‘Peter Pan & Wendy’
With “Peter Pan & Wendy,” Disney continues its string of live-action remakes of classic animated hits, a formula that, for the most part, has been commercially successful and a critical failure.
The studio’s last attempt at a live-action remake on Disney+ came in the form of “Pinocchio,” which was widely panned among critics and fans. But somewhat surprisingly, “Peter Pan & Wendy” manages to bring some actual magic into its remake.
Disney obviously had to tweak the story a bit, if for no other reason than to ditch the insensitive depictions of indigenous characters in the original 1953 adaptation. This story begins with Wendy (Ever Anderson), John (Joshua Pickering), and Michael Darling (Jacobi Jupe) playing together with wooden swords. It’s the last night before Wendy is supposed to leave for boarding school.
But all the fun comes to a halt when they accidentally break a mirror, and Wendy blames the entire mess on her brothers. Her father, played by Alan Tudyk, isn’t as angry as he was in the cartoon. Yet he still brings a stern attitude toward a tween daughter he clearly wishes would quickly grow up. Their mother, played by Molly Parker, tries to smooth the situation over.
When Wendy tells her mother that she wishes everything could stay the same, and she doesn’t want to grow up, her mother reveals time doesn’t stand still for anyone. And she unsuccessfully tries to convince Wendy that a bunch of wonderful things await her as she grows in life.
Fans familiar with the cartoon can probably imagine what happens next. Peter Pan (Alexander Molony) shows up in their bedroom, along with Tinker Bell (Yara Shahidi), and tries to recapture his shadow.
He then takes Wendy, John, and Michael to Neverland with the help of some pixie dust and a wondrous first flight for these kids. They arrive on the island by morning and are quickly met by the infamous Captain Hook (Jude Law) and his crew of pirates, which includes Mr. Smee (Jim Gaffigan).
The rest of the film follows a bit of strange pacing as Peter Pan and Hook engage in a game of cat and mouse, complete with sword fights, giant crocodiles, and cannon balls. Where this adaptation of J. M. Barrie’s work seems to differ from the cartoon is how much emphasis it places upon themes of maturity, loss, and the role time plays in everyone’s lives.
One thing “Peter Pan & Wendy” does well is giving life to its themes through the neverending struggle between an immortal boy and a bitter old pirate. At times, Law and Molony seem to borrow old language from the stage play, and their bitter rivalry is portrayed well by a betrayed soul who has nothing left in his hollow life than to seek endless revenge on the boy who hurt him and an ignorant youth who doesn’t understand enough to identify the pirate’s pain.
Law’s portrayal of Hook is one of the best parts of the movie. He so captures the essence of a man who lost his childhood and “grew up wrong.” As the story unravels Hook’s mysterious origin, Law does an exemplary job of earning sympathy from audiences for his loss and pain. He’s not just a cartoon villain with a hatred of clocks fleeing from a crocodile. Screenwriters David Lowery and Toby Halbrooks flesh out the character in refreshing ways.
He has this line that really shows the depth of his bitterness, “Find me a child who knows the difference between right and wrong, and I’ll show you a man who can’t remember why it mattered at all.”
At one point, Peter tells Hook to “think of happy thoughts.” And the somber pirate responds, “… I haven’t got any.” It’s the bittersweet writing and morose portrayal that help ground a film that sometimes threatens to lose its limits on silliness.
Shahidi is another part of “Peter Pan & Wendy” done right, bringing infectious joy and magic to a role, all while speaking less than 10 words in the whole film.
Visually, “Peter Pan & Wendy” captures much of the animated film, from John’s top hat to Michael’s teddy bear and the dog named Nana. Lowery (who also serves as director) manages to balance the story’s magic and humor, along with the necessary hard truth… that everybody has to grow up eventually.
There’s just enough swashbuckling and swordplay to keep the action going right up until a rather confusing ending that seems to throw out all the morals “Peter Pan & Wendy” had been building up to.
It’s almost strange how well this film works given the potential for narrative disaster these live-action Disney remakes seem to attract. Yes, there’s plenty of magic between an ageless kid, fairy dust, and even a flying pirate ship. But Lowery still manages to keep his movie just grounded enough that it can seriously address two extremes of a spectrum. Those being: holding onto one’s childhood forever to the point of never learning anything new and growing up too fast so as to lose any magic a person had to begin with.
Inevitably, people might ask why this remake is necessary. And the blunt truth is… it isn’t. Still, when compared to the narrative catastrophes of most of the other live-action Disney remakes, “Peter Pan & Wendy” seems to have found more success than it had any right to.
“Eternally gay and innocent and heartless” : Peter Pan (Alexander Molony) is a boy who refuses to grow up in the latest, live action re-imagining of J.M. Barries classic tale “Peter Pan & Wendy.”
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