← Back to Reviews
in
PETER PAN ***½
Wendy Darling (Rachel Hurd-Wood) is a beautiful young girl who is discomfited to learn that her Aunt Millicent (Lynn Redgrave) wants her to put away childish things and start on the path towards womanhood. When the handsome young rouge Peter Pan (Jeremy Sumpter) awakes her during the night and asks her to come to Neverland with him, where there is no fear of ever having to grow up, she readily agrees. This begins the seemingly all too familiar tale of Peter Pan, though that is also where the familiarity ends.
This version of Peter Pan, directed by P.J. Hogan, stays much more faithful to the book written by J.M. Barrie, and proves that most of us have never seen the real story of Peter Pan before. The Disney version, which most of us have associated as a faithful rendition, took away the darker elements of the tale and made it more kid friendly. Doing it that way took much of the power away from Barrie’s vision and left it saccharine and flat. Hogan decided that he wanted to bring that power to light and offer us a more bold and daring story that is not only eye candy, but thought provoking as well.
During the last few years, filmmakers have brought us an assortment of true to life movies about pre-teens and teen-agers. In doing so, we are reminded of how much more mature their emotions are than we think. Wendy falls in love with Peter and would give herself to him utterly if she knew that he loved her back. Unfortunately, the magic that keeps Peter eternally young also keeps him from having these more mature feelings. He’s stuck with boyish feelings, and before the arrival of Wendy, never noticed that he was missing out on anything. This creates a sadness within the film that never truly goes away, and which has never been shown to us before.
Another more daring approach to the film is how Captain Hook (Jason Isaacs who also plays Wendy’s father) is portrayed. In the Disney version, Captain Hook, is just nasty. There is no depth to his character, no explaining why he is the way he is. Now, however, we see a deeper insight into his motivations. It’s more than just blind hate that fuels Hook. He seems infatuated with Peter and Wendy. He feels forlorn and lonely, especially when Peter focuses on Wendy instead of him. He is envious of Peter’s youth and vitality and seeks to destroy what he lacks within himself. There are times in the movie where the viewer can almost relate with him and almost feel pity for his loneliness. But in the end, he is also just plain nasty.
There are many things about this movie that I liked. The kids, who star as Peter and Wendy, are two of the loveliest kids to ever grace the silver screen, and they can also act quite well. Tinkerbell (Ludivine Sagnier) acts more like an evil imp than a fairy. Disney she is not, engaging and cute she is. Isaacs really proves that he is an exceptional actor by giving us such a fresh outlook on the man called Hook. The special effects are scrumptious to look at and I never felt that any of it was over the top, or filler for the lack of good story telling. There are a number of scenes that had me laughing as well, especially when Smee (Richard Briers), Hook’s First Mate, is involved.
Peter Pan is a movie that works well for kids and adults alike, making it a perfect film for the family to see together. It is beautiful, exciting, funny and at times sad, but most of all…it’s the real Peter Pan.
Wendy Darling (Rachel Hurd-Wood) is a beautiful young girl who is discomfited to learn that her Aunt Millicent (Lynn Redgrave) wants her to put away childish things and start on the path towards womanhood. When the handsome young rouge Peter Pan (Jeremy Sumpter) awakes her during the night and asks her to come to Neverland with him, where there is no fear of ever having to grow up, she readily agrees. This begins the seemingly all too familiar tale of Peter Pan, though that is also where the familiarity ends.
This version of Peter Pan, directed by P.J. Hogan, stays much more faithful to the book written by J.M. Barrie, and proves that most of us have never seen the real story of Peter Pan before. The Disney version, which most of us have associated as a faithful rendition, took away the darker elements of the tale and made it more kid friendly. Doing it that way took much of the power away from Barrie’s vision and left it saccharine and flat. Hogan decided that he wanted to bring that power to light and offer us a more bold and daring story that is not only eye candy, but thought provoking as well.
During the last few years, filmmakers have brought us an assortment of true to life movies about pre-teens and teen-agers. In doing so, we are reminded of how much more mature their emotions are than we think. Wendy falls in love with Peter and would give herself to him utterly if she knew that he loved her back. Unfortunately, the magic that keeps Peter eternally young also keeps him from having these more mature feelings. He’s stuck with boyish feelings, and before the arrival of Wendy, never noticed that he was missing out on anything. This creates a sadness within the film that never truly goes away, and which has never been shown to us before.
Another more daring approach to the film is how Captain Hook (Jason Isaacs who also plays Wendy’s father) is portrayed. In the Disney version, Captain Hook, is just nasty. There is no depth to his character, no explaining why he is the way he is. Now, however, we see a deeper insight into his motivations. It’s more than just blind hate that fuels Hook. He seems infatuated with Peter and Wendy. He feels forlorn and lonely, especially when Peter focuses on Wendy instead of him. He is envious of Peter’s youth and vitality and seeks to destroy what he lacks within himself. There are times in the movie where the viewer can almost relate with him and almost feel pity for his loneliness. But in the end, he is also just plain nasty.
There are many things about this movie that I liked. The kids, who star as Peter and Wendy, are two of the loveliest kids to ever grace the silver screen, and they can also act quite well. Tinkerbell (Ludivine Sagnier) acts more like an evil imp than a fairy. Disney she is not, engaging and cute she is. Isaacs really proves that he is an exceptional actor by giving us such a fresh outlook on the man called Hook. The special effects are scrumptious to look at and I never felt that any of it was over the top, or filler for the lack of good story telling. There are a number of scenes that had me laughing as well, especially when Smee (Richard Briers), Hook’s First Mate, is involved.
Peter Pan is a movie that works well for kids and adults alike, making it a perfect film for the family to see together. It is beautiful, exciting, funny and at times sad, but most of all…it’s the real Peter Pan.