Movie Review: ‘Peter Pan & Wendy'

Pete’s Dragon’ director Lowery proves he can still bring layers to a Disney adventure, which features some great performances and emotional depth.

Jude Law as Captain Hook in Disney's live-action 'Peter Pan & Wendy,' exclusively on Disney+.

On Disney+ now, ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ is the latest attempt by the studio to transform one of its animated classics into live action. And thankfully, despite being pushed straight to streaming, this reveals itself to be far better than the much-maligned ‘Pinocchio’ conversion job that (dis)graced screens last year, even that had Robert Zemeckis directing and Tom Hanks starring.

And that’s largely thanks to director David Lowery, who finds a lyrical, visually lush approach and ups the emotional ante to give the story more meaning.

Peter Pan & Wendy

"Escape to Neverland."

PG1 hr 46 minApr 27th, 2023

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What’s the story of ‘Peter Pan & Wendy?’

Given that author J.M. Barrie’s original play premiered back in 1904 and it, and the novel spawned from it have been adapted many, many times through the years, it’s hard to imagine anyone doesn’t know the narrative for this one. But just in case…

‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ introduces us to Wendy Darling (Ever Anderson), a young girl on the verge of leaving her family and childhood home behind to attend boarding school. One night, Wendy and brothers Michael (Jacobi Jupe –– yes, the younger brother of ‘A Quiet Place’s Noah) and John (Joshua Pickering) meet Peter Pan (Alexander Molony), a boy who refuses to grow up.

Alongside her brothers and a tiny fairy, Tinker Bell (Yara Shahidi), she travels with Peter to the magical world of Never Land. There, she encounters an evil pirate captain, Captain Hook (Jude Law), and embarks on a thrilling and dangerous adventure that will change her life forever.

Alexander Molony as Peter Pan in Disney's live-action 'Peter Pan & Wendy,' exclusively on Disney+.

Danger Pan

Even with a seemingly failsafe story, Peter Pan has offered mixed blessings to filmmakers through the years. Disney famously made a successful animated version way back in 1953, but in more recent times, it has become something of a third rail for directors who dare to go near it.

It has provided flops for ‘Muriel’s Wedding’ filmmaker P.J. Hogan, whose 2003 traditional ‘Peter Pan’ boasted Jason Isaacs as Captain Hook but could only wrangle $121 million worldwide from a $100 million budget (not counting advertising etc.) ‘Atonement’s Joe Wright tried a punkier, revised version in 2015 with Hugh Jackman playing Hook. That did even worse, losing money. And even more recently, ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’s Benh Zeitlin turned the focus to Wendy Darling with, well, ‘Wendy’, which was made for $6 million and has so far returned less than $300,000 on limited, pandemic-impacted release after it landed in 2020.

Yet Lowery has pulled off something that feels like it both channels Barrie’s original story and does interesting things with it that make it feel fresh.

Alyssa Wapanatâhk as Tiger Lily in Disney's live-action 'Peter Pan & Wendy,' exclusively on Disney+.

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This is, of course, not Lowery’s first ride on the Disney rodeo either –– he previously brought the world a fine adaptation of ‘Pete’s Dragon’. With that movie there was a lot more scope for change, the director swapping the live action/cartoon musical story for a more grounded (aside from the whole dragon thing), story of a lost boy who finds solace in a giant winged creature.

Lost boys –– and girls –– are, of course a big part of the ‘Pan’ story (Peter has a group he’s collected through the years), and in finding his young cast, Lowery has tracked down some authentic (and authentically diverse) actors to bring the roles to life.

Ever Anderson, daughter of Milla Jovovich and director Paul W.S. Anderson, brings charm and a soulful quality to Wendy and also does well on the stunt front when called upon (the apple not falling far from the tree there). As her brothers, Pickering and Jupe aren’t called upon to handle too much, but what they bring is kids who are appealing and never precociously annoying.

Ever Anderson as Wendy in Disney's live-action 'Peter Pan & Wendy,' exclusively on Disney+.

Molony as Peter initially feels smug and arrogant, but those are a slightly in keeping with his base character. And as the movie probes deeply into his reasons for being the way he is, he warms up.

Law as Hook is a fantastically preening villain at first, but the actor is also talented enough to handle the deeper origin story that Lowery and co-writer Toby Halbrooks hand him. And he’s ably supported by Smee (Jim Gaffigan, who unveils a solid British accent), who is also handed more of a character than the usual comedy sidekick.

Lowery kicks off with a very theatrical feel, upping the fantasy levels and, if there’s a problem to be found, the earlier scenes (which take place at night) are a little muddy with the digital filming. And Molony, for one, sometimes looks like he’s been crafted with CGI, even more so than Shahidi’s Tink.

Yara Shahidi as Tinkerbell in Disney's live-action 'Peter Pan & Wendy,' exclusively on Disney+.

But once the movie gets to Neverland, sunshine arrives and the canvas expands, the movie becomes much more watchable. And the effects –– such Hook’s ship going flying and the infamous ticking-belly crocodile (to whom Peter fed Hook’s hand once he cut it off years ago) –– are effective, even if they sometimes stretch the more limited budget offered by a movie produced for the streaming service as opposed to ‘Pete’s Dragon’s lush theatrical look.

The music, meanwhile, both in score form from musicians Daniel Hart and Oliver Wallace (who channels John Williams at times) and the pirate songs from the original animated movie given fresh treatment, really help to enhance the experience.

This is Lowery bringing his carefully crafted indie sensibility to the film, once again putting his stamp on it rather than feeling like it rattled off of a construction conveyor belt. It might not appeal to fans of his more esoteric work such as ‘A Ghost Story’, but it’s a perfectly fun story for family audiences, especially with young children who have yet to see their first ‘Pan’ adaptation.

You won’t feel like a codfish for catching this one.

‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ receives 7 out of 10 stars.