STUDIOCANAL today announced that they are in development with Neal Street Productions to bring Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree to the big screen.

Paddington 2’s Simon Farnaby is on board to pen the adaptation which will be the first time Blyton’s book has ever been made into a feature film.

Simon Farnaby comments: “The Magic Faraway Tree books are a firework display of the imagination. The pages are lit up with wonderful characters, humour, peril and adventure. Most homes have a well-worn jam fingerprinted volume somewhere on their shelves.  I’m very much looking forward to bringing the likes of the Old Saucepan Man and Dame Washalot to the big screen for fans both old and new.”

Written between 1939 and 1951, The Magic Faraway Tree series is made up of four novels: THE ENCHANTED WOOD, THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE, THE FOLK OF THE FARAWAY TREE and UP THE FARAWAY TREE. All have been optioned by Neal Street Productions, from Hachette Children’s Group, brand owners of Enid Blyton Entertainment, for development with STUDIOCANAL.

Each story takes place in the enchanted wood in which THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE grows – tall enough to reach the clouds and large enough to contain small houses. At the top of the tree is an ever-rotating series of fantastic worlds, everything from the Land of Birthdays to the Land of Topsy-Turvy. Discovered by our child heroes, the tree and wood’s provide the background to their adventures.

Following in the runaway success of Paddington 2 which is currently number one at the UK box office, Studiocanal are eager to continue with the family entertainment market and with Enid Blyton being one of the world’s best-selling authors with sales in excess of 500 million copies and translations in over 40 languages we think this could be an ideal way to follow-up.

Pippa Harris and Nicolas Brown from Neal Street Productions will produce.