Peter Pan & Wendy is what you’d expect from a live-action version of one of Walt Disney’s animated classics – not least because most audiences expect to see recreations of situations they know and love from the 1950 Disney cartoon, which was simply called “Peter Pan”.
David Lowery, co-writer and director, does not disappoint with the nostalgic familiarity, although some viewers may wish for more innovation, we are still talking about a Disney classic aimed at children (and also nostalgic) audiences.
The story begins with Wendy Darling (Ever Anderson) leading her younger brother John (Joshua Pickering) and younger brother Michael (Jacobi June) in an enthusiastic play session that includes swashbuckling sword fights and running and jumping, followed by some good times between them.
Peter Pan (Alexander Molony) makes his entrance along with Tinker Bell (Yara Shahidi), leading the children to Neverland through a wormhole near the legendary Second Star on the Right. On the other side, they meet and befriend the Lost Boys, as well as native princess Tiger Lily (Alyssa Wapanatahk), who gets a heroine makeover here, literally riding to the rescue on more than one occasion.
Jude Law stars in the film as Pan’s nemesis – the famous Captain Hook – as a neurotic comic figure with personal problems. Lowery gave Hook a bit of the antihero treatment, making the villain’s origin story so relatable that he seems more pitiful than loathsome. Jim Gaffigan plays Hook’s sidekick, Smee, as an emotionally bruised and exasperated underling, a jerk who definitely has his faults but is burnt out mostly because he’s overwhelmed by having to satisfy a boss who thinks the solution to poor morale is gambling. more people overboard.
The Peter-Tinker duo has also been rethought, partially: it is clear that she is the boss of the duo, sometimes seeming to command him psychically, or at least implant suggestions or tasks in his mind in a way that makes him believe he is acting. on its own.
Every performance in this film is good, sometimes more than good, and little can be said against the footage, ranging from beautiful calendar art to genuinely inspired. The action-packed climax, which doubles as a therapy session for certain main characters, has images of dreamlike weirdness and gives Law a satisfying exit that befits this incarnation of the character.
Young children will likely enjoy this movie, with its bedtime story morals and conclusions. “Peter Pan & Wendy” is content with trying to please the audience, but without a doubt it could have been more audacious in presenting more depth to the story, which, being so classic, does not offer anything new.
Peter Pan & Wendy can be seen on Disney+
