being re-released in UK cinemas for one day only<\/a> ahead of the sequel\u2019s debut \u2013 remains a thoroughly endearing watch more than half a century on from its release, full of iconic moments, delightful performances, and a profound understanding of both childhood wonder and the coming of age process.<\/p>\nThe Railway Children Return, then, has a lot to live up to when it arrives in cinemas on Friday 15th July 2022 \u2013 and to be frank, it was always going to be an almost impossible task to recreate the magic of that earlier adventure. It\u2019s therefore not too much of a surprise that the rather twee new film, directed by Morgan Matthews, is not of the same calibre as its beloved predecessor \u2013 feeling more like a television film than something truly cinematic.<\/p>\n
And yet to discount it entirely would be to sell it short: the film contains more than enough heart, humour, and spirited performances from its young cast to prove a charming update on the original, while also tackling some interesting themes that will resonate with today\u2019s audiences in different ways.<\/p>
Call the Midwife star Jenny Agutter \u2013 the standout performer of the previous film \u2013 is the one cast member to reprise her role, starring as an adult version of Bobby, who is still living in Oakworth and now has a family of her own. There are some nice reflective throwbacks to the original through Agutter\u2019s character, but Bobby spends the majority of the film as a fairly background figure, with the baton passed on to a new group of kids in her stead.<\/p>\n
Three of those kids \u2013 Beau Gadsdon, Eden Hamilton, and Zac Cudby \u2013 star as siblings Lily, Pattie and Ted, who we find at the start of the film tearfully boarding a train that will take them away from their mother and their Salford home. We\u2019re in 1944, forty years on from the original film, and the kids are some of the many evacuees forced to move to the countryside to ensure their safety \u2013 eventually arriving at Oakworth Station where they are taken in by Bobby\u2019s adult daughter Annie (Sheridan Smith).<\/p>\n
An early scene on their journey gives a nice indication as to the sort of territory we\u2019re in. With Zac desperately needing the toilet, his eldest sister Lily must find a way to bring the train to a standstill, and after failing to talk the conductor into putting the breaks on, she takes matters into her own hands and forces an emergency stop. This early scene serves the dual purpose of establishing the kids\u2019 resourcefulness right from the off and providing some early comic relief to get the young viewers on side.<\/p>\n