Mr Benn changes into a movie star of 70s flashback cinema

British cinema is betting big on soft and fuzzy nursery memories. It makes commercial sense in any era, but when a queasy sense of international insecurity has become the only predictable thing, the pull of escape into childhood fiction is ­proving powerful.

It does not seem to matter whether today’s children are already familiar with the simple world of Enid Blyton, the early 1970s charm of Mr Benn or the cosy appeal of Shirley Hughes’s Alfie and Dogger books from the 1970s and 80s. These stories from bygone days are now the prescribed tonic in a jittery age.

This week’s major British release for the Easter market is the revamped version of Enid Blyton’s classic tales of the Faraway Tree, which began with 1939’s The Enchanted Wood.

Real-life, grown-up stars Andrew Garfield, Lenny Henry, Jennifer Saunders and Claire Foy lead the cast in a modern retelling from Simon Farnaby, the screenwriter behind Paddington, and director Ben Gregor.

Just as Blyton’s fantasy tale about siblings who gain magical access to foreign lands hit cinemas on Friday, it was reported that Hughes’s fictional characters are next in line.

The estate of the much-loved author, who died in 2022, has appointed The Bright Agency as managers of her literary brand. The agency, founded and run by Vicki Willden-Lebrecht, has announced plans to go through her broad creative output, finding separate commercial paths for different characters.

“Shirley’s work has lived consistently and powerfully in people’s lives for generations,” said Willden-Lebrecht. “Her work is broader than many heritage estates. It is not one singular character brand but a literary landscape closer in breadth to authors such as Enid Blyton or Roald Dahl in its range.”

Representing the Hughes estate, the late author’s children, who include the former Observer writer and war correspondent Ed Vulliamy, said: “We – Shirley’s children, guardians of this treasure-trove – have been looking for the right people to advance its legacy, take it out into the world and nowadays’ complex marketplaces.”

Last week, news also broke of revived plans to bring children’s television favourite Mr Benn to the big screen. Mr Benn was the creation of author and illustrator David McKee, also known for his colourful books about Elmer the Patchwork Elephant and King Rollo. The film will be based on the 1971 television series that charted the amicable, bowler-hatted Mr Benn’s amazing journeys through space and time. His adventures, which are set out in only 13 original episodes, always begin when he leaves his home at 52 Festive Road – based on Mckee’s own street in Putney, Festing Road – and pays a visit to a mysterious local fancy dress shop.

The film will be written and directed by Kirk Jones, Bafta-nominated for the film I Swear, about the Tourette syndrome activist John Davidson. “Mr Benn finds a unique way to travel through time and space, visiting historical and futuristic worlds to solve apparently monumental problems, with kindness, compassion and common sense,” Jones has said.

Two key questions are vexing fans this weekend. First, will the jaunty theme music by saxophonist Don Warren, aka Duncan Lamont, be used to score the new film? And second, who could play the central role? McKee regularly spoke of his hopes that successive plans for a live action film version would one day come to fruition. Before his death in 2022, he had given approval to at least one other production which was due to star the Scottish actor John Hannah.

The McKee family said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have Kirk Jones on board to help guide it in the right direction and we are really excited about going back to Festive Road, where we grew up.”

Jones will also produce the film, working with comedian and actor Jack Whitehall. This has led to speculation that Whitehall may play Benn. Jones is expected to start casting this autumn and to begin shooting in the new year.

Main image credit: David McKee

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