The vein he has found Disney With live action remakes of its animated classics, it seems inexhaustible economically, but things are very different artistically. There are very few worthwhile studio upgrades, but because they work so well with the public, it doesn’t seem worth it for them to put more effort into them.
Soon we will be able to see the new version of ‘The Little Mermaid’ in theaters, but first it’s time to make a stop ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’, which arrives directly at Disney + this Friday, April 28. That decision left many doubts about the final result, since ‘Lady and the Tramp’ was absolute nothingness and I admit that I was unable to finish watching the version of ‘Pinocchio’ directed by Robert Zemeckis. Fortunately, the third time was the charm.
With care and talent
My great hope in ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ lay in the fact that behind the scenes we have David Lowery, a most eclectic director who has already shown that he knows how to move very well in this field with the remarkable ‘Peter and the Dragon’. Now he returns to Disney with a film that is sold at the same time as an adaptation of the original work by JM Barrie and an update of the Disney Classic released 70 years ago, but that does not resist trying to find a certain voice of its own within of a story so well known to the public.
I’m sure some will see Lowery going from ‘The Green Knight’ to ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ as a step backwards, but to be fair, both titles are fantasy adventures with a strong dramatic component. In fact, it is true that his previous work is better visually, but, to my surprise, I think that in general terms, I have enjoyed the title that concerns us now more.
One of the big problems with these Disney remakes is the lack of care on the part of those responsible, either by submitting too much to the original film or by showing an obvious lack of interest in the material in question. Here Lowery approaches the story with respect but some daring, wanting to inject energy into what happens on the screen from the first moment -very effective way of showing us the inside of the house where Wendy and her family live-, showing at all times that she is interested in what she is telling us.
The first key is knowing how to maintain innocence, but not trusting everything to her, to the point of ending up being a faded copy of her. Lowery manages to maintain that spirit here, knowing when she has to rely on it most and when it’s time for him to get serious and give ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ more dramatic relief. We have a good example of this in the greater complexity that is given to the character of Captain Hook, giving him even a more tragic component than Jude Law knows how to take advantage of it perfectly.
Thus, the relationship between Hook and Peter gains in entitybut it does so without making the mistake of making everything too dark, since lightness also appears there whenever it is needed, managing to find a good point of balance to maintain the spirit of family adventure but avoiding falling into inconsistency or, worse Still, complacent.
There you can see that Lowery, also a co-writer of the film along with Toby Halbrooks, Disney has had a margin when it comes to taking the film to its land, something that is perceived at all levels. For example, it is true that the treatment of the images is less overwhelming than in ‘The Green Knight’, but there is also a clear concern to leave his stamp, both in the general finish and in relation to the designs and settings of Never Never.
All this always with the idea in mind of letting the story breathe, adding the tweaks they think are appropriate to adjust everything to their vision. That also means the integration of some elements that are much darker than anything seen in the animated film, but knowing how to dose their use so that they work as highlights. It’s not that it never becomes sinister or terrifying, but yeah that adds more dramatic vigor and it helps one to forget that it is still a story of which many versions have already been made.
Finally, I have already mentioned the good work of Law, but in general the entire cast is very well chosen, although, of course, alexander molony like peter and Ever Anderson like Wendy are the ones with the most leeway when it comes to developing their characters. There, the one with the worst stop is Campanilla, not because Yara Shahidi does a bad job, but because its specific weight in the plot is considerably reduced and its contribution, in general terms, ends up being more anecdotal than anything else.
So is it worth watching or not?
‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ is proof that it’s not that difficult to make a good live-action version of a Disney Classic. It is simply necessary to hire someone with talent to take care of the staging, give him some leeway and who is interested in leaving his touch. If you add to that a great technical deployment and a well-chosen cast, what you have left is not a masterpiece by any means, but it is a movie to watch out for.
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