The boy who never wants to grow up returns once again, BRIAN VINER reviews Peter Pan & Wendy

Peter Pan & Wendy (PG, 106 minutes)

Judgement:

Verdict: Just another (one too many) live action remakes

May the screen gods save us from “reinterpretations” of classical literary works. Once we’re subjected to the BBC’s Great Expectations making certain bold tweaks, apparently based on the fact that the old Dickens didn’t get it quite right, Disney tackles another famous story that filmmakers can’t leave alone. The result is just as messy.

I’ll admit that I watched Peter Pan & Wendy, starring Jude Law as Captain Hook, with decidedly low expectations. My premise, which wasn’t very helpful, was that I didn’t really understand the enduring appeal of JM Barrie’s original story.

Cast: Alexander Molony and Ever Anderson take on the lead roles of Peter Pan and Wendy, while Jude Law plays the villainous Captain Hook

Worshiping it seems to be a sign of Britishness, but it’s one I’ve never been able to wear, and not just because Michael Jackson named his creepy ranch Neverland. That cocky goofball Peter Pan, his annoying sidekick Tinker Bell, the odd Lost Boys, Captain Hook and the crocodile, can’t we all just accept that in 1904 it was a crinkly yarn that simply didn’t need endless recycling?

Apparently not. By my reckoning, this is no less the 12th big-screen release, and there’s even talk of a horror “reimagining” by the folks who made the desperately ill-conceived slasher movie Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey. That will be worth missing.

This one, on the other hand, is broadly a live-action remake of Disney’s 1953 animation, except American writer-director David Lowery opted to give it a makeover very similar to 2023, in no small part by Hook empathically a series of mental health and anger management issues stemming from Peter’s previous treatment of him. Don’t expect rogues for the sake of rogues.

Sometimes watching this movie is like attending a therapy session as a deeply disturbed pirate confronts his repressed memories. All this is as sure to fly over the heads of the intended young audience as Peter over the rooftops of Edwardian London.

In fact, Lowery’s finely tuned modern sensibilities make it almost surprising that Hook doesn’t wear a prosthetic hand and a disability badge.

The director was accused of “wokeism” as soon as news broke that his Lost Boys would include girls. They also feature an actor with Down Syndrome (which I’m personally all for, and it’s worth remembering that Barrie gave the Peter Pan rights to Great Ormond Street Hospital). But they’re such a distinctly multi-ethnic band that it’s hard not to be reminded of the late great Victoria Wood who made fun of Mia Farrow’s adoption of children, like someone choosing letters on Countdown until she gets a passing grade. had various collections.

As for the inclusion of girls, it directly contradicts Barrie’s claim that the Lost Boys were boys who had fallen out of their prams, for which girls were “much too smart.” Still, it’s not the only amendment that could make the celebrated Scottish playwright shudder in the circle of celestial garb. God knows how he would react to Lowery’s psychological rationalization of Hook’s evil.

Impressive: Viner applauds Jude Law’s performance, describing him as ‘very good as the tortured Hook’

New Role: As Yara Shahidi plays the fairy tinkerbell

Aside from all this, the story follows a pretty familiar trajectory. As night falls on their affluent London home, Wendy Darling (beautifully played by Ever Anderson) and her two younger brothers are visited by Peter (Alexander Molony) and the mute fairy Tinker Bell (Yara Shahidi). Like Peter, Wendy is reluctant to grow up, which in her case is represented by the impending prospect of boarding school. Peter saves her from it by taking her and her siblings to Neverland, where of course it’s not long before they get into trouble with Hook, Mr Smee (Jim Gaffigan) and the rest of the dastardly, dim-witted, child-a hate pirate crew.

There are some impressive special effects and a few touches of humor that I enjoyed. For example, when hiding out at Skull Rock, the pirates’ thunderous chant of “No children in Neverland” is subverted to “No-one but children in Neverland” by Peter, disguised under a fake beard.

Plus, Law is very good as the tortured Hook. But in the end, this film adds nothing of value to the huge pile of Peter Pan adaptations. The warrior princess Tiger Lily (Alyssa Wapanatahk) still seems like a curiously superfluous character, while Peter, played by the young Molony with a sort of genuine puckishness, made me want to yell two short, sharp words at him: grow up.

Peter Pan & Wendy is now streaming on Disney+

Viner’s final thoughts? “Ultimately, this film adds nothing useful to the huge mountain of Peter Pan adaptations”