Given the constant buzz about Disney's new The Little Mermaid, which will hit theaters on May 26, no one would guess that another live-action remake of one of the company's animated stalwarts was recently released on Disney+.
Granted, Peter Pan & Wendy is more a reimagining than a remake of the 1953 Peter Pan. Director David Lowery, who previously helmed Disney's Pete's Dragon but is better known for his adult art-house fare (The Green Knight, A Ghost Story), has put his own spin on J.M. Barrie's well-worn story with the help of cowriter Tony Halbrooks. Despite my low tolerance for modern blockbuster interpretations of the boy who wouldn't grow up, I was curious to see what that spin would be.
On the eve of being packed off to boarding school to become a proper young lady, Wendy Darling (Ever Anderson) would rather roughhouse with her kid brothers, John (Joshua Pickering) and Michael (Jacobi Jupe). Then Peter Pan (Alexander Molony), whom the Darling children know as a fictional character, bursts into their lives in Edwardian London.
With the help of Tinker Bell (Yara Shahidi) and her pixie dust, Peter flies the Darlings to Neverland, where he lives with a crew of orphaned Lost Boys, not all of whom are boys. The evil Captain Hook (Jude Law) and his pirate crew immediately kidnap John and Michael, but Wendy rescues them with the aid of Peter's ally, Tiger Lily (Alyssa Wapanatâhk). As she struggles to understand the elusive, stubborn Peter and his hatred of adulthood, Wendy works through her own conflicted feelings about growing up.
Peter Pan and Wendy is one of the earlier titles borne by the 1911 novel that today is usually called just Peter Pan. The variant title acknowledges Wendy's central role in the story as a reader surrogate and the character who makes perhaps the most meaningful choice: whether to grow up or remain in Neverland.
On one level, then, the title of Peter Pan & Wendy signals Lowery's intention to return to Peter Pan's origins. But it also indicates a major reenvisioning that could happen only in the 21st century: This version is more Wendy's story than it has ever been before.
In the original, Wendy compliantly plays the role of the Lost Boys' surrogate mother, at Peter's urging. This Wendy expresses doubts about ever becoming a mom. Her romantic rivalries with Tiger Lily and Tinker Bell, which drive much of the book's action, have been transformed into strong female friendships. "This magic belongs to no man," Wendy eventually crows as she deploys the power that Tink has entrusted to her.
So, yes, this is the girl-power version of Peter Pan. But maybe we were due for one after all the male-centric modernizations of the story that we've seen over the decades, from midlife-crisis Peter Pan (1991's Hook) to Harry Potterized Peter Pan (2015's Pan).
If the story retains its old-fashioned charm, that's because Lowery manages to introduce modern character dynamics without using too much modern language. The movie shows a strong familiarity with the source, patches of its dialogue coming straight from the Victorian theatrical tradition (Peter Pan began its life as a stage play).
Despite that charm, there's a certain lifelessness to Peter Pan & Wendy, perhaps reflecting Lowery's conception of Neverland as a domain of arrested development. The stark, minimalist setting — shooting locations included Newfoundland and the Faroe Islands — highlights the repetition built into the story.
Molony makes a refreshingly exuberant Peter, yet his underlying attitude comes across as archaic and restrictive, perhaps even more than Peter's in the novel. For all his reputation as a force of chaos, this Peter is wedded to rules — first and foremost, the notion that Neverland must never change. He may seem to live in blissful, parent-free anarchy, but his life is actually as programmed as that of a "Looney Tunes" character: battle Hook, rinse, repeat.
Here, the reveal of an unexpected connection between Peter and Hook — almost mandatory in modern versions — suggests that both are trapped in a cycle of opposition. At one point, as the two prepare for another showdown, a pirate breaks the fourth wall to acknowledge that the whole thing is a bit stifling: "Wake me up when one of them kills the other. Again."
All of this meta-ness and revisionism make Peter Pan & Wendy a film that's fun to analyze but somewhat less fun to watch. Perhaps the combination of carefully curated Disney diversity with old-school dialogue has an alienating effect. Or perhaps depriving Tink of her jealous, playful malice — the foundation of her character — saps her of magic, too. It's great that kids now have a Peter Pan that doesn't lean into antiquated gender roles. As an adventure, though, this version never quite takes flight.
Pan (2015; Netflix, rentable): If Peter Pan & Wendy is a little inert, this frenetic Peter Pan prequel from Joe Wright, featuring a dashing young Captain Hook, is a god-awful mess. Kids might enjoy its sheer too-muchness, though.
Finding Neverland (2004; Pluto TV, rentable): In a more adult vein, Johnny Depp played Barrie in this Oscar-nominated drama that explores the real-life inspirations behind Peter Pan.
Pete's Dragon (2016; Disney+, rentable): Lowery got better reviews for his remake of the 1977 Disney flick about a mysterious orphan boy whose best friend is a dragon.