SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
Who hasn't thought about ditching it all, going somewhere simpler and starting over? That's what happens in the new movie "The Magic Faraway Tree." Claire Foy and Andrew Garfield play the parents of three young children who move from the city to the English countryside.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE")
PHOENIX LAROCHE: (As Joe) But seriously, will there be Wi-Fi?
ANDREW GARFIELD: (As Tim Thompson) There's this wood where we're going. And it's full of the most beautiful big trees.
DELILAH BENNETT-CARDY: (As Beth) Great. Trees. Literally the most boring things in the world.
PFEIFFER: The movie is based on a classic British children's book from the 1940s. It's sort of a mashup of "The Wizard Of Oz" and "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory," a collection of oddball characters and spectacular costumes mixed with a dose of darkness.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character, laughter) Ooh, it's the land of goodies today. Oh, you'll have a great time up there, little one. Nothing to fear at all, except you must leave before the lanterns. Otherwise, you'll be stuck there for good, you hear?
NICOLA COUGHLAN: (As Silky) She does that a lot.
PFEIFFER: Andrew Garfield plays Tim, the goofy, devoted dad. Garfield was born in the U.S. but raised in England. So I asked him if he'd read "The Magic Faraway Tree" when he was young or if it was any part of his childhood.
GARFIELD: It wasn't. But Enid Blyton was definitely a part of my childhood. She wrote another set of very famous books called "The Famous Five," which was for slightly older kids. And me and my brother were really, really into those. But what's kind of beautiful about discovering "The Magic Faraway Tree" now is that it coincides with a lot of my very, very close friends reading "The Magic Faraway Tree" books to their very young kids now.
PFEIFFER: Ah.
GARFIELD: So we had a really sweet premiere in London, where I was able to invite eight or nine of my closest friends from high school with their kids to a screening in Leicester Square. And I asked them all to send me their voice note reviews.
PFEIFFER: Little kid voices providing reviews (laughter)?
GARFIELD: It was across the board. It was raves across the board. They especially loved the farting.
PFEIFFER: (Laughter).
GARFIELD: And they loved the fairies.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE")
COUGHLAN: (As Silky) Hello. I'm Silky, so called for my silky, golden hair.
GARFIELD: And they loved the adventures of the tree. And they also loved when I got covered in oil from the tractor.
PFEIFFER: (Laughter) The belching diesel.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) What are you doing?
GARFIELD: (As Tim Thompson) Hey.
(SOUNDBITE OF HORN HONKING)
GARFIELD: (As Tim Thompson) Oh, no, you know, getting the old trackie (ph) going. You know how it goes. Going to make this baby sing.
(SOUNDBITE OF VEHICLE HISSING)
PFEIFFER: I was looking up all the acting roles you've done in the past. And tell me if I'm wrong, but it seemed that "Magic Faraway Tree" was a somewhat rare example of you acting in a story aimed largely at children. Now, you certainly have done "Spider-Man." But that was an adult and kid movie. What do you think you bring differently to your acting, if anything, when you're playing largely for an audience of lots of kids?
GARFIELD: Yeah, you're right. It's the first time I've really made a film that was tailor-made for young kids. And it's something that I've wanted to do for a long, long time but have been waiting for the right material to do it with. You know, I feel like that is a big responsibility. We're telling stories for young people that could be shaping their psyches in a certain way about right and wrong, about finding meaning, about adventure, about imagination. And I feel like this story had in it a kind of essentially good value system.
PFEIFFER: Although, if a kid senses that they're being preached to about values, that might be a turnoff. So did you have to figure out, how do you convey that message to a little kid without the eye roll?
GARFIELD: Exactly. You have to fill it with fart jokes.
PFEIFFER: (Laughter).
GARFIELD: And you have to, you know, hide the medicine in a series of fantastical adventures. But also, I think there's a way of framing these stories in a way that doesn't feel preachy, that doesn't create an eye roll, that actually goes - you know what? - I want to be a part of something bigger. I want to go on adventures with my friends.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE")
MARK HEAP: (As Mr. Oom Boom Boom) You're kidding me. What? Who is it?
BENNETT-CARDY: (As Beth) The elves sent us. They said you might be able to help us.
HEAP: (As Mr. Oom Boom Boom) Mr. Oom Boom Boom helps no one but himself. So rude.
PFEIFFER: Besides your wonderful costar, Claire Foy, who was so good as the mom...
GARFIELD: Yeah.
PFEIFFER: ...Your wife, Polly, you had three kids in the movie. The oldest child is this girl who's named Beth in the movie. She's sullen and resentful. She complains about nature being dull.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE")
BENNETT-CARDY: (As Beth) The countryside? Have you gone completely insane? I can't believe you let him talk you into this, mom. This is the oppression of the patriarchy right here.
PFEIFFER: My husband watched part of this movie with me. And he just thought she played a great, like, cranky kid. And he said to me, ask them if her normal disposition is rotten, which I think speaks to how...
GARFIELD: (Laughter).
PFEIFFER: ...How well she was at that. How was it playing alongside those child actors?
GARFIELD: Yeah, no. Delilah, who plays Beth, is anything but rotten.
PFEIFFER: (Laughter).
GARFIELD: She is an intellect and a creative soul, full of love and connection. All three children, you know, we were worried, me and Claire. We were like, oh, God, how's this going to go?
PFEIFFER: (Laughter).
GARFIELD: And are they going to be a nightmare? And I have to say, very, very quickly, we both looked at each other and kind of breathed a sigh of relief, going, oh, gosh, we just want to hang out with these people all the time.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE")
BENNETT-CARDY: (As Beth) What's a dream binder?
CLAIRE FOY: (As Polly Thompson) It's something that me and your dad made when we were students. It's a place where you record your dreams.
PFEIFFER: There's also a theme in the movie that may go over kids' heads. It's more geared toward adults. And it's about what happens when you stop chasing your dreams. Claire is going through what she called her dream binder with her kids, talking about all her youthful hopes that never materialized.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE")
FOY: (As Polly Thompson) There we are (laughter).
LAROCHE: (As Joe) Dad wanted to be a rock star?
FOY: (As Polly Thompson) He did, yeah, among other things.
BENNETT-CARDY: (As Beth) Why didn't he?
FOY: (As Polly Thompson) Well, he was busy looking after you lot.
BENNETT-CARDY: (As Beth) Oh.
FOY: (As Polly Thompson) Which let me go after my dreams.
PFEIFFER: I found a review of "The Magic Faraway Tree" that in part says this. This was a nice, charming, at times incredibly cheesy and schmaltzy viewing that is completely harmless and will certainly appeal to families. It made me laugh. And I wonder if when you hear that you say ouch, or are you thinking, great, the world needs more of that?
GARFIELD: I'm not mad at that review. I think there's a sweet undertone in that review. I think families are longing for that. They're longing for simple, sweet, joyful experiences in the movie theater. And I think the kids I've seen in the theater watching this are wrapped. And they're just completely engaged with what's on the screen. And it's a beautiful thing to see.
PFEIFFER: That's Andrew Garfield. He stars in the new movie "The Magic Faraway Tree." Thank you, Andrew.
GARFIELD: Thanks for having me.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
