Movie Review: Peter Pan

By Nell Minow

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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this story does have moments that are whimsical but also very odd; some children find this engaging, but a few find it troublesome, or worry about what happened to Peter's parents and whether he will be all right without them. The "What Makes the Red Man Red" song is embarrassingly racist and sexist. There is also a sexist overlay to the entire story, with Peter rapturously adored by all the females and at best indifferent in return. Tinkerbell, who is, of course, a fairy, is the only female in the story who is capable of much action other than nurturing, and she is petty and spiteful (though ultimately loyal). When he first meets Wendy, Peter says "Girls talk too much," which one boy who watched with me thought was rapturously funny.

Families can talk about the idea of never growing up. Have you ever thought that you didn't want to grow up? Have you ever thought that you'd like to be a grown up right now? What would you do? Would you like to visit Neverland?

Common Sense Media Review
This is the Disney version of the Victorian classic about the boy who would never grow up. Wendy, Michael, and John Darling, three London children, meet Peter Pan, a boy who can fly. He has been drawn to their warm, comfortable home, and to Wendy's stories. He sprinkles them with fairy dust and they fly off past the "second star to the right," where he lives in a magical place called Neverland. There they rescue an Indian princess, and fight pirates led by Captain Hook, before returning home to wave goodbye as Peter returns to Neverland without them.

The animation in this movie is as lively as its energetic hero. The scenes set in Victorian London are beautiful, and the shift in perspective as the children round Big Ben and fly off to Neverland is sublimely vertiginous.

Most children see Peter as that wonderful ideal, a child with the power to do whatever he pleases for as long as he pleases. The story does have moments that are whimsical but also very odd: the nanny is a dog; the crocodile that ate Captain Hook's hand keeps following him for another taste; Peter loses his shadow; the Lost Boys have no parents, and unlike Peter, no special powers, fairy guardian, or unquenchable brio. Some children find this engaging, but a few find it troublesome, or worry about what happened to Peter's parents and whether he will be all right without them. They may also be sad that the story ends with Peter bringing the Darling children home and then going back to Neverland without them.

Families who enjoy this movie may also enjoy comparing it to other versions, including the more P.C. 2003 movie version and the live-action musicals starring Mary Martin and Cathy Rigby (these can be hard to find on DVD). But don't waste your time on Stephen Spielberg's 1991 sequel, Hook , an unfortunate variation starring Robin Williams as a grown- up Peter Pan who must go back to rescue his children from Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook. The origins of the story are explored in the 2004 tearjerker Finding Neverland .