Peter Pan (2003)

What’s the Story?

This story begins with Peter Pan, the boy who would not grow up, leaving Neverland on occasion so he can listen to the stories that Wendy tells her brothers, Michael and John,. One night, Peter's shadow is caught in the window. When he comes back to get it, Wendy sews it on, and Peter invites them back to Neverland. There they meet up with the Lost Boys, and battle Captain Hook (Jason Isaacs). This film version focuses on the relationship between Peter and Wendy. In Neverland, Peter tells Wendy she will never have to grow up but then makes her into the mother of the Lost Boys. She assures him (and herself) that they are only playing, but she feels the pull of the adult world. She even tells Peter that Captain Hook is "a man of feeling" while he is just a boy. Feelings are taken very seriously in this film. Fairies like Tinkerbell can have only one feeling at a time. Peter cannot answer when Wendy asks him what his feelings are. And Hook has a deadly poison made up of "a mixture of malice, jealous, and disappointment."

Is It Any Good?

Director/screenwriter P.J. Hogan's sumptuously beautiful re-telling of the classic story maintains its timeless charm. The production design is simply gorgeous, with exquisite period detail. Even state-of-the-art special effects like flying and computer graphics are consistently conceived and gratifyingly believable. The jarring notes are Peter's (unforgivably) American accent and some anachronistic-sounding music. Ludivine Sagnier does her best as Tinkerbell, but the fairy is probably best portrayed as a spot of light.

Some Pan lovers will object to some gentle tweaking of the story. But it's not so much to be politically correct or bring it up to date as it is to remove any distractions from what in today's view would be seen as sexism.