REVIEW: ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ Is Nothing But Bad Form

Based on book by J.M. Barrie, Peter and Wendy, and the beloved 1953 Disney animated classic, Peter Pan, Disney Plus tries its hand at re-telling the story of the boy who refused to grow up in Peter Pan & Wendy. The story opens in London at the home of the Darling family. Headstrong Wendy (Ever Anderson) is frustrated she is being forced to grow-up. Set to leave for boarding school in the morning, Wendy attempts to enjoy her last night in the nursery alongside her brothers Michael (Jacobi Jupe) and John (Joshua Pickering). The trio is having a ball re-enacting their favorite bedtime story, Peter Pan. As they sword fight their way across the nursery, it’s all fun and games until the game gets a little out of hand. Perturbed that Wendy is still acting like a child, the Darling parents intervene to remind Wendy she is too old to be playing these childhood games.

Once in bed, Wendy is visited by the legendary Peter Pan (Alexander Molony) and his fairy sidekick, Tinker Bell (Yara Shahidi). Peter has come to Wendy’s bedroom window to not only find his shadow, but to convince her to come to Neverland with him, so she never has to grow up. With her brothers by her side, Wendy takes off with Peter and Tinker Bell to fly to Neverland. There she meets Tiger Lily (Alyssa Wapanatahk), battles pirates with the Lost Boys, and comes face to face with the sad and sinister man, Captain Hook (Jude Law). She soon comes to realize that the greatest adventure of all isn’t staying a kid, it’s growing up.

The title of this movie is a bit misleading. This film version is very much focused on Wendy and her journey, notably until the last quarter of the movie. This is where the audience begins to see more of Peter Pan and the part he plays in the Neverland world. Until this point, Peter is just a stubborn, unlikeable boy who refuses to grow up. Wendy, on the other hand, is a modern girl in a world where young women who were vocal and unafraid to speak their minds were frowned upon. Unlike previous portrayals of her, there is nothing gentle or motherlike about this character. This more updated feel to Wendy seems out of place as the movie is set in the early 1900s. The contemporary take on Wendy doesn’t align with the narrative of the film. Wendy is not the only character updated with a current spin. Pretty much all of the female characters were written for the modern audience tuning in to watch it. Whether or not this will be well received by audiences remains to be seen.

The overall problem with all the characters, from Wendy to Peter to John, and so on is they all lacked personality. The characters that should have had the most personality, the Lost Boys, were merely used as background characters. They don’t add anything to the story, which is a shame as the Lost Boys are meant to be raucous, entertaining, and joyful. The lack of character development coupled with a disjoined story line made the film feel plodding and tiresome.

Add in the subpar special effects and there is little in this film to cheer about. From the pirate-hungry crocodile to the flying scenes featuring Peter and Wendy, nothing looked believable. The effects were so distracting they took you out of the story completely at points making it hard to re-engage with the story.

Peter Pan and Wendy lacked the magic that was featured in the original story and the animated classic. There is a reason this story is still told to this day, but this movie won’t be a welcome addition to the Peter Pan world. If you want to dive back into the story of Peter Pan, I recommend watching the animated classic, reading the original story, or checking out my personal favorite, Hook.

Grade: D