THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
It’s crazy that no matter how many times people a tell story, identically or differently, you’re still intrigued of it all. The fairy tale of Peter Pan is the best example because no one can get enough of adaptations of it since Walt Disney’s 1953 animated film. Knowing that multiple studios have given their take since, it was logical for the former to avoid a retelling until it became a phase to retell animated classics. When they released Peter Pan & Wendy via Disney+ 70 years later, it surprises me when I say this was worth the time as well.
PLOT
The 2023 film follows Wendy Darling who lives in England with her parents George (Alan Tudyk) & Mary (Molly Parker), as well as her younger brothers John (Joshua Blue Pickering) & Michael (Jacobi Jupe) and their pet dog Nana. Wendy is soon to be going to boarding school and is hesitant to go as she doesn’t feel ready to grow up. The night before she is supposed to go, she and her brothers get a surprise visit from the immortal boy Peter Pan and his pixie fiend Tinker Bell. The Darling children are surprised to see the two due to only believing them to be imaginary. After Wendy sews him back with his sentient shadow, Pan invites the children to the island Never Land where they won’t have to worry of growing up. With Tink sharing pixie dust, they are able to fly with them and travel through the second star on the right, taking them through a vortex that takes them to the island. Quickly upon arriving, they are attacked by a band of pirates. Their leader, Captain James Hook, vows to get kill Pan after cutting off his hand and feeding it to a crocodile. When the children get shot at by the ship’s cannon, they fall from the sky and get separated. When Wendy wakes up, she encounters other kids that are friends with Peter. Apart from the native princess Tiger Lily, the group of the Lost Boys include: Slightly (Noah Matthews Matofsky), Nibs (Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez), Curly (Florence Bensberg), Tooties (Caelan Edie), Birdie (Diana Tsoy), Bellweather (Felix de Sousa) and a pair of twins (Kelsey & Skyler Yates). With their help, Wendy finds her brothers getting abducted by Hook’s crew and being taken to Skull Rock. When all the children get there, they aid Pan to fight off the pirates, resulting in the adults to be chased away by the same crocodile that ate Hook’s hand. When all the kids take shelter in their hideout, Wendy tries to get Peter to discuss the reason of his rivalry with Hook, which he doesn’t budge yet. By night, she tries again after singing a lullaby to her brothers and the Lost Boys. When she confronts him again, she admits that he and James came to Never Land together as friends, but the latter ended up leaving on his own and returned a pirate. Just upon sharing this, the pirates would find and apprehend them all, including Tinker Bell. Having the upper hand, Hook would successfully take the opportunity to slash Peter across the chest, presumably killing him. When the pirates hold the children captive, Hook chooses to share with Wendy the truth of his past with Pan: Hook left Never Land because he wanted to reunite with his mother and Peter chose to banish him out of heartbreak. Unable to sail as far as he hoped, he would be rescued by his now first mate Mr. Smee, raised by the pirates into adulthood and became their captain. Hook then considers to have all the children killed, but Wendy begs them to be spared in exchange for her life. As that happens, Peter's shadow re emerges and alerts Tiger Lily that he is dying. Thankfully, she gets to the boy in time and heals him with her medicine. When Pan recovers, he ran out of pixie dust to fly and has to get to Hook on foot. Wendy is sent to walk the plank, but is escape a dark fate when choosing to fly. When Tink breaks from captivity, she uses pixie dust to lift the pirate ship in the air. This gives the chance for all the kids to fight back against the pirates. Tiger Lily would hop on the boat to aid the protagonists in the fight of their lives, but when Peter joins as well, he has his last duel with Hook. During the fight, Wendy is able overturn the ship, causing all pirates to fall off. Peter does apologize to James for banishing him, but when he accepts it, he falls into the ocean as well. After another hard fought victory, Peter does take the Darlings home, but the Lost Boys join them as well. As George & Mary become in shock to see a new group of children wanting to be adopted, Wendy has one last conversation with Peter. He ends up sharing that he opted to Never Land when his mother told him to grow up and although he supports what the Lost Boys want to do, he still doesn't believe he's ready to do so as well. So, he and Tink say goodbye to Wendy before returning to Never Land. The film would end with the two smiling above a surviving Hook and Smee.
THOUGHTS
Since 1991's Hook has grown to be my favorite Peter Pan adaptation thus far, expectations were high for Disney to recreate the magic they started. While I don't think this film is better than the animated predecessor, I wouldn't mean it to terrible. Director David Lowery and co writer Toby Halbrooks were aware that no one would be surprised if the story were a copy paste process like Aladdin and The Lion King. So the changes that would be made gave fresh air once again and it maintained my interest. Throughout, I regained the same smile I had as a kid when I saw the 1953 classic. Hearing Daniel Hart & Oliver Wallace compose a revitalized version of "You Can Fly" got me so damn giddy it set me in a good mood for the rest of the runtime. The visual effects are very solid as it made me believe again that the fantasy of Never Land is real. Apart from seeing a flying ship, they definitely went all out with the croc and it was so worth it. On top of all that, this movie works now because the theme of growing up is about as strong as it was the first time around. Since we are bound to become responsible adults at some point in our lives, we have to embrace it or we'll never be able to adapt to our liking. Breakout Alexander Molony still has us admire for not letting go of his youth, but he ultimately shows the grand flaw of it. Because of being too attached of it, he was always afraid of change and never found himself ready to do it. He was so afraid that he diminished his friendship with Hook who chose to be different. His fear came from the possibility of losing his happiness. Although he still wasn't ready, his adventure with the Darlings helped him understand to not run away from fate but accept it. The Lost Boys respect him because he acts braver than he sees himself and he passes on that bravery without trying. Gaining this feeling, they're comfortable to have lives outside of Never Land and you bet they'll have a new set of adventures on their own way. Ever Anderson maintains the same energy Wendy has been known to have for generations, being one whose independent without even knowing it. We relate to Wendy just like we do with Pan because we're afraid like they are, but seeing her accept it after a dangerous adventure helps us accept the reality for us all. Her happy thoughts were solely about her childhood until she saw the possibilities of joy she will feel in adulthood. If it wasn't for her gaining her self awareness, I don't think neither her brothers nor the Lost Boys would feel the same. And seeing her carve her name on the chimney as Peter did only symbolizes how we'll never forget where the joy came from. Growing up, I did became aware of how sensitive Native Americans were depicted in the animated version, which only made me hesitant on how this was gonna handle it. Thankfully, the addition of Tiger Lily was handled with grace. Alyssa Wapanatâhk leaves behind the most positively memorable interpretation of her by making her strong willed without the need to fly. She knows Peter means well and chooses to be a loyal friend to him throughout. Seeing her save him only proves you can't doubt your friends no matter what. Another good chance that was made has to be the interpretation of Tinker Bell. Without speaking until the very end, Yara Shahidi made her stand out for being non vengeful and more supportive of an ally to Pan. Seeing her be on the same page as Wendy was refreshing because there was no need to for her to express hate. It is seeing this version where we understand her true likability: She puts good use of her power and makes the best of her surroundings, which is something we can all learn from. In one way, you can say Peter gets along with her so well because he slowly catches on to it. And if that's the case, there is no reason for them to not continue adventures together. Disney has given a fair share of beloved protagonists, but you can't deny the unexpected popularity that the villains gain as well. With past adaptations giving such distinctive interpretations of Captain Hook, it was hard to imagine other actor to pull it off. Thankfully, we didn't have to look any further with the genius casting of Jude Law. There's been a fair share of villains known to have a sympathetic backstories and it's no exception with this version of Hook. It is here where we understand that the ruthlessness of Hook comes from being abandoned by the one person who was his friend. The fact that he was disowned for missing his mother is honestly shocking because it showed even the beloved figures can make mistakes. The act of such a selfish decision would only spark such an iconic rivalry and allowed Hook to let his anger get the best of him. He missed his mother so much that he lost all the happy thoughts he had. However, seeing him smile back at the end only symbolizes the possibilities of friendships rekindling however tragic of the fallout. With him surviving the fall, I can imagine Peter giving himself a bigger path of redemption by helping James find his mother before it's too late. And on the bright side, I honestly thought Jim Gaffigan was a clever choice in playing Smee as dimwitted yet caring as we first remember him. I don't hate this movie at all, but there were a bunch of things I disliked that make me prefer the animated predecessor. Like for instance, why does the shadow want to be separate from Peter? It is a brief hijinks that sets up the rest of the story, but it never makes sense in either adaptation. If the shadow is sentient, it should have a reason for its actions. It's definitely a cold entrance for Hook to shoot down his own door, but where does he get the spare doors? If he still goes in and out of Never Land, I wish that was clear because I'm sure it'd be difficult for his crew to build a bunch by scratch. It was one thing for Peter to have the kids take cover from Hook, but they could've avoided the cannons if they just kept flying. And I can't be the only one doubting that the pirates raised Hook if they have no idea Michael's teddy bear is a toy. Also, why does Hook have more than 30 rules? Yeah pirate captains do what they want, but it should make sense as well. And if I gotta go any further, why does he stop when Wendy tells him to? He does not know who she is and had no reason to listen to her. Lastly, how did it take so long for him to find Pan's hideout? I don't want to root for villains ever, but since Hook was so obsessed with getting revenge, he should've found it without the need of Wendy accidentally giving away her group via singing. Ignore these and you'll be good to go. To wrap up, Peter Pan & Wendy is another cute iteration of the iconic play for giving us another chance to express our inner youth. If you still can't get tired of this story, it won't surprise me that you'll like this adaptation as well.
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