This Year's "Peter Pan and Wendy"

David Lowery made one of the better recent Disney remakes with "Pete's Dragon," so I had some expectations for "Peter Pan and Wendy."  We've had several takes on this story over the last few years, but mostly revisionist versions like "Pan" and "Wendy."  There hasn't been a film that's really done a straight adaptation since PJ Hogan's "Peter Pan" twenty years ago.  Lowery makes his own changes to the story and does away with some of the familiar traditions, like having Hook and Mr. Darling played by the same actor, but this is at least as faithful a retelling of the J.M. Barrie original as anything Disney ever did.

The biggest change is that Wendy (Ever Anderson) is the main character throughout, and she's much more active in the story.  There's more emphasis on Wendy dealing with her reluctance to grow up, and she's on equal narrative footing with Peter Pan (Alexander Molony), except in the action and fight sequences.  And there are plenty of those, with a very mean, nasty Captain Hook (Jude Law) and much nicer Smee (Jim Gaffigan) leading the pirates.  To modernize the story further, the Lost Boys are no longer only boys, Tiger Lily (Alyssa Wapanatâhk) is a friendly badass warrior girl, and Tinkerbell (Yara Shahidi) is not jealous of Wendy - because Wendy and Peter's budding romance is mostly absent.    

I've seen plenty of complaints about these changes, mostly from existing "Peter Pan" fans who aren't happy about some of the omissions. This is understandable, because there are some scenes and familiar lines that are recreated very faithfully from the Barrie play and the animated cartoon "Peter Pan," while others are totally original.  Hook's backstory and motives have been overhauled, so that he and Peter were actually friends in the past.  There's also much less emphasis on spectacle, aside from a few major sequences.  You have the first flight with Big Ben, a single appearance by the crocodile at Skull Rock, and a big finale with the flying pirate ship.  All of these are executed wonderfully, and deliver some thrills.  

But because this is David Lowery, Neverland is a more melancholy, less inviting place.  Many scenes take place at night, and the atmosphere is frequently dark and gloomy.  It's odd that the happiest section of the film is at the beginning, before Peter takes Wendy and her brothers (Joshua Pickerint, Jacobi Jupe) to Neverland.  Once they get there, there's plenty of action, but wonder is in short supply.  The visuals certainly look impressive, but the production also feels strangely small.  Tiger Lily is apparently the only indigenous person on the island, and we only get a glimpse of mermaids.  There's plenty of pixie dust and a few songs in the mix, but this feels like a film that's doing the absolute minimum to appeal to the tastes of the usual Disney crowd.  It's doggedly its own animal, with its own aims and its own point of view, and I appreciate that immensely.      

Parents should be a little concerned about the intensity level for younger audience members.  Jude Law is a lot of fun here, but scarier than most Hooks.  The rest of the cast ranges from great to passable.  The adults, which include Alan Tudyk and Molly Parker as the Darling parents, are all fully committed.  Gaffigan as Smee works so well, I'm astounded no one's tried it before.  Ever Anderson is excellent  as Wendy, and is easily the strongest performer among the kids.  Alexander Molony is more subdued than the usual Peter, but he's also one of the few that I've seen make the thimble scene work.  The only performance I found really lacking was Tinkerbell, because Yara Shahidi simply isn't given much to do.  Tinkerbell being changed from a jealous rival doesn't bother me much, but her total lack of character otherwise is a major misstep.     

  

On the other hand, I like how Wendy was fleshed out, especially how her happy thoughts are tied into her ultimate decision to leave Neverland.  And I like how the rivalry between Peter and Hook is resolved in the end.  "Peter Pan and Wendy" is far from the best "Peter Pan" film, but it's considerably better than the bulk of Disney's live action remakes, though the more ardent Barrie and Disney fans may disagree.

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