Directed By: David Lowery
Starring: Alexander Molony, Jude Law, Ever Anderson, Jim Gaffigan, Yara Shahidi
Plot Summary: Based on J. M. Barrie’s novel Peter and Wendy this live action update of the classic animated classic tells the story of Wendy (Ever Anderson) who, wishes to defy childhood by traveling to a magical world known as Neverland with her two younger brothers. There she meets Peter Pan (Alexander Molony), who refuses to grow up, his lost boys and fairy Tinkerbell (Yara Shahidi). Banded together the group must defeat the merciless Capt. Hook (Jude Law) and his blood thirsty pirates.
It is really difficult to not be cynical every time the “House of Mouse” rolls out yet another live-action update on their classic and much-loved animated catalog. Lest we forget, most of these much-loved IP’s were based on already well-worn stories and fables. The thing is, I’m not an automatic hater of modern Disney, nor am I someone who thinks everything they do is gold. This movie falls somewhere comfortably in the middle. It’s not the garbage fire that the rating on IMDb would have you believe, but it’s not exactly groundbreaking either.
Clearly, director David Lowery shines from a technical standpoint, and the movie is well shot and visually breathtaking. Lowery has stated that this was something of a passion project, and you can tell that he is not phoning anything in here. When it was announced that the director of A Ghost Story and The Green Knight was doing this, many nay have thought it was an odd choice. Yet, Lowery brings a fresh energy to the extremely well-worn material and brings an interesting point of view. Not to mention this re-imagining does help fix some of the very problematic racist elements, as well as re-tooling Wendy’s place in the story. She no longer is in this weird mother role to the lost boys, nor is there the uncomfortable love triangle between her, Peter and Tinker Bell. It also does a novel attempt at re-working other narrative pieces from the novel and ‘50s movie, while trying to stay true to what came before it.
The movie gets really close to some really interesting ideas, but it always plays things safe. This is most evident in the characterization of both Hook and Pan. It is great that they play up the whole concept of Pan needing Hook as much as Hook needs Pan. This is similar to how Batman at his very core needs the Joker. Without the bad guy, the good guy really has no purpose. It gets close to this meta-narrative, and in this world Peter Pan is a well-known bedtime story. They get very close to making this a provocative thread. Yet, it is never taken far enough to be effective. It also tries to give some glimpse into the back story of Hook and Pan, and you cannot help but think that could have been a good ‘hook’ for its own movie.
Whilst on the topic of Hook, they get dangerously close to doing something exciting by maybe giving him an arc but, alas, they don’t. This is a theme in this movie – every time they get close to straying from the formula, something always comes along to set the status quo back into place. At least the filmmakers have taken measures to scrub the cringeworthy Native American depictions seen in the cartoon version. Ultimately, it is better, although it is still a wise Native American character only in service of the white protagonist.
Let’s state this as loudly as humanly possible: Jude Law gives his absolute best performance as Captain James Hook. Law is committed to the role, and you can tell he is not drawing from any previous attempts at the role. The rest of the cast also impresses, and hopefully this will make its young cast a household name, including Alexander Molony as Peter Pan and Ever Anderson as Wendy.
As far as Disney+ content that you get for the cost of the subscription, Peter Pan & Wendy is a very solid and well directed movie. It never challenges, yet you are engaged throughout. Couple this with some great acting, nicely done set pieces and overall stellar direction, and it helps gloss over the shaggy parts.
Peter Pan & Wendy is now available to stream on Disney+.
As far as Disney+ content that you get for the cost of the subscription, Peter Pan & Wendy is a very solid and well directed movie
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GVN Rating 6
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Big film nerd and TCM Obsessed. Author of The Ultimate Guide to Strange Cinema from Schiffer Publishing. Resume includes: AMC’s The Bite, Scream Magazine etc. Love all kinds of movies and television and have interviewed a wide range of actors, writers, producers and directors. I currently am a regular co-host on the podcast The Humanoids from the Deep Dive and have a second book in the works from Bear Manor.