★ 7 / 10
An ideal subject for Walt Disney this one
CinemaSerf
An ideal subject for Walt Disney this one - a charming, humorous adventure with great characters. Before you start watching, do bear in mind that JM Barrie…
An ideal subject for Walt Disney this one - a charming, humorous adventure with great characters. Before you start watching, do bear in mind that JM Barrie created the "Peter Pan" character at the very start of the 20th century, so some of the language and roles are a touch on the stereotypical side - but that ought not to unduly spoil this experience. The "Darlings" are a loving, but pretty dysfunctional family with a huge great dog "Nana" whose three children all share the nursery in the attic of the family home. "Peter" visits and with the help of his friendly sprite "Tinker Bell" takes the youngsters on a series of magical adventures in "Never Land" where nobody ever grows up. The legendary "Captan Hook" is his local adversary, hell bent on repaying "Peter" for causing him to lose his hand to a crocodile who is equally determined to eat the rest of him! There's a bit of depth to the characterisations - the story might be a "love" story; but it is certainly one that introduces loyalty, trust, jealousy and comradeship to youngsters in a thoroughly engaging, plausible way. There is plenty of action too - a wonderful sword fight; lots of flying and the carefree attitude of the children is really quite contagious. The animation is once again, expertly hand-crafted, with vivid colours that help convey a lot of the joy of the film. Bobby Driscoll does a super job with the title role, too - it's a smashing film.
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★ 6 / 10
Good watch, probably won't watch again, but can
Kamurai
Good watch, probably won't watch again, but can recommend for fans of Peter Pan that have seen other versions. Wow, I feel as if I've never seen this movie…
Good watch, probably won't watch again, but can recommend for fans of Peter Pan that have seen other versions.
Wow, I feel as if I've never seen this movie before: this is something that happens when you learn to watch movies critically and rewatch childhood favorites.
I'm continuously enlightened to how awful Walt Disney was. This movie is filled with insensitive nonsense, particularly to Native Americans, and the majority of the characters are just awful people, to include Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. Wendy is the only "pure" character in the entire movie, and I feel as if I'm reaching there. Tiger Lily might be a competitor, but she doesn't DO much, so it's hard to tell.
With such a wonderful premise, and Disney's level of production value, you would think this would hold up, even after 70 years, but I honestly am beginning to think this was so widely accepted for a lack of options.
Don't get me wrong, the actual story is both "close enough" to the original story, and well enough structured that a reboot would probably be very close to this version. It's all stylistic choices in both animation, dialogue, and character presentation that could easily be cleaned up, and likely should have been.
While I could probably rant for an hour just on the "love" triangle happening in this (I am completely in camp Tinkerbell), this is supposed to be "boy who never grew up". While that lends to the jealousy factors, the amount and inconsistency of details on everything about the place being magical tends to distract from it.
You'll notice that Peter no longer has human ears, he has pixie ears, and the boys supposedly killed and skinned giant animals so they could wear their skins as pajamas: where are the rest of the animals?
The pirates have been there long enough to get restless, though there are enough of them left, despite Hook just shooting them dead on occasion, but not long enough to mutiny or properly search the one island, but long enough to have a weirdly specific history between Peter Pan and Hook and the crocodile.
It's a weird movie: it's still worth a watch, but I'd watch it with your kids as opposed to just on their own.
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★ 7 / 10
A Timeless Disney Film With More Issues Than I Had Remembered
Peter Pan is directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske, and is a post war Disney animated film about a young man named Peter Pan that…
Peter Pan is directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske, and is a post war Disney animated film about a young man named Peter Pan that lives in Neverland, a place in the sky in which no one physically grows up. When Wendy, a teenage girl living in late 19th century Britain, decides she doesn't want to grow up, Peter escorts her and her two younger brothers to Neverland, where an evil pirate named Captain Hook is out to get revenge on Peter Pan.Many older Disney films are considered classics, and Peter Pan is definitely one of them. From the characters, to the top notch animation, Peter Pan is one of the most iconic animated films of all time. Even 60 years later, most everyone has seen Peter Pan, from people who grew up with it when it came out, to children who are growing up with it today. Rewatching Peter Pan, however, I found a few problems with it that stand out along with all of the great aspects of the film.To start, the animation in Peter Pan is absolutely timeless. Every hand drawn fame of the characters or environment looks amazing, and engulfs the viewer into the bright, whimsical place that is Neverland. All of the characters are also excellently animated, especially when in action. The two characters that stand out the most are that of Peter Pan and his rival, Captain Hook. This particular aspect demands that, in each scene, the viewers' eye is drawn to either of the two enemies, which was a very smart move on the filmmakers' part.On the subject of characters, all of the voice acting is very good, with great performances being given by, specifically, that of Bobby Driscoll (as Peter) and Hans Conried (as both Hook and Mr. Darling). These two play off of each other brilliantly, washing away all suspicion of two men recording in a studio. The other actors also do very well, and aren't necessarily outshadowed by that of Driscoll or Conried.One big issue I did find with Peter Pan was the pacing. It may be confusing to read, but the pacing in Peter Pan is so good that it makes a 77 minute film feel like 45 minutes. Each and every scene is so necessary that the film flies by very quickly. One blink could cause major confusion with how a character got from point A to point B, or where the characters even are. It may be hard to comprehend, but, once seeing the film, this problem is understandable.Another issue I found with the film is the writing for Peter Pan himself. Peter Pan, as written in the original play, is a fun loving child that never grows up. He is supposed to be free- spirited, and a caring person. However, the script for this film seems to portray Peter as a cocky, selfish jerk. He feels as if he's above the Darling children, and, at points in the film, is pretty close to being hated by the audience. He begins to get a bit annoying, and has the viewer rooting for Wendy and her brothers, therefore indirectly rooting for Peter, rather than having us root for Peter himself.Overall, Peter Pan isn't as fantastic as I had remembered it to be. Is it a good, timeless film? Yes, it is, but it has a few more problems that I see more clearly now than I used to. Anyone who isn't too hard on films will enjoy Peter Pan, and others will, too, because it is a pretty good movie.
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79%
TOMATOMETER
· 42 reviews
80%
AUDIENCE
· 250K ratings
7.2/10
167.9K
•••
Too much screaming and too erotic for kids. Music is annoying too; there are newer and nicer versions.