Disney's Peter Pan adapts a play and a novel that focuses on dreaming when you are young. The main characters are three children who get visited by Peter Pan, the ultimate child. Peter never grows and neither do his friends the Lost Boys, who all live in Neverland. Wendy Darling, the protagonist, is a relatable young girl whose courage and empathy are key to her relationship with her brothers John and Michael. The narrator tells us Wendy is the eldest and the authority in Peter Pan stories. John is a smart young man and Michael is almost a baby so there is a consistent gimmick of Michael repeating what John said without realizing it. They have enough comedy and personality to carry their scenes. When they first appear, they are playing make-believe posing as Peter Pan and Captain Hook already. I suspect their mother told Wendy and her brothers the stories. Mr. & Mrs. Darling are polar opposites, the father being the logical type who shuns their imagination. He is humiliated and ignored by his family because of his negative attitude, but when he is punishing the dog Nana he shows a more compassionate side.
Once the parents leave, he mentions Peter Pan as he appears flying above the roofs of the house. He is only a silhouette at first until Tinker Bell lights up his face. This is a magical moment, followed by Peter entering the house claiming to be looking for his shadow. Wendy, who had the shadow kept in a drawer, stitches it back to Peter Pan and is invited to Neverland as a reward. She and her brothers learn how to fly with the dust of Tinker Bell, who is jealous of Wendy's attempt at kissing Pan. I don't find any songs from Peter Pan to be very good or memorable. "You Can Fly" is the only one I remember because they repeat it about three times in the movie.
I feel the island of Neverland is the key issue. It's the first thing we see in the movie: the Second Star to the Right. When the kids go flying into it there's a great transition from a star into a solar system, which is upside down given the island is sitting on a sea in the sky. We meet Captain Hook, whose clothes and personality compose one of the great iconic Disney villain designs. I think the film succeeds in the representation of Pan and Hook. Their ongoing rivalry is something fun to pay attention to. Peter Pan is arrogant and sort of a scoundrel but you are always on his side, and even though Captain Hook was made by design for children to laugh at his misfortune, he is beloved as well. My main critique involves that the things that Peter shows to Wendy, her brothers, and the Lost Boys do not awake any sense of wonder in me. I think there was a very high bar to clear in adapting a magical place called "Neverland" where kids never grow old and adults are the enemy, and the film runs short of ideas after meeting some Mermaids and the "Indians". The Native Americans are drawn with exaggerated features, they are called "Injuns" and there is an entire musical sequence called "What Made the Red Man Red?", yet the most offensive thing about the portrayal is the simple idea that one of the "magical creatures" of the island (and the one that takes the most screentime) is this excessive stereotype. If you are going to alter the culture of a people in this way, you might as well create a fictional inhabitant for the island. There's no need for them to be Natives if you are going to say that their skin is red because one of them blushed one day.
The quarrel between Peter and Hook features good scenes like the one where he saves the chief's daughter Tiger Lily. She's actually the only well-proportioned facial representation of a Native because drawing ugly women has never been Disney's strong suit. The fight between Peter and Hook is exciting, and we see it reprised in the climax of the film. The most boring sequence is Wendy singing the song about mothers. It reminds me of Mary Poppin's "Feed the Birds". Who thought this was a good idea? The kids don't want to see the characters singing slowly standing still. And Peter Pan is an hour shorter, there's even less room to do this. One of the best character designs goes to Tinker Bell, who emanates light and flies in a string of pixie dust. She serves a purpose in the story once Captain Hook sends his second-in-command to steal her. They then persuade her to betray Peter, and out of jealousy, she complies. Hook then imprisons her and kidnaps Wendy and the Lost Boys. He sends a bomb to Peter Pan, and Tinker Bell manages to escape just in time to reach Peter when the bomb is about to go off. I hate this part because the bomb literally explodes in Peter's face. The characters in the boat hear the explosion and assume Peter Pan is dead. It's true that you should lead the audience to believe Peter is dead (which of course he isn't), but making him survive a bomb explosion without a scratch is not the solution to that problem.
Peter fights Captain Hook and out of compassion decides to forgive his life, which shows honor in his heart. Hook betrays his trust and attempts to backstab him, and in response, he gets what is coming to him when he falls on top of Tick Tock the Crock, a crocodile who's been tormenting him throughout the film. He does not die on screen, leaving the door open for possible sequels; the ongoing repetition of the events is a common theme in the movie. The film reminds me of The Wizard of Oz: at the beginning Wendy goes flying into the world she's always dreamed of, and when she goes back home her mother sees her waking up at the side of the window. Probably in hopes that young children wouldn't come away feeling cheated, the allusion the movie makes when Wendy's father recognizes Peter's ship is that Peter Pan visits once in a generation and "growing up" makes them forget him, Peter Pan representing the "spirit of youth". The opening lines of the film are "All this has happened before. And it will all happen again." This is a wonderful sentiment, I just hope that the next time it happens the adventure is better.
6.5/10.
Once the parents leave, he mentions Peter Pan as he appears flying above the roofs of the house. He is only a silhouette at first until Tinker Bell lights up his face. This is a magical moment, followed by Peter entering the house claiming to be looking for his shadow. Wendy, who had the shadow kept in a drawer, stitches it back to Peter Pan and is invited to Neverland as a reward. She and her brothers learn how to fly with the dust of Tinker Bell, who is jealous of Wendy's attempt at kissing Pan. I don't find any songs from Peter Pan to be very good or memorable. "You Can Fly" is the only one I remember because they repeat it about three times in the movie.
I feel the island of Neverland is the key issue. It's the first thing we see in the movie: the Second Star to the Right. When the kids go flying into it there's a great transition from a star into a solar system, which is upside down given the island is sitting on a sea in the sky. We meet Captain Hook, whose clothes and personality compose one of the great iconic Disney villain designs. I think the film succeeds in the representation of Pan and Hook. Their ongoing rivalry is something fun to pay attention to. Peter Pan is arrogant and sort of a scoundrel but you are always on his side, and even though Captain Hook was made by design for children to laugh at his misfortune, he is beloved as well. My main critique involves that the things that Peter shows to Wendy, her brothers, and the Lost Boys do not awake any sense of wonder in me. I think there was a very high bar to clear in adapting a magical place called "Neverland" where kids never grow old and adults are the enemy, and the film runs short of ideas after meeting some Mermaids and the "Indians". The Native Americans are drawn with exaggerated features, they are called "Injuns" and there is an entire musical sequence called "What Made the Red Man Red?", yet the most offensive thing about the portrayal is the simple idea that one of the "magical creatures" of the island (and the one that takes the most screentime) is this excessive stereotype. If you are going to alter the culture of a people in this way, you might as well create a fictional inhabitant for the island. There's no need for them to be Natives if you are going to say that their skin is red because one of them blushed one day.
The quarrel between Peter and Hook features good scenes like the one where he saves the chief's daughter Tiger Lily. She's actually the only well-proportioned facial representation of a Native because drawing ugly women has never been Disney's strong suit. The fight between Peter and Hook is exciting, and we see it reprised in the climax of the film. The most boring sequence is Wendy singing the song about mothers. It reminds me of Mary Poppin's "Feed the Birds". Who thought this was a good idea? The kids don't want to see the characters singing slowly standing still. And Peter Pan is an hour shorter, there's even less room to do this. One of the best character designs goes to Tinker Bell, who emanates light and flies in a string of pixie dust. She serves a purpose in the story once Captain Hook sends his second-in-command to steal her. They then persuade her to betray Peter, and out of jealousy, she complies. Hook then imprisons her and kidnaps Wendy and the Lost Boys. He sends a bomb to Peter Pan, and Tinker Bell manages to escape just in time to reach Peter when the bomb is about to go off. I hate this part because the bomb literally explodes in Peter's face. The characters in the boat hear the explosion and assume Peter Pan is dead. It's true that you should lead the audience to believe Peter is dead (which of course he isn't), but making him survive a bomb explosion without a scratch is not the solution to that problem.
Peter fights Captain Hook and out of compassion decides to forgive his life, which shows honor in his heart. Hook betrays his trust and attempts to backstab him, and in response, he gets what is coming to him when he falls on top of Tick Tock the Crock, a crocodile who's been tormenting him throughout the film. He does not die on screen, leaving the door open for possible sequels; the ongoing repetition of the events is a common theme in the movie. The film reminds me of The Wizard of Oz: at the beginning Wendy goes flying into the world she's always dreamed of, and when she goes back home her mother sees her waking up at the side of the window. Probably in hopes that young children wouldn't come away feeling cheated, the allusion the movie makes when Wendy's father recognizes Peter's ship is that Peter Pan visits once in a generation and "growing up" makes them forget him, Peter Pan representing the "spirit of youth". The opening lines of the film are "All this has happened before. And it will all happen again." This is a wonderful sentiment, I just hope that the next time it happens the adventure is better.
6.5/10.