Peter Pan
I’ve been a fan of the Peter Pan story since I was a kid. Whether it be the ability for a boy to fly or the image of sword fighting by pirates and a ragtag gang of kids. It was a childs fantasy, an adventure that all kids pretended to be a part of. Countless stage productions brought the original 1902 story, originally The Little White Bird by J. M. Berrie, to life. The early 50’s was marked by two of the most famous performances of the story, animated by walt disney and on broadway, starring Mary Martin as Peter. Since the first 1905 stage show, Peter has always been played, in the original version of the story, by a woman.
This year marks the first time a professional live action version of the sotry has a male in the lead role. Peter Pan, is the story of three british children who help pass the time in their nursery by creating stories and pretending to be pirates and the like. Wendy, the older daughter overhears their parents planning to force her to grow up, to become a proper woman and no longer play with her brothers or enjoy the carefree life she has grown accustomed to. One night a boy her age fantastically shows up in their nursery, flying about the room “offending logic” as Wendy’s brother John puts it. The boy who never grows up, Peter Pan, teaches the trio to fly and leads them to his world of Neverland, full of fairies, pirates, mermaids and indians the likes of which children can only imagine.
This film was spectacularly visual. Purposefully visualized as something out of a childs story book, the land and sky resembled oil paintings and sketches come to life. Cotton candy like clouds fill the air, lush tropical greens adorn the land and the evil Captain Hook’s ship, the Jolly Roger, is as sinister, dark and dingy as any would imagine. Judging by the trailers, I half expected to see a darker movie, one with violence and evil throughout, but this wasn’t the case. The original moral is intact, love and friendship are second to none and that even though growing up is necessary for everyone, it doesn’t hurt to play a little every now and then.
I have to be honest and say that I didn’t much notice the music. Unlike Spielbergs Hook (1991), the score didn’t act as another character of the story. Granted, not every composer can be John Williams, but it felt a little drab just the same.
The acting was very good, especially for the amount of children. Jeremy Sumpter and Rachel Hurd-Wood did an excellent job of portraying a pseudo-star crossed Peter and Wendy. Despite their age, a kind of sexual tension could be felt between them that strengthened their performances. Being the first boy in the role of the ‘boy who never grows up’ Sumpter had much riding on his shoulders. Critics have panned him for being too rigid and without emotion, but after all, that IS the character of Peter: stubborn, avoiding and without a want for ‘feelings’. Lynne Redgrave makes an appearance as the children’s Aunt Milicent, but the real star is Jason Isaacs. Isaacs, who some may know better as the sinister father, Luscious Malfoy in the last Harry Potter movie, plays the infamous Captain James Hook, the pirate whose right hand was severed by Peter Pan, fed to a giant crocodile and replaced by one of several menacing sharpened hooks that thirst for the blood of Pan. Isaacs plays the part excellently with a sneer that is quickly becoming a trademark of his. He is suitably evil for the part and at the same time, as tradition predicts, plays a reserved but loving Mr. Darling, the childrens’ father.
I whole heartedly recommend Peter Pan to anyone who has ever heard of the story. The film is faithful to Berrie’s original writings and does an excellent job of entertaining the audience with a distinct style that doesn’t overwhelm with one aspect or another. Take the family and rent a copy of Steven Spielberg’s Hook, starring Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman to follow it up. The latter follows up the original story almost perfectly and poses the question of what might happen if Peter Pan ever DID grow up.
