OVERVIEW
Premiering at Sundance 2026, Fing! adapts David Walliams’ book into a charming, Dahl-adjacent family adventure with a wicked sense of humor. It follows Myrtle Meek (Iona Bell), a kid who was born never satisfied, and her librarian parents (Mia Wasikowska and Blake Harrison), who keep giving in to her demands. When she becomes obsessed with a mysterious creature called a “Fing,” their attempt to find one becomes dangerous once it attracts the attention of The Viscount (Taika Waititi), a wealthy animal park owner determined to claim Fing for himself.
BACKGROUND
The film is directed by Australian filmmaker Jeffrey Walker, whose credits jump from American comedy TV like Modern Family to recent studio-friendly fantasy with The Portable Door. Walliams’ original book was a clear U.K. hit, debuting at number one on the Official Top 50. Shot in Brisbane, the adaptation also fits Queensland’s broader push to position itself as a global production hub. Walker has said he storyboarded every shot, and the film leans on a practical puppet for Fing rather than a fully CGI creature.
EXECUTION
Its intention is clear, and the result pays off. The film is a delightful children’s adventure that feels like a breath of fresh air amid the frenetic, heavily edited, loud content offered to young viewers in the current landscape. It is the kind of family film that is impossible not to be charmed by, reminding one of classics like Matilda, Paddington, and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, while still standing on its own with smart visual control and plenty of creativity and heart.
There is no cynicism to be found. The cast commits fully to the fantasy and its absurdities, and that all-in tone makes the world feel real. The puppetry and animatronics feel tactile, and the production design, which draws inspiration from Wes Anderson’s films, does a huge amount of work, with sets that keep surprising and impressing, from the Meeks’ bedroom and the library’s secret room to the Viscount’s mansion.
Young Iona Bell is a revelation. The film is unafraid to make Myrtle unlikable at first, which helps her eventual bond with the creature land as genuinely sweet. Watching them pull each other out of their small worlds and learn to see others gives the story its warmth, and the film also sneaks in a neat point about parents learning to say no. That idea is clearest in the man-child villain’s relationship with his nanny, played by a hilarious Penelope Wilton, but it also invites a broader conversation: loving your kid does not mean giving them everything they want.
The pacing is excellent, and the laughs keep coming, whether through side characters (like the librarian master and the banker) or through lines delivered with a straight face. “Is money all you guys ever think about?” “Yes, we’re a bank.” Taika Waititi is the MVP. Almost every scene with him has a gag, and it is impressive how often it works.
AFTERTASTE
Fing! is a delightful family film that accomplishes everything it sets out to do. It brings constant laughter, creative sets and creatures, and a heartwarming central relationship. In an age where the better constructed fables have lent space to more constant attention-grabbing works that work around children’s short attention span, it is refreshing to see that something like Fing! can still exist, a fact almost as rare as the central creature in the film.