The Magic Faraway Tree's Andrew Garfield: Our attention is abused by tech companies

For many families, it's a familiar scene: heads bent over glowing screens, conversations half-heard and the outside world slowly slipping into the background.

That sense of disconnection sits at the heart of a new adaptation of Enid Blyton's beloved The Magic Faraway Tree.

The film tells the story of a family who move from the city to the countryside, where the children discover a magical tree filled with strange characters and ever-changing worlds.

For its stars, the adaptation is as much about timeless storytelling as it is about modern themes.

Andrew Garfield, who plays the children's dad, tells the BBC at the film's premiere that the story's appeal lies in its sense of wonder.

"It's been adapted for modern families, so hopefully it deals with the genuine problems of what it's like to be a modern parent and a modern kid through a goofy and silly lens."

The 42-year-old Spiderman actor adds that he's very worried about the impact that social media has on young people.

"The more we live through this technological revolution, the more we understand that our consciousness is being hijacked.

"Our attention, a valuable commodity, is being commodified and is being used and abused by tech companies."

He explains that he feels "very strongly" about the issue and says we need to put in "the hard work of divesting our attention and reconnecting with eternal things like nature".

Claire Foy, who stars alongside Garfield as the children's mum, says the issue goes beyond social media and its "screens and devices".

"It's not just young people as well, it affects all of us. We think we're in control but we're not.

"The government needs to legislate and take back control - we think we're at the mercy of these massive companies but we need to say no a bit more."

Asked whether she would support something like a social media ban for under 16s, she says it may not be as simple as that but she does support some form of action.

"We need to stop having conversations and start doing something as parents get a lot of flak but everyone is trying their best."

Her thoughts are echoed by Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan, who plays the kind-hearted fairy Silky.

She admits she struggles with her own social media usage and has now deleted her accounts.

"I just download social media to post something and then delete it straight away as it can have a really negative impact."

While some of the cast, including Sir Michael Palin and Sir Lenny Henry, vividly remember reading The Magic Faraway Tree as children, others only discovered it later in life.

Sir Michael, who plays one of a trio of mystical wise men from the Land of Know-Alls, says the book as a child "got me going and thinking about travel".

He says they must have influenced his desire to travel in later life as "I wanted to read about things happening a long way from Sheffield".

But for Foy, the books weren't "part of my existence as a child".

"In some ways I'm grateful as I approached it from a different way and it's such a beloved book that had I read it, I would have felt a lot more pressure," she says.

Garfield read the book after receiving the script and says he "listened to the tapes in the evening and it was very sweet as I'd drift off to sleep listening to them".

The books feature magical characters living in the tree such as the gentle Moonface, played by Nonso Anozie, and the formidable teacher Dame Snap, played by Rebecca Ferguson.

At the very top of the tree, a ladder leads to a succession of strange and unpredictable lands from the Land of Spells and the Land of Birthdays to more troublesome places like the Land of Topsy-Turvy.

Asked at the premiere about what the cast would have in their own magical land, the answers ranged from pure escapism to something a little closer to home.

"I'd create a land where I could hang out with the spirits of all my ancestors past, present and future," Garfield says.

Foy says she would want a land filled with baths, while Coughlan would want "the comfiest giant bed" so she could "finally get the perfect eight-hour sleep".

Sir Michael says he would take David Attenborough and Bruce Springsteen with him to the land that would have "a sailing boat, a pub and Sheffield United holding the FA Cup".

Sir Lenny, who plays one of the wise men alongside Sir Michael, says his world would include Stevie Wonder, Prince, Elvis, Beyonce and The Marx Brothers, along with "lots and lots of cake".