brow to the audience that have never read the book.
Like maybe it should have been a bit of balance
between the two.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
With some films that have been made from my childhood
or films that I saw in my childhood, I can
watch them, I can smell my childhood. Do you know
what I mean. That's when the movie has done their
job correctly, when they can transport you back to that
feeling of being a child. Did not get this. But
what I would say though, was the costuming. I thought
that that was a conscious decision to make the costumes
(20:04):
look like they were achievable costumes that people could make
at home, like without going too far into making these
characters larger than life. I don't know, like, what did
you think of their decisions with costuming.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
I thought Goody's Land was really cool, and I love
the pink police outfit. I thought that was brilliant. But
generally I like the costumes. I think the idea of
the costumes is they needed to contrast with what the
kids were wearing. The kids costumes were, as in what
they were wearing as normal clothing were a bit dated,
and I found that a bit weird. The oldest sister
obviously wore all black, very Melbourne of her, and that
was fine. But their youngest daughter, friend was you know,
(20:37):
kind of wearing something kind of seventies or something or sixties,
was a bit more conservative, which is fine, but I
don't know if it quite worked. I think it made
her look a bit out of place. And the boy,
I mean, no one remembers the brothers so that it
doesn't matter what he was wearing.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Well, he did turn into that amazing anime character at
one point, you know, I thought that was quite clever.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
The game character. Yeah, like a well mine shot mine minecraft.
I thought that was really tasty. But that was really funny.
I didn't quite get the friend and the voice thing,
but that's fine too, It doesn't matter.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
That was another decision that I was like, No, this
is really this is bad. I was not enjoying that.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
It was odd. It was odd to say the least.
But yeah, what are your what's your final thoughts? And
I assume it's a very low score for you personally,
But do you see that it would appeal to people
that haven't read the book.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
I do really like children's films because I like the idea,
the notion of families getting together and watching content together.
I don't think the word content's right there, but like,
from that aspect, I think I really want people to
see this film. So if you're listening to this, I
almost want you to go along, because if you are
going to hate it, just go along and hate it.
But like take some kids, if you've got nephews, go
and enjoy this film for what it is. And I
(21:41):
do believe that my tree will grow with stars as
time goes on. But my review today, what I'm going
to say is this movie gets five stars, and I
remove four and a half stars for the abomination of
what they did the moonface. So this movie is half
a star for me. And I've never never been more
enraged in a cinema. Like literally, someone I knew saw
(22:03):
me and said, like they could, I was like pulling
at my hair and just like flicking it in the air.
What the fuck? Like?
Speaker 2 (22:14):
So very personal reaction, very emotional personal response response from you,
not necessarily reflecting the quality of the screenplay, the direction,
or the film in any way, just your childhood being
ruined in front of your eyes, like walking in and
seeing your parents having sex. You know, That's what this
film was weird that being said as harsh as you
say it is. This is a very good gateway film
to the Magic Faraway Tree books. So if you've always
(22:37):
wanted your kids to read the books you loved as
a kid, then maybe take them to this film, introduce
them to the world, and then share the in Ben's opinion,
far superior text based adventures that have existed for a
long time. But yeah, I definitely go along and say
it was I had so much fun. Despite Ben's reaction
to it, I just thought, and I love a kid's film,
and I hate a bad kids film or a bad
(22:59):
family film. And this is a nice pace. It was
nice energy, and I really really enjoyed it. So and
how many stars? How many start diges? I'm going to
be a four four stars? Yeah, this is a four
starts your family film?
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Right? Did you imagine how many stars he would have
given this if Moonface actually had a moonface?
Speaker 2 (23:18):
I do wanted to see Lunar park walking into the
tree and letting people into his mouth to ride rides.
I don't know what I'm talking about, but yeah, no,
I enjoyed it four out of five for me.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Well, next week we have an exciting film to pop
ourselves along too. I think it'd be a very different
change of pace to The Magic Far Away Tree, and
it is something that I do enjoy. And that is
The Drama. This film is called The Drama, and it
is with Robert Patterson and Zendaya. Do you did you
come across Sandea bros. With watching you. What's it called Utopia? No?
Speaker 2 (23:50):
What's is utopia?
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Yeah? Utopia?
Speaker 2 (23:52):
No, it's a spider Man spider Man? Is that where
you know you.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
First came across her in Spider Man? So is that? Okay?
I love her as an actress.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
She makes great choices. She's a great actor, like she
spends a lot of time, makes great I was going
to say she makes great role choices, but then makes
great choices when she's acting as well. Yeah, and she
has dignity, she holds herself. She's a private person and
I like all that stuff as well. Like she just
got married and they didn't tell anyone. How great is that?
Speaker 1 (24:17):
And she also who did she marry Spider Man? Spider Man?
And she'd actually married him in real life? That's crazy.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Yes, So next week the drama.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
If you are looking for little less drama, but something
fun to do with the children, take them along to
the Magic Faraway Tree. We do need more films like
this for families. Don't listen to cranky old me, Take
a popcorn, eat a boys and Bridge chok top and
go up the tree and have a good time. Enjoy
Get everyone. Welcome back to TV reload. My name is
Benjamin Norris, and once again I am joined by the
man who would absolutely go up the Far Away Tree,
panic and then climb straight back down. Brose Art.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
I don't know if i'd panic, but i'd go halfway
up and need to catch my breath, and then once
I got there, I'd look down and go, what's high.
It's far away, but it's also high up, so I
don't know. Maybe I would go back down. But the
idea of going to the land of goodies, Hey, the
land of goodies. That's right, there are a land of
baked goods, because I reckon that'd be the best land.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Well, mate, we are diving into one of the most
nostalgic properties ever, The Magic Faraway Tree, a story that
is basically raised me. I'm going to say, actually, it
was my mum that raised me, and she read all
of these books to me, so kind of feels that way.
So The Magic Far Away Tree follows a group of
children who discover something pretty incredible hiding in the woods
near their house. It's a towering, enchanted tree that quite
(00:55):
literally stretches into the clouds every time they climb it.
They are transported into a completely new land, each one
with its own rules, its own chaos, and its own
kind of magic. Along the way, they meet a bunch
of eccentric characters like moon Vase, Silky, and a very
chaotic sauceman Man who guide them through these strange and
ever changing worlds. But what starts out as an adventure
(01:16):
quickly becomes something bigger, because not every land is as
friendly as it seems, and getting home isn't always as
simple as climbing back down the tree. To set the
tone for this, here is a thirty second promo. We've
moved to the countryside. Dad's crazy plan is infecting the
whole family, like their childhood is slipping away, Polly, they
(01:40):
can't need this. Just remember, don't go in that wood
up town.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Some folks I hit some jarmt strange creatures. Help you nights.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
You have the usual things. We would say that was
very usual. What does this place? The magic fire away?
It's amazing. At the top of that ladder a lambs.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Let women go, there's loops, except you must leave before
the lanterns.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Otherwise are we stuck there for good? You hear this
book is something that I think a lot of people
grew up with and so I think today what's going
to be very interesting is, Bros, did you grow up
reading these books?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
No? No, I've never read a Magic Faraway book. My
brother has them, apparently he was telling me before, but yeah, no,
I've never read one. I've never heard one, never don't
know the story really, So yeah, I enjoyed this film.
Is that alright to say?
Speaker 1 (02:38):
What is actually going to happen I think with this
film is it's going to divide people. I think people
who were brought up with these books are going to
hate this adaptation. And I think that people who did
not read these books a child are going to love it.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
That's exactly what I said when I left. If you
didn't read these books as a kid, you don't have
any expectations. And the magical, fantastical parts of the books
that they use are awesome, they're great fun. But if
you're expecting it to be a retail telling of a
story from the nineteen forties said in that time, with
all those bits and pieces, you're going to be disappointed.
And you'll probably be disappointed with some of the modern
things that have been included in this film. Look I'll
throw one thing out there. Were you disgusted by moonface
(03:12):
being replaced by moon hair?
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Or that's my number one gripe. That's so well, like, okay,
a pity of the fool who has to come up
and play this character moonface, because it is a very
celebrated character. But it is written on the tin that
the face is of a.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Moon nonzo and nosy, by the way, is moon hair?
He's actually called moonface in this but yes, he has
moon faced hair instead of a moon face.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Why would you do that? Like, honestly, I don't understand why.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Look, I can't explain it because I didn't read the books.
I liked it, but I like the simplification of it.
I thought it was a nice way and it gave
him my dignity, and which was part of the gag
was that he was so dignified yet kind of an idiot.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
So he was also ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Like is it not the true character? Then? Is that
you're telling me?
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Now? I think this is and I have to get
on board with this. This is someone and this person
someone being Ben MacGregor MacGregor. It's his version of this
very classic tale. So look, he has taken a lot
of liberties, you know, And obviously he made some clear
decisions to set this current day. But even still, the
current day seemed like some whimsical fairy tale land like
it almost felt like a lot of this I was
(04:20):
watching a high school production.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Well that's hush. It was much better than a high
school production. What are you talking about. It was produced magnificently,
looked gorgeous.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Nah, I just was expecting it to look more like
my understanding. Yeah, for Ben to have come into this
Ben's head and to have created this film for just me.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
And in the look, that is the point of the film,
and that is the point for everyone that goes to
see it. It's not an adaptation of the literally of
the book's word for word, it's using elements of the
Faraway Tree books into a modern kind of situation. I
thought that framing story in the modern story. I thought
it was excellent. I thought it was great, and I
love the way they unpacked it and the way it
unfolded throughout the movie. But if you love these books
and grab these books, you're going to hate that part
of the movie because you only want the in the
(05:00):
Faraway Lands. Because the Faraway Lands are magnificent. But I
did love the Eurotrash birthday party Elves.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
I thought they were lit again. That felt like I'd
sort of tuned into Eurovision late in the piece, like
I don't know, like did you? So, just to give
people some some context, this is about parents, you know,
that are sort of supposed to be like everyday parents,
like an amalgamation of everyone's sort of parent.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
And it's a working mother, very successful working mother working
in technology. And then you've got.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Well he had stay at home father Dad.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
It was a bit of a dreamer as well.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
I think in some ways as well, they did make
decisions that reminding you that they're making this movie in
twenty twenty six. You know, of course Dad is not
the full time worker, do you know what I mean?
And she's the genius, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
And Andrew Garfield, Andrew Garfield, who is magnificent in this
but anyway, he.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Could not be more unlikable. I thought it was ridiculous.
His costumes were so bad, like they looked like he, Okay,
this is what this movie is for me. Do you
remember when you go to grandma and Grandpa's house and
they would have a box full of what was actual
just old clothes. But his kids you thought were dress ups. Yeah,
(06:11):
you would then go into the back room if your
grandparents house and put on all these dress ups and
come out and do a performance for the adults. That
is the magic, faraway Press.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
That's not true. That's Ben's opinion perspective. I thought it
was magnificent. I thought Garfield was really charismatic. I thought
he was awesome. I thought his frustration seemed real, and
I loved his daggy Italian accent all the way through
it when he's talking about his bus does so stupid
but funny. I thought it was really good.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
I just felt like there was times where he had
to be really happy. And I just can only see
Andrew Garfield thinking inside his head, why am I dressed
like this? Why did I say yes to this movie?
Think about how much money you're being paid, because I'm
assuming it must have been alone.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
This is so bizarre because and it comes down to
a simple thing, right, And he is an example for me.
I always love Peter Jackson as a director. I thought
he is the most amazing creative direct at least he
was when he was younger, and then so when it
was announced he was doing Lord of the Rings. I
was super excited because I love Peter Jackson. So then
I went and read the pair of the books. I
read the first two books before I saw the first
two films, and each time I was like, Oh, it's
(07:10):
not adapted the way I wanted to. And then after
the first two films, after the second film, I'm like, yeah,
but I watched it for the direction, not because of
the books. I'm not a Tolkien fan per se. I
am now, but I wasn't then. And so the third film,
I didn't read the book. I watched the film and
I loved it. I love the way he directed it,
I love the way it was produced, on the way
it looked and everything. And then I read the book
and it was like, oh, well the movie didn't have that,
but I can see why it was taken out. So
if you didn't read these books as a kid, you're
(07:32):
not going to like this film. But it's still a
good I love this film because I've never read these books.
I'm not disappointed. I didn't have a high standards or hopes.
I didn't have a vision in my head of what
it should or shouldn't look like. I didn't know about
a framing story or not a framing story. But this
is also I've never been in this situation with you then,
where we're so diametrically opposed over the quality of a
film which you're only seeing through the lens of your
(07:53):
beloved Enid Blyton and not necessarily through the lens of
an impartial film review.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
But like they were going to go with the fact that, yes,
they managed to work out a way in which this
family would have to move out into somewhere where there
would be a magic, faraway dream. So they you know,
she loves her job. They decide to go through a
little clip book that they'd put together, you know, of
dreams that they have.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
They're at college or university.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Yeah, back in the day. Hey, I'm assuming that they
were stoned on whatever. They decided to take time out
from studying at UNI to put together a scrap book
of dreams. And one of them is just a giant
drawing of tomatoes, which turns out to be the dream
of Andrew Garfield wanting to move to the countryside to make.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
His magic far away tomatoes.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Again, I'm going to go back to no knowledge of
Andrew Garfield's way in which he spends his social time,
but I'm going to say that he's not a podsmoker.
But this character definitely was. Back in the brings three
children who I'm going to describe as the most unlikable
children I've ever seen in Oh No.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
No Friends. Not unlikable, but like, she doesn't talk in
the early parts, but she becomes likable very quickly once
she starts talking.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
The son is so forgettable in this movie that when
the movie finished, I even't forgot what the child looked
like because I, as a child, related to that character.
So that was sort of you wanted to be that
character who I thought I was, you know, the one
in the middle, the middle child that sort of went
along with the eldest one and understood the weird, you know,
younger one. Anyway, I thought that the children and their
(09:27):
acting was terrible, so bad it took me out of
the movie, like again and again and again. Am I
wrong by saying this.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Delilah Bennett Carby played the older daughter, Beth, and I
thought at times she was a bit I don't know,
over the top, or a bit intense, a bit too
much attitude at times, and that is her character. But
there are a couple of lines here or there where
it's a bit over the top, bit much. And then yeah,
I know what he's saying about Joe Joe played by
Phoenix Laroche, same kind of thing. Like I think he
was pushing the attitude of the gaming obsessed technology kind
(09:58):
of kid. So yeah, I can see we saying that
he is a bit forgettable. We gets a good scene
with the fly, the land hopper as we'll call it,
and then Billy Gadson played friend. I thought Billy Gadson
was great. I thought she was electric on screen. I
thought she really did a good job of holding a
space against some very big characters in The Far Away
Tree and Garfield and Fory, so I don't think they're
(10:20):
the worst kid actors I've ever seen, But yeah, I
know what you're saying about the other two kids. It
was a bit painful how much the script and their
performances reminded us exactly who their characters were, and they
were very broad. I hate being in the country. I
hate being in the country. Where's my gaming machine? Why
can't I play games? So I get you.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
There, and then I have to move on to of course,
the people that live up the tree. Now, these characters
are as dear to me as Dorothy from the Wizard
of Oz. But I was really shocked. I mean we
did talk about Moonface, but then like Silky. Did you
know the actress playing Silky.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Yeah, Nicola Coglin, And what did you think of her performance?
Like in terms of the fairy you had in your.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Head, Timu, Rebel Wilson dressed as a fairy is what
I've got. And I know people love her because I
was actually then going on a deep dive and she's
been in like Bridgeton and Harlotte's Dairy Girls.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
I'd much prefer her than Rebel Wilson any day of
the week. By the way, I Rebelilson his team who
up and down and all over.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
So I felt like, you know when you turn up
inside the Magic Faraway Tree and you meet these magical
characters that every single bit about them is just like
you know, the Charlotte's Web characters, like they're so dear
to you you love them. And this is also a
good point to make at this point, and that is
I loved the Paddington movies and this movie was sold
(11:33):
to me as by the makers of Paddington. You know,
there's a few connections from Paddington movies to this one.
So it's not like I don't understand kids books being
turned into feature films.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
It's not like Paddington was brought to a modern ear
or two or wasn't set in its original era either.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Everything came together with Paddington that was really seamless. Like okay,
I then move away from some of these magical characters,
including sorcemam Man.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Did you like Sorceman Man?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
I loved the Sorceman Man. I love and he in
this For some reason, they gave him a gag of
having to take off all of his saucepans. That's just
who he is, and they had him in his underpants.
I was like, no, do not do this to the saucepan.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Man got his Sorceman's bag and they all agreed, he's
better with the saucepans though, I mean, you know, at
least they they backed up the sauceman play.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
If only they could make the same adjustment with giving
Moonface his Moonface back.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
What did you think of miss uh No, sorry, dame,
I forget she was a dame wash a lot, which
is Jessica Dunning from Reindeer. Did you like her at all.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
I thought she was probably the best out of all
the casting.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
I loved her. I thought she was great.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
She was so good, and she also looked like she
was having a lot of fun in this. But I
would have really liked it if she did a baby
reindeer reference to the adult What did she used to
sign off her messages with little I don't know accent.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
I'm not even going to try trying to you do
it Scottish accent, having got any glease, woman, I'm not
going to do a lot of Reindy though.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Baby Raindy. So Rebecca Ferguson gets to play the villain
in this. This is a snap, Dame snap.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I didn't. It didn't dawn on me immediately that it
was Rebecca Ferguson. It was only w in the longest
scene later and I'm like, oh, that's Ferguson. She looks
quite different to Mission Impossible Order else. Yeah, isn't she
in Jumunji?
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Yeah, ju Munjie Jumanji depends on I think they call
it Jumanji. And I'm always getting so confused. Haven't you
seen that SNL clip where Christine's playing Jumanji and she's like,
and they keep calling it Jumanji, and you're like Jumungi.
Even in the movie Jumunji, they ju Munji and they
speak like maybe he says and Elk didn't have the
(13:36):
rights to.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Maybe the podcast should be pet Pee Friday.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
That's maybe this is true, that I am actually just
having a bad week and so this movie. Maybe I
will rewatch this movie again and love this film. There's
a good possibility that I may return to it because
all of my expectations will have washed away and I
will be able to enjoy it for the magic and
the wonder that it is that it is. What I
(14:00):
think did hurt this film the most is how many
times they went to the Magic Faraway Tree.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Yeah, we only went three times in all, and only
was it three times? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Three times?
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Yeah, yeah, twice with all three kids and only once
with just frown on our own. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Correct. So it sort of feels like the movie only
had two big adventures. I think I spent a lot
of the time on the farm wanting to go up
the tree again. I was like, if you've got that
magic Faraway Tree, y'ah highly going to go and stay
in the barn. You know, the bum the parents bought
for a dollar fifty with no electricity.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
But pounds apparently, which they're going to make back from
selling tomato sauce.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
There wasn't enough people in the town, and also they
put up advertising everywhere to be like, come to this
special opening of the source opening and anyway, the townsfolk
are on their way trying to get there, and there's
like fifteen of them, so there's only fifteen orders.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
They tried really hard to make that look like a
big crowd too, the way they shot it, but it
wasn't tricking anyone. They didn't have enough extras that day,
did they.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
They really did not have the extras. They didn't have
the budget.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
No, apparently they spend it all on cgi and moon
shaped wigs.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
So what are your thoughts on the trips to the tree?
Do you think that they maximized that possibility of adventure
because I felt like we didn't even go to enough lands.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Well, ultimately, this film is not about the tree adventures.
This particular film is about the tomato farm, right, and
that's where obviously a faraway tree fans are going to
be disappointed. We're not going for a ninety minute faraway
tree adventure. We're going for a ninety minute tomato farm
adventure that is helped and or harmed or whatever by
adventures in the Far Away Tree. And so by the
(15:33):
end of the film, when the film wrapped up and
it felt like a really nice resolution and there were
no real big gaps, you're still kind of left thinking, Ah,
we didn't go to the lands very often, except that
it's an open ended to a degree. There's an open
ending to this film, and we're obviously going to get
a sequel, or at least if it does well, we'll
get a sequel, which I assume will involve possibly Garfield.
They hint at Garfield possibly going back to the Far
Away Tree. Without giving too much away, I think that's
(15:56):
one thing you can take either way. I guess you
may be looking forward to a sequel, but there will
be more tree adventures, and the tree adventures are the
most fun parts of this film. So they've kind of
taken the magic Far Away Tree books. They're using them
to inform another plot. But we will get more adventures
hopefully if this film does well. What did you think
(16:16):
of the score? Isabella Summers did the score. She did
all the music for Physical on Apple with Rose Burn
as well, which is quite cool.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
I thought that the score was fine. I thought it
was magnificent. Yeah, I thought that delivered with the whimsy.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Yeah, no, I really love the score and there's some
really nice pieces and she does the orchestral as well
as some kind of acoustic guitar music and other bits
and pieces which suit each situation. Over the credits, Garfield
singing the Family Song was awesome, to a really nice
touch where he plays two characters. He plays the lead
singer of the country band singing the family song and
then like a really Southern American sounding yahoo kind of
(16:52):
echoing the lead singer and doing silly stuff, which I
thought kids would absolutely love as well, And I love
that part. But yeah, the score I thought was magnificent.
It doesn't look like the preview. I think the preview
was a bad choice. The preview looked tacky, looked like
it was trying to promote a different film, essentially, because
this is a really but it's got a beautiful rural
element to it, like really beautiful scenes and locations, really
well shot, and then the fantastical parts are just really
(17:13):
well done, almost like seventies McDonald's ads or something a
bit more past ali in some and others, but you know,
it's got that real Willy Wonka kind of feel in
those moments, which I think works perfectly. Whereas I don't
know what they did with the trailer. I think they
made the wrong choices with the trailer with the preview
showing people what the film was looking like, because it
looks so much better than it did, and the tree
looks incredible. I want to go and visit a tree
like that.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Yeah, we would definitely go up that tree. Run.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Oh, I'd get into that tree, No orry about that.
I'll be all over that tree. But yeah, I love
that element. And the cinematography we should mention about as well.
We wouldn't have those magnificent rural shots and things, the
big empty field, and then the way they shot the
woods was very good, as well as Zach Nicholson who
did lay misserab and did what was the other one?
(17:55):
The King's speech like there's a guy that's got some
experience but very good at shooting Englandish countryside looks look magnificent.
So those elements were spectacular. It's the nostalgia you didn't
get from it, though, That's the big problem. Isn't it Well?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Yeah, And I also found with the tree itself, I
also felt that to be a little bit clunky because
they'd sort of arrive at a you know, the middle
point of the tree, and then to get to the
other lands they would go up this step ladder. And
also the choice of like, hey, let's just put on
a record bump bump, bump, and disappearing land.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
So yeah, right, okay, So some of those elements you
didn't like that the changes and there was just no
nostalgia for you in this whatsoever. I know exactly how
you feel because I used to be a huge old
alphan and watching your adaptations and missing those elements. The
first time I saw Matilda, I wasn't happy that it
was American, for instance, because it's an English story in
Matilda's English, and little bits and leasers they changed throughout
that I didn't like. But you know, now you know,
(18:49):
decades later, I love that film. I think it's a
lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
So isn't it weird where you do that bog? This
happens with everyone who reads books, and I think that
nine times out of ten of your a book reads.
So it's why reading books is bad imagination could never
be duplicated or replicated, is what I'm saying, except for
just maybe the director Ben McGregor. This is his version,
this is what he always had imagined.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
And that being said, do you think this might have
been a compromise to some degree as well? That you know,
he wants to adapt this book for whatever reason, But
you've got a studio, you've got marketing, you've got to
sell it. You know, it's got to be valid or
accessible for current audiences. I mean, my brother said a
good thing. I said, Look, if you're a fan of
the books, you probably won't love the film. And he said, well,
I guess that's okay, because if this film is seen
by people that haven't read the books and it makes
(19:30):
them read the books, then maybe that's a better thing anyway.
But I think it would have been nice if it
appealed to Ben the audience who've read the book, and
brow to the audience that have never read the book.
Like maybe it should have been a bit of balance
between the two.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
With some films that have been made from my childhood
or films that I saw in my childhood, I can
watch them, I can smell my childhood. Do you know
what I mean. That's when the movie has done their
job correctly, when they can transport you back to that
feeling of being a child. Did not get this. But
what I would say though, was the costuming. I thought
that that was a conscious decision to make the costumes
(20:04):
look like they were achievable costumes that people could make
at home, like without going too far into making these
characters larger than life. I don't know, like, what did
you think of their decisions with costuming.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
I thought Goody's Land was really cool, and I love
the pink police outfit. I thought that was brilliant. But
generally I like the costumes. I think the idea of
the costumes is they needed to contrast with what the
kids were wearing. The kids costumes were, as in what
they were wearing as normal clothing were a bit dated,
and I found that a bit weird. The oldest sister
obviously wore all black, very Melbourne of her, and that
was fine. But their youngest daughter, friend was you know,
(20:37):
kind of wearing something kind of seventies or something or sixties,
was a bit more conservative, which is fine, but I
don't know if it quite worked. I think it made
her look a bit out of place. And the boy,
I mean, no one remembers the brothers so that it
doesn't matter what he was wearing.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Well, he did turn into that amazing anime character at
one point, you know, I thought that was quite clever.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
The game character. Yeah, like a well mine shot mine minecraft.
I thought that was really tasty. But that was really funny.
I didn't quite get the friend and the voice thing,
but that's fine too, It doesn't matter.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
That was another decision that I was like, No, this
is really this is bad. I was not enjoying that.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
It was odd. It was odd to say the least.
But yeah, what are your what's your final thoughts? And
I assume it's a very low score for you personally,
But do you see that it would appeal to people
that haven't read the book.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
I do really like children's films because I like the idea,
the notion of families getting together and watching content together.
I don't think the word content's right there, but like,
from that aspect, I think I really want people to
see this film. So if you're listening to this, I
almost want you to go along, because if you are
going to hate it, just go along and hate it.
But like take some kids, if you've got nephews, go
and enjoy this film for what it is. And I
(21:41):
do believe that my tree will grow with stars as
time goes on. But my review today, what I'm going
to say is this movie gets five stars, and I
remove four and a half stars for the abomination of
what they did the moonface. So this movie is half
a star for me. And I've never never been more
enraged in a cinema. Like literally, someone I knew saw
(22:03):
me and said, like they could, I was like pulling
at my hair and just like flicking it in the air.
What the fuck? Like?
Speaker 2 (22:14):
So very personal reaction, very emotional personal response response from you,
not necessarily reflecting the quality of the screenplay, the direction,
or the film in any way, just your childhood being
ruined in front of your eyes, like walking in and
seeing your parents having sex. You know, That's what this
film was weird that being said as harsh as you
say it is. This is a very good gateway film
to the Magic Faraway Tree books. So if you've always
(22:37):
wanted your kids to read the books you loved as
a kid, then maybe take them to this film, introduce
them to the world, and then share the in Ben's opinion,
far superior text based adventures that have existed for a
long time. But yeah, I definitely go along and say
it was I had so much fun. Despite Ben's reaction
to it, I just thought, and I love a kid's film,
and I hate a bad kids film or a bad
(22:59):
family film. And this is a nice pace. It was
nice energy, and I really really enjoyed it. So and
how many stars? How many start diges? I'm going to
be a four four stars? Yeah, this is a four
starts your family film?
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Right? Did you imagine how many stars he would have
given this if Moonface actually had a moonface?
Speaker 2 (23:18):
I do wanted to see Lunar park walking into the
tree and letting people into his mouth to ride rides.
I don't know what I'm talking about, but yeah, no,
I enjoyed it four out of five for me.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Well, next week we have an exciting film to pop
ourselves along too. I think it'd be a very different
change of pace to The Magic Far Away Tree, and
it is something that I do enjoy. And that is
The Drama. This film is called The Drama, and it
is with Robert Patterson and Zendaya. Do you did you
come across Sandea bros. With watching you. What's it called Utopia? No?
Speaker 2 (23:50):
What's is utopia?
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Yeah? Utopia?
Speaker 2 (23:52):
No, it's a spider Man spider Man? Is that where
you know you.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
First came across her in Spider Man? So is that? Okay?
I love her as an actress.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
She makes great choices. She's a great actor, like she
spends a lot of time, makes great I was going
to say she makes great role choices, but then makes
great choices when she's acting as well. Yeah, and she
has dignity, she holds herself. She's a private person and
I like all that stuff as well. Like she just
got married and they didn't tell anyone. How great is that?
Speaker 1 (24:17):
And she also who did she marry Spider Man? Spider Man?
And she'd actually married him in real life? That's crazy.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Yes, So next week the drama.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
If you are looking for little less drama, but something
fun to do with the children, take them along to
the Magic Faraway Tree. We do need more films like
this for families. Don't listen to cranky old me, Take
a popcorn, eat a boys and Bridge chok top and
go up the tree and have a good time. Enjoy
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