Cut to the chase: Filled with stunning visuals and a few new twists, “Peter Pan & Wendy” is a whimsical derivative of the Disney animated feature. Unfortunately, it does not offer enough of an original take to set it apart from the many other J.M. Barrie adaptations that have pleased audiences over the last century.

Photo courtesy of Disney. © 2023 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Pan is back
Apart from the animated franchise which began with “Peter Pan” in 1953, was followed by a sequel in 2002, and capped off with six direct-to-video films centered around Tinker Bell as the lead, Disney has never made its own live-action film about the boy who wouldn’t grow up. There have been plenty of adaptations by other studios, as well as some well-loved touring stage performances over the decades, but the House of Mouse has finally put to metaphorical celluloid its own live-action version.
In “Peter Pan & Wendy”, young British actor Alexander Molony stars as the titular leader of the Lost Boys, an adventure seeker and mortal enemy of one-handed buccaneer Captain James Hook, played with understated malevolence by Jude Law. In desperate pursuit of his elusive shadow, Peter flies into a London bedroom where he meets the Darling children: Wendy (Ever Anderson), John (Joshua Pickering), and Michael (Jacobi Jupe). With the help of fairy dust from his trusty sidekick Tinker Bell (Yara Shahidi), Peter whisks his new friends off to the island of Neverland where magical escapades and new companions await.

Photo by Eric Zachanowich. © 2023 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Darling Wendy
Though Peter may have the higher ranking in the film’s title, it is Wendy, portrayed by the daughter of actress Milla Jovovich and director Paul W.S. Anderson, who leads the film with incredible heart and scene-stealing charisma. Her emotional performance resonates with viewers and keeps the film rooted in the moment. If left to the flighty, often undemonstrative Peter, nostalgia would be treated like a codfish, casually thrown out as an insult rather than a strum of the heartstrings for longtime fans.
Anderson is truly spectacular, but unfortunately, the cast, all talented in their individual roles, share no connective tissue or collective chemistry to give the film that family feeling it needs to succeed. Law, another wonderful Hook, shares no cinematic alchemy alongside his small adversary, and hence, their dramatic fight sequences hold no real stake for the audience. Their scenes feel anticlimactic; all talk, no crocodile bite.

Photo by Eric Zachanowich. © 2023 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Children are certainly lost
The film follows the traditional avenue of Peter Pan storytelling, veering at the end to give Peter and Hook a personal history unique to this adaptation. However, the film never dives deep enough to make any of its characters soar off the screen. Tiger Lily hardly speaks in a recognizable tongue, the mermaids are completely avoided altogether and Wendy’s brothers, John and Michael, could easily have been poster cut-outs for all the character-building they are allotted. The Lost Boys, who now, for the first time, include some girls in their ranks, are also not given the time or space to develop their own personalities.
Perhaps the greatest letdown is Peter himself, who flies and crows but leaves no impact on viewers. He is certainly more tender-hearted than Pans past, but he is also truly a boy lost in the idea of what Pan should be instead of making space for a new take on the classic character. Writer-director David Lowery keeps the energy of the film high with some insanely gorgeous imagery, but despite the beautiful camerawork and special effects, the parts just don’t add up to a completely engaging trip to Neverland.
Things to know:
Streaming on: Disney+ only
MPAA Rating: PG for violence, peril and thematic elements
Recommended Age: 8+
Runtime: 106 minutes
Nightmare Inducers: The usual adversaries litter this “Peter Pan” film as well, but they are surely no scarier than pirates past. The vengeful venom of Captain Hook is well balanced by the comic relief of Smee (Jim Gaffigan), and his wild marauding compatriots pose no real threat to both the children on Neverland and the children watching from home.
Difficult Concepts or Emotions: “Peter Pan & Wendy” deals with the usual elevated concepts that can worry kids, like growing older, moving out of the family home (Wendy, in this version, is being sent to boarding school), making friends, jealousy over said friendships and the eternal fight with adults and/or entering adulthood.
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