DISNEY REDO PETER PAN AND WENDY IS FOR THE FAMILY

I’m the first person that is against remaking films unless you actually make then significantly better than the original. There are classics that can never be done better and shouldn’t be even if they are, at times imitated to a certain level. No one asked for a remake of Red Dawn, but for some reason they did it to a disastrous result. Disney has taken this to a new level in the last few years by remaking their own movies that were already animated classics. This has had some varying responses, but for the most part people have been negative to the act. The annoying part is that they basically just made it live action – or computer generated “live” action and used almost the exact same script. Aladdin and The Lion King were their biggest forays into this and recently The Little Mermaid got the “real life” treatment and was sent to theaters. They also updated Sleeping Beauty by telling an alternate story from the side of the evil Maleficent. Imagine wanting to show your kid the film you grew up with and fell in love with and the company completely remakes it to simply update the look. Disney decided that they wanted to update one of their older classics as well with the remake of Peter Pan and changing the name to Peter Pan and Wendy. One of J.M.Barrie’s, the creator of the stories books did have a similar title. The original film was released in 1953 has always been seen as a whimsical tale of the boy that never wanted to grow up. Again, no one was begging or even asking them to come out with a live action release, but once again the House Of Mouse did it only this time it went straight to their streaming service.

Peter Pan is still the main protagonist in this version, but as the name suggests Wendy plays a more prominent role. The story still starts with the Darling children Wendy (Ever Anderson), John (Joshua Pickering), and Michael (Jacobi Jupe) being imaginative children getting ready for bed. Wendy and her mother have a brief yet powerful discussion about Wendy growing up and being a leader for her brothers as she reluctantly gets ready to be sent to boarding school. Wendy doesn’t want to grow up and this draws Peter Pan (Alexander Molony) to her to invite her to runaway to Neverland. They fly there, meet the Lost Boys, and run into the nefarious Capt. James Hook played wonderfully by Jude Law. The story is pretty similar to the original, although I have to admit I need to go back and watch the cartoon version to see how close they really are. There is much less singing in this version that much I know. So why redo this film and put it only on the streaming side when it’s a fantasy classic that could be a big hit in the theaters? Because they didn’t do as much as they could.

If you ever saw the film Hook starring Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman you were thrilled at the continuation of the original story with a sequel imagining what would have happened if Peter grew up. It was wonderfully done and made you pine for the feeling you had as a child watching the original Disney film. Peter Pan and Wendy does not do the same thing at all. As I mentioned the singing has greatly decreased with song like “We Can Fly” only played as part of the film’s score along with the scene. Wendy’s mother and the pirates get all the songs. While I was a bit concerned they were going to alter the script so much that it is a forced empowerment of the female lead they pulled that part of masterfully. Anderson plays Wendy as a young woman not wanting to grow up, but is more mature than she realizes. She shows her strength and leadership with her fellow characters without becoming the Neverland version of Hermione Granger. She gets to wield a sword in action scenes without them making her an inept or shrinking violet in the moment strictly used for comedic relief. She is someone a real young girl could be inspired by without it being over the top. Peter has his role diminished slightly – not to the point that he is shoved to the back, but by being more equal to Wendy. The film also has a darker undertone than the original with a backstory for Captain Hook that we haven’t seen before. It makes his and Pan’s relationship more complicated without it being eye roll worthy and Peter’s origins are briefly shown as well. This Pan has learned a hard lesson in friendship. Some of the scenes cut out are the mermaids and the scenes with the Native Americans. Tiger Lilly (Alyssa Wapanathak) is still in the film, but as a warrior princess that helps in the fight against the pirates. She plays it well and again the change doesn’t feel forced. Molony really doesn’t give off the mischievous Pan we’re accustomed to. His face isn’t as expressive as his lines suggest and pales in comparison to the animated version. While they didn’t diminish the character in the script he doesn’t do it justice. As I said, Law as Hook is a hit. He’s not as comical as Hoffman was, but the spirit of the original animated character is there and he carries the darker side of the character very well. Where it misses the mark in that they just didn’t do enough to make it as epic as it could be. Peter Pan and Wendy could have been much more than it was and really been a film to have a chance to equal its predecessor. It feels like they chose for it not to. For instance when Wendy first meets the Lost Boys she realizes that they aren’t all boys and gets a funny, if not pointed fourth wall response. With the scenes that got cut from the original it’s too bad they didn’t do something similar without being condescending. They upped a few of the battle scenes as well making them less cartoonish and slightly bigger, but then it felt like they didn’t go as far as they could have. It leaves you wanting a bit more from what’s there. Strictly looking at this as a family film you can definitely sit down and enjoy this with your kids. There is one or two scary or concerning scenes that younger kids might recoil at, but it is a fairy tale so you know it will be OK in the end. The special effects are wonderfully done and their are a few that look like the Disney magic is in full effect. It’s when you don’t get that same effort at other moments that makes you want more. I mean, the 100 Year of Disney logo and animation at the beginning had me more interested than the final battle. Put Peter Pan and Wendy on the watch list with the kids, but don’t do it for your own nostalgic walk down memory lane as you’ll only end up at “meh” for your experience.