Peter Pan & Wendy review: Lot of stardust in the done-to-death premise

Peter Pan & Wendy comes at a curious time for Disney. While the studio is dealing with the ugly new fishes from its upcoming grandeur, The Little Mermaid, which has managed to offset half the globe to more live-action remakes, this live-action adaptation of the 1953 animated movie came out with a strong cast and an even stronger director with the same old story of Peter Pan, the child who refuses to grow up.

Premiering directly on Disney+, David Lowery’s humanizing interpretation of one of the most coveted children's (or adults') stories about a boy from a fantasy land who refuses to grow old and continues to have adventures in his never-ending childhood. The story has been interpreted as existential and escapist by many, and sadly, almost all the renditions of the story have been done before.

David Lowery’s take on the classic with Peter Pan & Wendy is one of realism and safety. The latest take feels like a whitewashing attempt at a story that has many intrinsic problems.

Peter Pan & Wendy premiered on April 28, 2023.

---

Peter Pan & Wendy is not a breath of fresh air by any means, but it does not lack matter, either

Peter Pan & Wendy created a lot of discussion before its premiere, with the primary concerns being the deviation from the source material. The film does not deviate from the core structure, material, or feeling, only from the things that seem less problematic in this day and age.

Sticking true to the lore, Peter Pan & Wendy kicks off with Wendy (Ever Anderson) and her brothers John (Joshua Pickering) and Michael (Jacobi Jupe) being introduced at the start. Soon, Peter (Alexander Molony) also comes into play, and the adventure kicks off.

There is nothing extraordinary about Peter Pan's adventures, which almost all viewers know and can visualize, but what Lowery really tries to do in this version is to humanize each character and provide logical justification for all the occurrences.

Does it come off like it's supposed to? Perhaps not, but there are still plenty of things to enjoy in this near-two-hour drive. The new Tinkerbell (Yara Shahidi) is fresh and exciting, Captain Hook's (played by Jude Law) backstory is more humanizing and less linear, and Peter Pan and Wendy's adventures are grounded in both reality and source material.

The first half of the film feels much more breezy compared to the second, which at times feels a little overburdened with preset gags and the 'need' to showcase some things while also trying to incorporate a lot of new things.

It is indeed a very grounded narrative that will appeal to more people in this generation, possibly more to adults than to children. But most of the new things that Lowery tried were already done before, thanks to the endless adaptations that have come out of the same premise.

One of the brightest parts of the film is the cinematography. Borrowing from the classics of the 21st century, the camera work is vivid, fluid, and extremely well-measured, giving some of the best moments of Peter flying through the sky ever seen on film before.

All in all, Peter Pan & Wendy is not a breath of fresh air by any means, but it does not lack matter, either. It ends up being a narrative about childhood and about the inevitable adulthood, covering everything in between.

Peter Pan & Wendy is now streaming on Disney+.