‘Peter Pan & Wendy’: Cast & Crew
Director: David Lowery
Cast: Jude Law, Alexander Molony, Ever Anderson, Yara Shahidi, Alyssa Wapanatâhk, Joshua Pickering, Jacobi Jupe, Molly Parker, Alan Tudyk, Jim Gaffigan
Available On: Disney+ Hotstar
Duration: 1 Hour 46 Minutes
‘Peter Pan & Wendy’: Story
Follow the adventures of Peter Pan, a boy who does not want to grow up, and how he recruits three siblings in London, one of them being Wendy. Together they embark on a magical adventure on the enchanted island of Neverland. Also, there is Captain Hook who is the arch-nemesis of Peter Pan. Will Peter Pan be able to save himself from the evil Captain Hook? Will Wendy be able to ever return to her home with her siblings? Will Wendy fall in love with Peter Pan? Will Peter Pan ever grow up? Will Captain Hook change his ways of life and become loveable? Or will he end up killing Peter Pan out of revenge? Well, for all that you’ll have to watch the movie.
‘Peter Pan & Wendy’: Performances
Jude Law is a chameleon in the truest sense of the word when it comes to his acting abilities. He can transform himself into any character, and Captain Hook is just a fine example of the same. The way Jude Law has played the iconic character makes you completely forget that he is one of the most handsome men in the world, and you are forced to just focus on the character. That’s the sort of magnetism he brought into the character. The way he talks, the way he shouts, the way he grunts, the way he pops one eyebrow and gives a smouldering yet angry look – all of them are near perfect of what the character has been in audiences' minds over the past 100 years.
However, Alexander Molony as Peter Pan doesn’t have a great arc to his character. When the arch nemesis of the title character is so powerful, the title character needed a lot more gusto in order to stand out. Sadly, Molony isn’t able to give that empowerment to the character of Peter Pan. While he does get all the marks on the cuteness quotient which was needed to make Peter Pan a likeable character, but somehow, the character’s graph didn’t match up to Molony’s potential, and it ended up looking half-baked. The fight sequences featuring Peter Pan could have also been so much more well-rehearsed and choreographed that it didn’t feel like it was a young boy fighting, but an experienced swordsman belting out the moves.
Yara Shahidi, as Tinker Bell, was completely wasted.
Ever Anderson as Wendy did have the lion’s share of the screentime, and she managed to milk every ounce of juice out of the character. It was a breath of fresh air to see her gallivanting through different exotic locales. Anderson brings a likeability to the character. She, not only manages to draw the attention of the young kids watching the film but is also able to give out life-changing teachings at the same time. Her personality fits the bill perfectly of Wendy, and you’re left wanting to see more and more of her.
The rest of the supporting cast doesn’t have too much on-screen time to even manage to come up with a breakthrough performance. The supporting characters are, actually, just too drab, and that pulls the film down a bit as well.
‘Peter Pan & Wendy’: Script, Direction & Technical Aspects
David Lowery and Toby Halbrooks’s writing is definitely the weakest link in the entire presentation. The story, although a fairy tale which every kid across the globe would have heard at least once in their lifetime, could have been made more thrilling for not just the kids but even the adults to go nostalgic. As a kid, you might still get enticed by some of the aspects of the screenplay, but as an adult, you’ll just not get that connection that you had, probably with the book. That magnetic draw which a fairy tale usually has is somehow missing in the writing. Even though likeable, the characters don’t stand out and make you want to live their lives. They’re all pretty underwhelming.
David Lowery’s direction tries to salvage as much as possible of the dull script. The exotic locales do bring in a bit of aesthetics to the story and hook you on. However, the visual effects could have been done a lot better. For example, the scenes where Wendy, Peter Pan and a few other little ones are flying when they reach Neverland, those scenes do seem a bit too cooked up. The visual effects created to make the kids look like they’re flying are not up to the mark, and at times, it feels like they’ve been in some cheap editing room rather than the high-end visual effects room of Disney.
Bojan Bazelli’s cinematography is the only saving grace of the entire background team. The way Baselli has shot some of the sequences is absolutely brilliant. From getting the overhead fast shots during flights to the battle scenes on the ship are all so nicely brought on screen that you will absolutely want to watch those scenes over and over.
Lisa Zeno Churgin’s editing is not bad, but what can even she do when the base and the backdrop itself aren’t that outlandish? A lot less focus on Wendy, and a lot more focus on Peter Pan or Captain Hook, and their rivalry could have made for a fun watch. However, she needs to be lauded for keeping the film short and not go dragging on for eternity.
To add to that the background score and the music too isn’t what you expect from a Disney presentation. As kids you want to not just watch the fairy tale come alive, but you also want to feel like you’re living in it as the lead character. The BGM fails to deliver that. Plus, there’s no stand-out song which you’ll remember for life like it was in ‘Moana’ or ‘Frozen’ or even ‘Encanto’.
‘Peter Pan & Wendy’: Can Kids Watch It?
Yes
Outlook’s Verdict
‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ is a poor attempt at creating a classic. The story turns out to be so non-thrilling that, as adults, you wouldn’t even want to wait till the very end. However, as kids, you might still have some fun watching Captain Hook and his antics. Jude Law is definitely the only saving grace of the movie. Despite his terrific performance, the entire movie is just Below Average. I am going 2 stars.
