Peter Pan (1989)

Good movie but grossly overrated

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I had first seen this movie in theaters in 1976 when I was five years old. My dad took me to see it when it had been re-released. We got there half way in the middle of the film, but this was back when they would let you stay for the next showing, so technically I saw it one and a half times that day. I liked it so much then, and it stayed with me for a long time. I later owned and read the original book and "Peter Pan's Flight" became one of my favorite rides at Walt Disney World. I knew the story so well, but when I saw it on the shelves in the most recent Blu-ray release, I realized that I hadn't watched the film in its entirety since I was five. So, I bought it. I was amazed at how much I had forgotten. So many small scenes and nuances like the Lost Boys' home under the tree and the Pirates' life aboard ship. It is still, however, a great film and definitely one of the best animated films to come out of Disney studios. I know there's a lot of controversy over the Indians as being politically incorrect. However, we need to keep in mind the period in which this film was made, the fact that it wasn't made with malicious intent, and that Never Land is supposed to be a land created by children inhabited by characters from a child's viewpoint. Children don't know what's "Politically Correct" and we should put that behind us as well to enjoy this great film. It then stops being a "relic of the past" and becomes a timeless film. Hopefully we can all have the same attitude as Mr. Darling does by the end of the film. What attitude is that? Watch and find out.

When Sir James M. Barrie died in 1937, he left the copyright of Peter Pan to the Ormond Street Children's Hospital, who proved rather tough to deal with when Walt Disney approached them in the late 1940s. To placate them, Disney proposed to deal constructively with the three main criticisms leveled against Herbert Brenon's 1924 production: (1) He would use the same actor to voice both Darling and Hook; (2) He would not countenance Brenon's ill-advised change of setting from London to New York; and (3) He would give far more color and attention to the key role of Tinker Bell (rather inadequately played by Virgina Brown Faire in the Brenon version-which fortunately didn't matter a great deal as the role was rather small, in both senses of that word).True to his word, Disney delivered-and delivered magnificently on these three issues: (1) Hans Conried does supremely well by Hook and makes an excellent stab at Darling (even though hampered by the screenplay's tendency to make the character far too blustery and slapstick a figure). (2) It's good to see Big Ben back in the limelight, rather than a somewhat incongruous Old Glory. (3) The highly attractive yet supremely malicious Tinker Bell emerges as one of Disney's most inspired creations. Unfortunately, on other (and even more important issues) Disney has chosen to compromise. It was to be expected that Nana would become a Disney dog -= a Pluto clone-because there was no way you could picture a man dressed up as a dog (and a bitch at that) in a cartoon. Okay, even steven.Peter Pan is no longer a girl playing at being a boy, let alone an extremely sexy young lady who seems blissfully unaware of her provocativeness. That also was inevitable, even though you have now eliminated from the pantomime both the Dame and the Principal Boy. But even taking this into account, Peter Pan himself distills only a tiny fraction of the charisma that Betty Bronson so superlatively lent the character. Bobby Driscoll, who was so brilliant as a youngster and deservedly received a prestigious Hollywood award in 1950, seemed to lose his ability as he grew older. Here his performance is adequate at best, just tolerable at worst. So, two minuses for Disney. As might be expected, Wendy is no longer an adult playing at being a very young teenager. On the other hand, Disney obviously does not see her as a fresh-faced kid either. In fact, her age tends to vary a bit. She looks much older in some scenes than in others. And she's inadequately voiced by Kathryn Beaumont (who did such a good job with Alice). The main problem for me, however, is that Wendy's worried-looking, overly mature face makes her look so unattractive. This focuses my attention on Tinker Bell instead. But Wendy is supposed to be a main character (and a highly sympathetic one at that), so another two minuses for Disney. I found the songs a mixed bunch. In my opinion, the liveliest were "What Makes the Red Man Red?" and "Never Smile at a Crocodile." So, it's even steven on the songs. But speaking of the crocodile, I loved him. He came over with far more spirit and a hundred times more personality here than in the Brenon film. So there's a definite plus to Disney. Many critics didn't take to Mr. Smee, but I enjoyed his antics, so one more plus to Disney.Loathed in Britain, and received with indifference in Australia, this is a Peter Pan aimed squarely at Americans. Although it bears a considerable resemblance to Barrie's pantomime, it is in fact a pantomime no longer but an unsatisfactory compromise between a cartoon and a stage play. True, a fair amount of Barrie remains, but it's mostly superficial stuff. Just about all Barrie's important ideas and the majority of his telling lines are omitted. Disney made a large issue of the fact that he had restored Barrie's plan by casting the same actor as Hook and Darling. But what's the point of restoring the casting if the whole point of this relationship has been lost? AVAILABLE on DVD through Disney. Quality rating: Ten out of ten.

As with my past few reviews, I got to view this movie thanks to my Disneyphilic aunt, who likes this movie so much that she has both the 1990 and 1997 VHS releases. Since the 1990 release first caught my eye, we decided to view it since we had almost too much leisure time today. My thoughts are?The story brings with it quite an enjoyable amount of wit and some surprisingly effective slapstick (especially by today's standards), though I was indeed disappointed at how they took some liberties from the play regarding the fictional Piccaninny tribe. I wasn't particularly shocked at the stereotypes, but it didn't contribute much to the humor or anything of quality. When it comes to the characters, I did appreciate how they made Tinker Bell helpful but with just the right amount of sass to make her stand out more from previous Disney heroines. I also identified a lot with Wendy's perspective on several things, such as Pan's behavior. Pan himself is rather fun, though he as well as the Jolly Roger's crew did make this one of the sillier Disney movies. I could appreciate that; the humor as I mentioned does mostly work. What the animation doesn't convey in settings and effects compared to prior Disney movies, it does convey in the character movement to enrich the slapstick. I didn't particularly care for the music, because it's really forgettable and doesn't deserve to be the first thing people remember about this movie.This is yet another Disney winner that I'm certain will be enjoyed by most families. Others might object to the portrayal of the Piccaninny tribe as stereotypical Natives or be repulsed by the surprisingly colorful description of how Captain Hook got his name. Even then, I would say this is worth it for some laughs over 76 minutes.

Haven't you ever wanted to get away from the world around you and go to a far away land with the excitement of a child and the enthusiasm of going on an adventure? I certainly have, which is why I love the classic animation Peter Pan. What I like most about this movie is the fact that it's not only a children's movie, but a great movie for adults too. Watching this movie makes you wish that you were a kid again. It displays our innocence as a child, which we lose as we grow up. That is why the film is so refreshing to watch. The music is another part I really enjoy. It makes the movie more interesting to watch and it fits perfectly with plot of the story. The writers also did a marvelous job at developing characterization through most of the characters. As a whole, the film is easily understood, it is well put together, the characters are unique and fun, and just the story itself is wonderful and creative. As you can see, I do recommend this movie for all children and adults because it's very entertaining, but most of all it re-kindles the child innocence within the ones who've lost it and it adds to those who still have it.