Peter Pan (2004)

Widescreen Edition DVD

The concept of Neverland is a classic idea - a place where youth is never quite misspent, simply because it can never, for every minute or millennium that passes, run out. It's a classic tale of the soul's stubbornness to grow old, to wither and age and one day die, to find, one night, a life abundant in ordinary things - rich in detail but lacking in adventure.

So it's not surprising that the finest and most effective telling of this classic tale was animated rather than filmed, preserving every sense of the magic involved in every hand-drawn frame. And the decades since the original's 1950's release have found a hand of sequels and remakes and reimaginings, all lacking, in some way, the magic of the story's great idea.

And so it's a pleasant surprise that this modern interpretation of the story picks up on this boyish, adventurous thread and flies successfully into the evening. It can be said that the story of Peter Pan has several tremendous adult-themed sub-plots - explorations of age and sexuality - that have never been truly suited to the audience that the story seeks out. Here, those plots are left behind, though not completely ignored, in the creation of a lavish adventure rather than an introspective take on the tale.

Technically, the film is stunning, with a highly stylized, theatrical production design that truly creates the world in which these children never grow up. The direction is steady and well-paced and the children rise to their performances with only a hint of that forced child-like style.

But the true highlight of the film is Jason Isaacs as Captain Hook. The sheer, sneering arrogance that Isaacs is able to produce is only half-matched by the reality of his threat to Peter and Wendy and the gang, and his performance really manages to pull the film together.

While not a work of brilliance or genius, Peter Pan is an effective, entertaining family adventure that'll make children cheer and adult audiences revel at the story they've most likely forgotten.

The film lacks a little bit in truly engaging special features, offering up a string of featurettes that brush the surface of the film's creation. But given that the core audience of the movie is most likely to be made up of children, perhaps the depth of the extras isn't as necessary as, say, Citizen Kane might demand.

- Board the Pirate Ship - set tour
- Through the Eyes of Captain Hook - Jeremy Isaacs video diary
- The Pirates vs The Lost Boys - featurette
- The Lost Pirate Song - featurette
- Explore the Forest - set tour
- Tinker Bell: Behind the Fairy Dust - featurette
- I Do Believe in Fairies - featurette
- Princess Tiger Lily - featurette
- Enter the Castle - set tour
- Learning to Fly - featurette
- The Mermaids' Tale - featurette
- Dig Under the Home - set tour
- The Legacy of Pan, hosted by Sarah Ferguson - featurette
- The Duchess's Outtakes
- Lost Boys on the Set! - featurette
- Alternate Ending
- Deleted Scenes
- Me and My Shadow - featurette
- In the Dog House With Nana - featurette
- DVD Credits

Revisit the classic story today. You'll find that, while not a classic itself, this new version is worth the trip to Neverland and back.