Peter Pan (2003)
"The Darling family children receive a visit from Peter Pan, who takes them to Never Never Land where an ongoing war with the evil Pirate Captain Hook is taking place."
Peter Pan's story was always about how growing up doesn't mean you have to "grow up," and that you should always be ready for an adventure. Life has this way of taking away innocence and fun, and Peter Pan is always a symbol to never let that part go as you transition to adulthood. Yes, there are life responsibilities to take care of, but those responsibilities shouldn't get in the way of having fun or being imaginative.
As this film stays true to the original story's morals, it also expands on other issues, such as social status and the role of women in Victorian times. We really get a deeper look into Mr. Darling's struggle to rise up the social ladder amongst his peers. And the character of Aunt Millicent is there to stress the need of Wendy to grow up to be a proper woman, and what the definition of "proper" was in this time period.
Throw realism out the window! This entire film looks like a painting! And it's not just in Neverland. Even in London, the coloring is so vibrant and mystical, especially in the sky. The sequence of them flying to Neverland is unrealistic in an extravagant way. The visuals of this movie all together don't even try to imitate real life, which enhances the fantasy aspect of this fantasy action movie. The coloring stood out, too, as there were many blues and cool colors until the climatic battle in which there were a lot of reds and warm colors.
Speaking of visuals, the fairy dance is the most beautiful scene in this entire film. Between the lights, the music, and Peter and Wendy floating with the fairies, it's a stunning scene.
And, Speaking of Music, this is one of my favorite soundtracks by James Newton Howard. I love his work in films like Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them and Disney's Treasure Planet and Atlantis, but the Peter Pan soundtrack stands out in a different way. Very beautiful!
The casting of this was perfect. Jeremy Sumpter as Peter Pan was an absolute heart throb. Sumpter and Rachel Hurd-Wood as Wendy both did such a good job of giving another layer of emotion to the characters and had such great chemistry together. And of course, Jason Isaacs as Mr. Darling & Captain Hook - I wouldn't have cast it any other way. The Lost Boys were adorable, Mrs. Darling was beautiful, and Smee looked like Smee.
This iteration of Peter Pan took time to expand on Mr. & Mrs. Darling and their points of views. The movie gave them more screen time to establish who they were, to get a look into how they dealt with their missing children, and gave them time in the end to develop. Mrs. Darling was a loving mother from start to finish. But even though Mr. Darling only had maybe six minutes of screen time total, he was one of the more developed characters in the whole movie. This made the final scene reunion very touching.
Many kid shows try to shove pre-teen romances in our faces to get the naïve kids invested in a cheap love story. These days, we have Stranger Things' Mike & Eleven raising the bar on how natural and believable pre-teen romances can be. But before we had Stranger Things, we had PJ Hogan's Peter Pan.
With this live action remake, extra time was put into a lot of story elements, like Peter & Wendy's relationship. Their relationship felt very natural and intimate, and most importantly believable. This is thanks to both the good writing and brilliant acting. As a kid, I gushed about them. And now as an adult, I still found myself hooked to the pair. When Wendy returns home and they say goodbye, Peter looks back and they stare at each other for a good seven seconds, at least, without saying a word. And so much was said in their facial expressions and eyes. Sometimes the best moments don't need spoken dialogue.
That final moment between them actually revealed a lot about Peter Pan as a character. Towards the beginning of the film, he says "To die would be an awfully big adventure." He later rephrases his statement after saying goodbye to Wendy and says "To live would be an awfully big adventure," as looks down at the Darlings' and Lost Boys being a family. Then he flies off to Neverland and that's the end.
What I love about that moment is that Peter still wants to be a boy, he still wants to have adventures, and he'll continue to be some sort of God figure in Neverland. But life itself is an adventure he'd never be able to have because he belongs in Neverland, and though he lingers on the thought, he knows a normal life is something he can never obtain. His experience with Wendy was also the only real authentic connection he ever had with anyone. And as humans, we depend on connections like that. Falling in love was something he never thought he'd do, and as he lives as an immortal kid, Wendy will probably always be in the back of his mind.
My Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★