On Feb. 5 1953, Disney released their 14th animated feature film, “Peter Pan.” It follows the story of three siblings who meet an adventurous and magical young boy named Peter Pan. The boy takes them to a place where time is an idea instead of a reality. 70 years later, on April 28 2023, this movie was altered and remade into a live-action retelling of the famed story called “Peter Pan & Wendy.”

Wendy Darling (Ever Gabo Anderson) is a young girl who is trying her best to avoid being sent off to boarding school by her parents Mary (Molly Parker) and George (Alan Tudyk). She neglects growing up, wanting her life to stay the same. One night as she and her brothers John (Joshua Pickering) and Michael (Jacobi Jupe) are playing with wooden swords, they encounter a boy that they’ve read of in a fairy tale. His name, Peter Pan (Alexander Molony). Peter tells them that he’s come to bring them to Neverland so they can “never grow up” just as Wendy wished. So he and his companion, Tinkerbell (Yara Shahidi) help the kids learn how to fly by using pixie dust. Once they arrive in Neverland, the evil Captain Hook (Jude Law) is made aware of their presence, and the three children begin to miss their old life. 

Peter Pan is a story that has been adapted, and retold more times than I can count. It’s a story that audiences tend to love. It brings back that feeling of what it was like being a kid — it’s sentimental, it’s nostalgic. I think that all of us can think of a time when we didn’t want to grow up, where we didn’t want things to change. I would say that one of the things this movie does well is emphasize that longing for things to stay the same. That longing is the main plot point so I’m glad that it was made clear that it was a key part of the story in a very subtle way.

My favorite part of the film by far was Jude Law’s performance of Captain Hook. The movie was pretty bland for the most part, but when Captain Hook showed up on screen he grasped your attention, and you couldn’t look away. The design of the character was new and somewhat creepy. He was becoming older, with straight thinning hair. His interactions with every character were the most fun parts of the film to watch. I also loved when Captain Hook and Smee (Jim Gaffigan) had scenes together. Gaffigan does a great job at portraying the evil pirate’s older companion. He provides enough comic relief while being able to have more serious moments within the film as well.

Tiger Lily (Alyssa Wapanatāhk) and the lost boys were another good part of the film. Each lost boy was unique and different which made it fun to watch them interact with each other. And in this film you get to see the side of the lost boys that are more emotional. They miss their families, and at points wonder what it would be like to return to their homes. 

In this film they treat Wendy as just as much of a protagonist as Peter Pan, which I enjoyed. The actress who portrays Wendy in this iteration did a very good job, and it’s slowly becoming one of my favorite reenactments of the character. She has a lot of variety in her character and does a good job at portraying an older sister to her younger brothers. Speaking of which, John and Michael Darling were very entertaining and both of the actors played each of them perfectly. They came off as the age that their characters would be, making it more believable. 

In the end you come to watch the movie for Peter Pan, not Wendy, John and Michael. That’s exactly what this movie did wrong. Peter Pan was not the star of the show, he wasn’t the highlight of the story and wasn’t as interesting and adventurous as the other characters. He was boring , and acted the same way throughout the whole movie. Molony never showed much emotion or depth to his character, and when Peter Pan was supposed to have character development it felt like nothing had changed. The good part of the movie shouldn’t just be Wendy, it should be Wendy & Peter Pan.

Despite all of the good things about this movie, ultimately it fails due to the main character’s performance. I don’t think it’s the worst live action Disney remake, but it could have been executed much better. 

If you’re a fan of older Disney films, and of any of the Disney live action remakes then I would definitely recommend “Peter Pan & Wendy.” Overall it’s a pretty fun film and it’s targeted towards a younger audience which is why it didn’t appeal to me as much as it would others. 

“Peter Pan & Wendy” does a great job at retelling the famous story of Peter Pan, while also being unique in its own way. If you’re looking for a fun, light-hearted adventure film. Definitely check out “Peter Pan & Wendy,” streaming on Disney+.

“Peter Pan & Wendy”: ★★★☆☆