Tim Thompson Andrew Garfield and Polly Thompson Claire Foy navigate life in the city with their three technology-obsessed kids: Beth Delilah Bennett-Cardy (the eldest), Fran Billie Gadsdon (the mute youngest), and Joe Phoenix Laroche. Polly is an inventor who has just finished work on a new smart fridge for her company, a gadget whose hidden cameras to spy on customers prove to be the final straw that makes Polly resign. Tim sees this as a sign to chase a long-held dream: move to the countryside and launch a small, home-grown tomato sauce business. Against the wishes of the older kids, the Thompsons pack up and set off toward a fresh start in a rural life. The fridge’s voice adds a quirky touch to Polly’s world, voiced by Judi Dench as The Voice of the Fridge, a cameo that peppered their high-tech home with a hint of whimsy.
Their new property turns out to be a ramshackle barn with no electricity or running water, a far cry from the urban comforts they left behind. The kindly farmers who sold the place give them a few weeks to fix it before the £20,000 purchase is finalized, a test of patience and teamwork for a family barely used to manual labor. Fran, who communicates through silence most days, speaks for the first time in years after a chance meeting with a fairy named Silky, who drops her purse and is delighted when Fran returns it. In gratitude, Silky and her friend the Angry Pixie slip into Fran’s room at night to extend an invitation to tea at the Magic Faraway Tree, a magical realm nestled in the woods nearby.
Fran ventures into the tree and is transported to a realm above the clouds, where she reunites with Silky and meets a cast of oddball residents: Moonface [Nonso Anozie], the Saucepan Man [Dustin Demri-Burns], Mr. Watzisname [Oliver Chris], and Dame Washalot [Jessica Gunning]. They explain that a new land appears at the top of the tree each day for them to visit. That day’s arrival is the Land of Goodies, a wonderland of oversized sweets and chocolates. Fran indulges but narrowly escapes when the land begins to rotate away from the tree.
Back at the barn, Tim and Polly throw themselves into repairs, bringing the farm’s machinery back to life and gradually reclaiming the land around the property. Beth, unsettled by the new life, mails a plea to their grandmother in London, hoping someone will intervene. Fran returns from the tree and, to everyone’s disbelief, the story seems hard to believe. Tim and Polly insist that Joe and Beth accompany Fran on their playtime adventures, and soon the three are carried away to the Magic Faraway Tree together. They visit the Land of Birthdays, where the Birthday Elves grant each of them one wish. Beth casually wishes for Tim’s tomato sauce venture to fail so they can simply return home; Joe and Fran squander theirs on turning into a video game character and acquiring a new voice, respectively. The elves lead them to the basement to meet Mr. Oom Boom Boom, a loud man who claims the authority to reverse wishes but tries to demand Silky as payment. The children rescue Silky and escape the Land of Birthdays just in time.
In the following weeks, the Thompsons grow closer as a family, rekindling their imaginations and beginning to cultivate tomatoes of their own. Polly’s mother arrives in response to Beth’s letter, delivering a stern deadline: either the sauce business succeeds, or the children are taken away to London. Tim decides to hold a grand opening festival for the venture, but disaster strikes when all the tomatoes turn rotten as a result of Beth’s self-serving wish. Realizing the damage she caused, Beth rallies her siblings to return to the Magic Faraway Tree to find a way to reverse the spell.
Their journey leads them to the Land of Know-It-Alls, where they learn they can travel between lands via an aeroplane hidden in the next room, and Joe uses his video game know-how to pilot it. They fly to the Land of Spells, where Fran leads her brother and sister in a family song to persuade a merchant to part with the spell they need. On the return trip, the plane is waylaid by Dame Snap, a fierce headmistress ruling a strict school. The group is captured and forced to attend a harsh class. They choose to misbehave on purpose to earn detention and attempt an escape, only to discover detention isn’t just detention—it’s prison. It’s then revealed that Tim used to visit the Magic Faraway Tree as a child, a memory that Moonface recognizes and uses to inspire a daring plan to break free.
The kids manage to return to the tomato farm with the reversal spell just in time for the grand opening. The tomatoes are revived and even healthier than before, startling the farmers who arrive to seal the Thompsons’ ownership of the barn, and defeating Polly’s mother’s attempt to split the family apart. The village rejoices, celebrating the Thompsons’ resilience and creativity, and Tim even shares a brief, meaningful moment with Moonface as old connections are renewed and friendships reaffirmed. In the end, the Thompsons discover that imagination, courage, and family bonds can turn a shaky start into a thriving future, with the magic of the Faraway Tree acting as a guiding beacon through every twist and turn.
