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Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2023 film Peter Pan & Wendy.
Story
I’ll be honest, I’ve never liked the Peter Pan movies. They always feel like growing up propaganda. I get that growing up is important, but this story is one of the biggest reasons that our society equates growing up with giving up childhood things. I think that’s a sad outcome.
All that being said, I liked the changes to the story from the traditional stage play and Disney movie. It’s exciting and fun. Lots of set up and some long monologues slow it down though.
Score: 0.5
Characters
It’s nice to see a Tinkerbell that is not jealous of Wendy and a Wendy that is a capable fighter. Tiger Lily was amazing and wise without being a stereotype. Great to see and hear the Cree language. (Although subtitles sometimes calling it a foreign language was silly.)
Hook and Pan have some great character moments and although there were a few monologues that went a little long, they both had a depth of character that is refreshing. Pan being a normal kid whose emotional maturity stalled was an interesting take.
Score: 1
Dialogue
As I mentioned, some monologues went a little too long. Some of the dialogue came off a little hammy like the actors were reading lines.
Overall it was a nice mixture of time appropriate dialogue and updated text.
Score: 0.5
Visuals and Music
The scenery was beautiful. The action well choreographed. It was easy to believe that Pan was an extremely good fighter. The camera work and framing were superb. At times I found it a little dark and maybe a little desaturated.
The music was epic and perfectly timed. I liked the mixture of the Disney animated movie soundtrack with the new orchestration.
Score: 1
Fun
I enjoyed the film, but the longer monologues seemed to bore the 3yo. The 6yo loved it, but seemed confused at the Hook and Pan friendship.
The rest of the family seemed to love it and that’s saying something since my MIL and SIL are both big fans of the book.
Score: 1
Overall
A film that both respects it’s source material and updates it in interesting ways. Fun action with fun characters. If you like any Peter Pan stories, you’ll love this one. A Disney update that is definitely worth the watch.
Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5
