Peter Pan & Wendy

Last night, I saw “Peter Pan & Wendy,” which premiered on Disney+ back in April. How is this new adaptation of Peter Pan?

The story of Peter Pan, Wendy, and Neverland has left a mark on generations of viewers and readers.

After JM Barrie’s play “Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up” debuted in 1904, it was followed by the 1911 novel Peter and Wendy.

Film adaptations started with a silent film in 1924, but it was the 1953 Disney film “Peter Pan” that brought the story to countless new people, and it has been watched by many more over the years since. We also have had Steven Spielberg’s “Hook,” 2003’s “Peter Pan” and 2015’s “Pan,” but they failed to match the magic of the Disney film.

“Peter Pan & Wendy” doesn’t, too. However, it’s still a nice and fun take on the beloved story, which it tells in a modern way, while also exploring timely themes that make it feel all the more perceptive.

Greg Wakeman said in his review, “It has been co-written and directed by David Lowery, who previously oversaw Disney’s delightful live-action remake of Pete’s Dragon.” “Peter Pan & Wendy” starts with Wendy Darling (Ever Anderson), who is about to leave her mother Mary (Molly Parker), father George (Alan Tudyk), and two brothers John (Joshua Pickering) and Michael (Jacobi Jupe) behind for boarding school.

Wendy is afraid to leave her childhood home behind, even though her parents insist that it’s time she should grow up. Then, one night, Peter Pan (Alexander Molony) and a tiny fairy Tinker Bell (Yara Shahidi) arrive at Wendy’s home to take her and her siblings to Neverland, where Pan refuses to grow old.

As well as being the home to Pan, other Lost Boys, and an indigenous tribe, Neverland’s waters are sailed by Captain Hook, played by Jude Law, a pirate and Peter’s enemy, who wants to get revenge against him after he cut off his right hand and fed it to the crocodile. He has since replaced his hand with a sharp, metallic hook.

Wakeman said, “Peter Pan & Wendy might be overly saccharine from time to time, but Lowery’s swash-buckling approach to direction makes sure that it’s always light-hearted and fun to watch unfold. Lowery takes such an inventive and carefree approach that he even includes several musical moments in the film. They never feel forced, though, and are organically incorporated.”

While he’s always firmly aware of his main audience, Lowery also manages to make sure that “Peter Pan & Wendy” is filled with so many dark moments and scenes that give the story an important edge.

Wakeman noted, “That’s hardly a surprise when you consider that, as well as the child-friendly Pete’s Dragon, Lowery has previously directed the romantic crime drama Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, the supernatural fantasy A Ghost Story, and medieval fantasy The Green Knight, each of which were firmly aimed at adults.”

With “Peter Pan & Wendy,” Lowery knows exactly the right imagery and shots to use to be gripping, while always making sure that he doesn’t distance its targeted audience. The highlight is the look, size, and chaos created by the giant crocodile that threatens Hook and his fellow pirates, which leads to the film’s most entertaining moment.

What also makes “Peter Pan & Wendy” stand out is how it updates the characters and its story. Not just in its look of Neverland’s indigenous tribe and the diversity of its cast, but also by how it examines themes of the fears and pressures of growing up, friendship, ego, and responsibility.

Wakeman noted, “Ultimately, there’s a theatricality and melodrama to Peter Pan & Wendy that occasionally overwhelms the film, and its sincerity gets a bit much, too.” More often than not, it’s such an enjoyable and inspiring film that you’ll be able to overlook the flaws, especially as it looks at Wendy, Peter Pan, and even Hook in such a new and original way.

This is fine. I don’t see anything in here that would make people mad or regret ever playing it, but I think everyone can watch this and enjoy it just fine. Go ahead and check it out if you, since I liked it alright. As a Peter Pan movie, I think everyone can get into this fine and not have them scratching their heads as to what they were thinking. If you have kids, they can watch this with no problem.

Thank you for joining in on this review tonight. Stay tuned Friday for the finale of “Morgan Freeman Month Part 2.”