Peter Pan & Wendy review

PETER PAN & WENDY: 

LATEST DISNEY REMAKE HAS SOME MAGIC BUT COULD USE MORE PIXIE DUST! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

DISNEY+

Alexander Molony as Peter Pan in Peter Pan & Wendy

 

            The boy who never grew up is back in Peter Pan & Wendy, the latest of Disney’s live-action remakes based on their 1953 animated feature, Peter Pan which in turn was adapted from J.M Barrie’s 1904 play and 1911 novel. Like most Disney remakes, film adaptations of the Peter Pan story in general have been very polarizing over the years with the animated Disney classic and 2003 live-action adaptation from Universal being solid takes on the story while Steven Spielberg’s Hook (Which revolved around an adult Peter Pan) was divisive amongst critics but has since gained a strong fanbase, or whatever the hell Pan was supposed to be. 

            It was only a matter of time before Disney decided to give their animated Peter Pan the live-action remake treatment especially with David Lowery (Pete’s Dragon (2016), A Ghost Story, The Green Knight) as director since he already helmed a decent remake of Pete’s Dragon for Disney back in 2016. Despite there already being plenty of live-action Peter Pan adaptations out there and having serious Disney Remake fatigue in recent years, I was somewhat curious to see how this re-imagining of Disney’s Peter Pan would play out. I enjoyed the original animated film a lot as a kid and even consider its 2002 follow-up, Return to Never Land to be a decent albeit flawed continuation of the story so I’m down to see Disney expand upon the world of Neverland. 

            Now that the film has finally been released on Disney+, will this be another one of those soulless Disneyremakes trying to capitalize on the original’s popularity or is it a rare re-imagining that’s actually worth a damn? Well, I can say that Peter Pan & Wendy is…fine, it’s the finest Disney remake I’ve ever seen. 

            It’s nowhere near the worst Disney remake (nor is it even that bad) and it does try to differentiate itself from the animated film while still honoring it in certain ways, but it doesn’t really do much to leave a lasting impression once it’s over. It’s a film that may provide enjoyment in the moment, but I don’t see many people going back to it. 

            The film follows Wendy Darling (Ever Anderson-Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Black Widow), a young girl spending her last day at home with her parents and two brothers, John and Michael (Newcomers, Joshua Pickering and Jacobi Jupe) before going off to boarding school. Wendy is unhappy with her departure and says she never wants to grow up, but her luck soon comes in the form of a mysterious visitor known as Peter Pan (Alexander Molony-The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales…, The Reluctant Landlord), a boy who has the ability to fly and his fairy companion and friend, Tinkerbell (Yara Shahidi-Smallfoot, The Sun Is Also a Star, PAW Patrol: The Movie). 

            Peter gives Wendy, John, and Michael some Pixie Dust, allowing them to fly, and they are soon whisked away to the magical realm known as Neverland where children never grow up. During their adventures, Peter and the Darling siblings encounter a group of children known as the Lost Boys, Indian princess Tiger Lily (Newcomer, Alyssa Wapanatâhk), mermaids, and a band of pirates led by the ruthless Captain Hook (Jude Law-The Talented Mr. Ripley, Sherlock Holmes 1 and 2, Captain Marvel) who has a serious hatred for Pan after he chopped his arm off and fed it to a crocodile.

             The film also stars Jim Gaffigan (Super Troopers 1 and 2, Hotel Transylvania 3 and 4, Luca) as Mr. Smee, Molly Parker (Waking the Dead, The Road, Words on Bathroom Walls) as Mrs. Darling, Alan Tudyk (I, Robot, Wreck-It Ralph, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) as Mr. Darling, John DeSantis (The 13^th Warrior, Supernatural, Seventh Son) as Bill Jukes, and Mark Acheson (Transformers: Armada, Hulk VS, Supernatural) as Old Clemson. 

            Overall, Peter Pan & Wendy is easily the second best live-action adaptation of the Peter Pan story after the 2003 film and there is enough in it for me to recommend at least a viewing if you’re curious about it. However, it’s also one of those movies that goes one ear and out the other and will likely be forgotten about shortly afterwards.

            I do like how this one dives more into Peter and Hook’s backstory which I don’t think they ever did in the animated film (Unless it was just a passing mention of it somewhere) and showed them as best friends before their relationship went bitter. It shows there was a strong connection between Peter and Hook and adds more to the tragedy of Hook’s inevitable betrayal, I would have liked seeing more of that in the movie except…don’t do what Pan did. 

            This also isn’t a beat-for-beat remake of the original which I really appreciate about the film. There is more of a reason for why Wendy would want to go to Neverland, Peter and Hook’s backstory being explored as already mentioned, Tiger Lily playing a bigger part in this version, and Wendy is a lot more prominent during the climax (Which makes sense since her name is in the title). 

Unlike the 2019 Lion King, there is enough in here that’s different to make it stand out from the original while still remaining faithful to the source material (You know, like what a remake is supposed to do!). Even the ways it pays tribute to the animated film are well-handled and not at all distracting such as a title card reminiscent to the original film in the beginning, an instrumental version of You Can Fly can be heard when Peter and the Darling children fly off to Neverland, and Tinkerbell still communicates in sparkle sounds. 

Despite being a Disney+ release, the flying sequences are spectacular with a standout being the thrilling scene where Peter and the Darling siblings are flying through the streets of London on their way to Neverland. The way the sequence is filmed and how the camera follows the characters in one continuous shot as well as very effective uses of CGI, it really feels like you’re flying alongside them…and makes you wish you were watching it in a theater rather than your living room. 

The acting for the most part is decent but not all that memorable with the exceptions being Jude Law as Hook and Jim Gaffigan as Smee. Law is having a ball as Hook and succeeds at being both threatening and humorous sometimes at the same time while Gaffigan as Smee looks almost exactly like his animated counterpart though he’s not quite as bumbling as the Captain’s lovable second mate and plays it in a grittier, raspy-voiced manner. 

Peter Pan & Wendy is better than most live-action Disney remakes, but it probably won’t be remembered nearly as much as its animated predecessor. However, I appreciate the effort that went into it and hopefully it will help set the groundwork for future re-imaginings of beloved Disney classics.