by Heath Lynch, Contributing Writer
I have a great affinity for J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up. The play, and the subsequent novel based on it, Peter and Wendy, have great meaning to me. Through ever-changing times and life events, I have found solace in these stories and their adaptations, whether it was works like the Disney animated Peter Pan (‘53) or the non-Disney live-action adaptation Peter Pan (’03); the mythos-stretching Hook, or the biopic about the creation of the story, and Best Picture nominated Finding Neverland. I’m fascinated with these tales. So, needless to say at this point, but I’ve been eagerly anticipating Disney’s live action remake of their ‘53 animated classic. Could this film bring the magic once again? Could it make up for all the cultural transgressions of the original? Could it put a fresh twist on the story to justify its existence? Sadly, though there are a few elements to appreciate, for the most part, Peter Pan & Wendy is a lifeless husk of the animated film that is mired under the weight of bungled themes and severely lacking in any magic or wonderment.
This is what I get for going into a movie with unbridled hope and optimism: soul-crushing defeat…
The most egregious aspect about this film is how unexciting it is. This movie is much more boring than it is exhilarating. I mean, this is a story with fairies and mermaids! Pirates and Indigenous People! It’s about a whimsical world that’s full of fantasy and wonder, and kids who can fly and sword fight! This should be thrilling! Full of color and life! But Peter Pan & Wendy is none of these things.
There are no mermaids in this story whatsoever. The only Indigenous Person we really get to see is Tiger Lily. In an effort to correct how racist Peter Pan (‘53) was, the bare minimum this film needed to do, this movie opts to spend no time with the Indigenous tribe whatsoever, and virtually cuts them out of the movie. There is no world building here. There’s nothing unique about this interpretation of Neverland. It’s a barren island that lends no excitement to the story, and no visual wonderment for your eyes. It’s laughable, especially when compared to Peter Pan (‘03) or Hook, which had production value and set design in spades. And the flying? Damn. Man of Steel had more exciting flight a decade ago, as did Hook two decades before that. This is just slow and dull, and our CGI characters often look like jellyfish. How about the swashbuckling? Nope. The choreography and acting is so lethargic and stunted that it comes across as extremely fake and uninteresting, robbing all the tension the film is trying to achieve.
Even the color palette is severely lacking. This movie is 80% earth tones, and they’re filtered and muted at that. Dull greens, muddy browns, slate gray, charcoal black. Every so often there’s a sprinkling of a lush, mossy green, and a weathered heath of grass that’s beautiful (as there were some gorgeous landscapes shot on the Bonavista Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador), but these shots of beautiful cinematography are few and far between. Too much of this film is dark and dreary. Too much is shot on ugly green screen. None of it feels like Neverland as you would imagine it to be.
There’s more excitement, color, and a lively musical score in the flight to Neverland sequence of Peter Pan (‘03), or fun, magic, and a sense of childhood wonder in the food fight sequence of Hook than there is any of these elements throughout the entire runtime of Peter Pan & Wendy. For a story that’s supposed to be overflowing with magical elements, and be a colorful visual feast for the eyes, like almost every other film adaptation of this material has seemed to understand (even truly terrible films like Pan), this one doesn’t seem to grasp this concept at all.
Once you compound these numerous and detrimental flaws with the poor script, mixed themes, and bad casting, woof, you’ve got issues. The dialogue is just not good. It really feels like it is forcing in every codfish catchphrase and Peter Pan crow just to have them in there; nothing feels genuine. The direction it takes the characters and story doesn’t work either. Wendy (Ever Anderson) immediately hates Neverland upon arrival, and is never captivated by its potential; she wants to grow up immediately. Pan (Alexander Molony) is never charming, always brash. You’re not lured in by him, only to later find out that he’s arrogant and self-centered, that’s apparent immediately. You’re annoyed by the offset. It’s as if no one was allowed to be likable here. No one could laugh or have a good time. It’s all so serious and disappointing.
This all ties into the themes, and the poorly constructed Captain Hook (Jude Law) origin story. We’ve gotten this origin in many variations before, but this is Disney’s first attempt, and boy is it sloppy. The movie constantly waivers on whether or not James Hook is a redeemable character, and if you’re supposed to pity him or despise him. Same with Pan, for that matter, who is an equally detestable person who revels in torturing people and turning them away when they’re emotionally vulnerable. This script gives you no one to root for, and everyone to root against. Peter Pan is not the good guy here, nor is Hook the bad. They’re just two halves of a dirty, ugly coin.
Let’s not even get into the fact that Mr. Darling (Alan Tudyk) and Captain Hook are portrayed by two different actors, when that historically has never been the case, nor should it ever be the case, because Hook is meant to represent the looming specter of adulthood that Wendy is fighting against, and eventually coming to terms with, in her father. Hell, Wendy is pretty much on her own journey in this movie that actually has very little crossover with Peter at all. She has more interaction, and more emotional resonance, with Tiger Lily (Alyssa Wapanatâhk) than with Peter. And are Michael (Jacobi Jupe) and John (Joshua Pickering) even in this movie? Because they disappear, in script and in purpose, once we get to Neverland.
Because Peter Pan & Wendy can never decide what to do with its main characters, or its themes, the audience has no real way to react other than to say, “Well, the movie tries something. It doesn’t work at all, but at least you can give them credit for trying. Hooray?” But that’s not nearly good enough.
This is the part I really hate to do… I’m here to condemn these child actors. I hate it. I hate it so much. Because I’m not aiming to be a jerk and slander all of these kids who have so much life and potential ahead of them, but wow, none of them are any good here. Not a one. Particularly Molony, who is downright bad as Pan. Anderson and Alyssa Wapanatâhk at least try, but the script gives them very little to work with. Even outside of the child actors, Jim Gaffigan is a massive letdown as Smee. And as much as I like that they got rid of the stupid jealousy storyline for Tinker Bell, Yara Shahidi might as well not exist in this movie, as she is given nothing to do, and only serves to sprinkle pixie dust on people and objects to make them fly.
The only ray of sunshine in this entire film is Law. He is clearly having fun in the role, and attempting to ham it up when the moment is right, though the tone of the film rarely matches his energy. Plus, he’s the only one trying to ring any true motion out of this flick’s story changes regarding Peter and Hook’s relationship. In fact, he’s so good that it damages the movie. By the end of the film, I found myself taking Hook’s side, wanting him to beat Pan. The movie even pauses at one point where Pan extends an olive branch, and it looks like it is going to take a step towards friendship. Instead, we see the only part of this movie with a damn plunge towards uncertain doom.
This barely 90-minute flick (before credits) feels like such a drag by its ending that the credits come as sweet relief. It’s predictable but disappointing that it amounts to yet another failed Disney live action remake. Given that it was directed by such a talent as David Lowery, and my personal connection to this story and previous films, the experience was borderline tragic for me.
Peter Pan & Wendy is just a bad movie. There’s no way around it. I do not recommend it to anyone, even if you’re a big fan of the previous animated classic, or the mythos in general. Actually, I especially don’t recommend it for those people. Just don’t watch this movie; it’s not worth your time. It’ll never make you feel like you can fly…
Score: 4/10
Peter Pan & Wendy is currently streaming on Disney+
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