The best rendition of the novel/play I've seen so far. Seeing Goldenberg's work on adapting this makes me so much more excited about the upcoming Harry Potter film that he's doing!

Grade: A+

Joy

One of the best Family films ever, I Love this movie

A

Peter Pan: A Dream at the Edge of Childhood





Oh, oh! Somebody's gone and turned into a grown-up on us...*

I really enjoyed this telling of the Peter Pan story - it dealt with the feelings of being almost a grown-up in terms of responsibility and in particular, sexuality very well (which somehow got left out of Disney). The live actors gave it an even more magic feeling than the cartoon version, and the director wisely used a dark and melancholy tone throughout. Jason Issacs, the actor who played Captain Hook / Mr. Darling was very good and the double role added nicely to the Freudian overtones. The kids were all solid, though I didn't quite like Tinkerbelle's performance. The visuals and special effects were beautiful (except for the crocodile and parrot, which were fun, but took me outside of the dream state otherwise induced by this film). The flying was especially awesome - just like in my own flying dreams.

I am well over 10 years old and consider it one of the better movies of 2003.

7 out of 5.

(* As Elmore Leonard once said: "God is an imaginary friend for grown-ups". While that quote is certainly true, strictly speaking - it misses out on the comfort and joy of suspending disbelief and buying into the story. Peter Pan is simply a dream at the edge of childhood, and to enjoy it you've got to return to that edge in yourself...)

B-


Very nice visuals, a good cast...but the whole movie just feels so empty, so souless to me. Something was lacking here big time. It is beautiful to look at, but nothing more.

Forgot to mention, in my excitement, some of the things that make me love this movie so much (aside from the awesome adaptation).

I LOVE the score. James Newton Howard really did a great job with it, and I find myself randomly humming the melodies all the time. Funnily enough, Disney has been using the score from this Peter Pan in its new Year of A Million Dreams commercial.... ironic that it's from a Peter Pan that is *not* a Disney movie. LOL

I also love the art direction in this movie. The different color palettes are BRILLIANT. It's blue and cold outside in the Real World, warm and comfy with a tinge of strictness inside the Darling home. Then when you get to Neverland, each setting seems to have a different color, and it also seems to change with emotions as well.

I liked how they made the weather & color in Neverland seem to be affected by Peter's presence and various emotions.

When Peter comes back to Neverland, Spring comes early. When Tink drinks the poison, a storm rolls in. When Peter gets emotionally castrated by Hook, the colors turn blue, and when Peter makes his comeback, the colors turn to pink/red.

BRILLIANT use of color and weather in this film.

I loved the "kiss is a powerful thing" scene.... I always get a tight feeling in my chest when I see the kids doing the "duck and cover", knowing what's coming. And the music certainly helps build up and release the emotions you're feeling as you watch it.

A favorite image from the movie is when the hundreds of fairies come to help take the Jolly Roger out of the water and sent it on its way.

I *do* wish that they had finished and used the alternate ending, seeing as how that fits in both with the end of the novel/play, as well as gives this particular rendition of Peter Pan a good segue into "Hook".

I've found that I like to do a three-movie viewing when I get in a Peter Pan mood. First I watch Finding Neverland, which shows the fictional/fantasy version of the "birth" of Peter Pan, then watch this 2003 version of the famous Peter Pan story, and then watch Hook with Peter Pan all grown up.

Joy

Alright, I'm a huge fan of Peter Pan and the related films that have come from the story. Finding Neverland is one of my favorite movies ever, and Hook and the Walt Disney Peter Pan were both childhood favorites. I remember my expectations being sky high for this one when it was released on Christmas Day in 2003. The trailers were phenomenal and I was expecting it to be great. Unfortunately, it was a massive disappointment - one of the biggest in recent memory. I was so let down by this film. Sure, it's a treat visually, but all of the elements are off. The screenplay is mediocre and cheesy, and some of the acting is downright terrible. Jeremy Sumpter delivers one of the worst performances by a young actor ever. Rachel Hurd-Wood does a much better job here (especially compared to her atrocious work in An American Haunting), but the adults barely resonate. Such a massive letdown. It isn't a "bad" film in every sense of the word, but I'll never forget how disappointed I was with this adaptation. C

I liked this when I was little, and decided to revisit it. It was okay, but the special effects have aged soooooo bad. Like the Harry Potter, LOTR and Star Wars films from the same time frame look infinitely better. But Jason Isaacs is a great actor and I wish he was in more things. I guess I'm really not that big a fan of the Peter Pan story, as I don't really like the 1953 animation, nor Hook either after they arrive in Neverland. The score is also good here, though it sounds similar in tone to other fantasy childrens films, but at least the melodies are relatively original.

B

Also, the "I do believe in fairies" sequence has to be one of the worst, most cringe worthy sequences in any movie. The acting by Sumpter is so bad, and the whole thing is so sickly sweet I wanted to throw up.