Return to Neverland

Disney has been really successful over the years with their animated theatrical releases. While some of them were not nearly as good as most of the earlier classics, they still bring an audience. During the years when the home viewing was growing more popular (thanks to DVD), Disney had realized that direct-to-video sequels to some of their classics could attract an audience thanks to the familiarity to the characters. While some of them were decent, others were mediocre, at best.

When they saw an opening in the schedule where there wasn’t much competition, “Peter Pan: Return to Neverland” was released in theaters earlier in 2002 to soft interest. Originally thought to be another direct-to-video release, there was really little reason why it couldn’t have simply been that in the first place. One review said, “It's certainly not a terrible feature, but aside from a few stunning visuals and decent voice acting, there's really not much reason for it to be.”

The movie starts years after the original movie, Wendy, now voiced by Kath Soucie, is now an adult, married, and has kids of her own. The three live in England during World War II. Her daughter, Jane, voiced by Harriet Owen, has lost interest in her stories, firmly pushing away her mother’s discussions of Never Land. When Captain Hook, voiced by Corey Burton, arrives though, Jane is taken (mistaken for Wendy) and realizes that all those stories Wendy told her just might be true.

In that same review, it was stated that “Although the sequel does go off in some unexpected directions, much of it (like many of the other Disney sequels to their classics) feels familiar.” This time around, Jane finds herself seriously wanting to return home after arriving in Never Land, only to finally seeing in person Peter Pan’s (Blayne Weaver) charms. At the same time, Jane not believing in fairies leads to Tinkerbell becoming sick and only Jane believing can heal her again. Obviously, Captain Hook does everything he can to hunt down Pan and his lost treasure. Jeff Bennett voices Smee and Hook’s crew.

The reviewer admitted, “I certainly wasn't expecting a film on the level of the original, but "Return To Neverland" fell a little short of even lowered expectations.” The film’s tone is a little uneven, with a very serious opening that does get a little lighter once the film takes us to Never Land. The animation, a little bit above the usual direct-to-video style, is rather detailed and quite colorful, if not exactly in the same ballpark of Disney’s theatrical releases. The reviewer mentioned, “There was one particular shot of note early in the film, where Hook's ship parks itself over Wendy's house. The huge ship, looking like a dark storm cloud, was an image both beautiful and ominous at once.”

Overall, “Return to Neverland” was simply an average movie. It’s not as bad as some of Disney’s failures to make sequels to some of their classics, but it’s actually ordinary and familiar.

“Return to Neverland” has alright animation, some moments of alright excitement and a rather unoriginal story. Kids should enjoy it, but adults will probably think why the film could not have been a little closer to what the original had done so well.

I would say that if you give this film a pass that is perfectly alright. I don’t recommend it, but if you see it, then you’ll know what I mean. It’s just another adequate sequel that if you watch, just see it once and that’s it.

Check in tomorrow in “Disney Sequel Month,” where I look at a sequel that I thought was fine compared to everyone else that just thrashed it.