Peter Pan Reviews

This film is amazing. I also really like the Disney film, but I was really unimpressed by its sequel. Both this and the Disney film are superior to the sequel Return To Neverland, and I also recommend the animated TV series Peter Pan and the Pirates, with Captain Hook at his most complex.

I have only two flaws with this film. First, it isn't as complex and meaningful as the book by J.M.Barrie, which I think is one of the best children's books ever written. Secondly, likewise with Bobby Driscoll, the voice of Peter, in the Disney film, Jeremy Sumpter mayn't be to everyone's taste, as he doesn't quite live up to the playful and rather likable character in the book, but it is still a spirited performance.

However, this film has a huge amount to recommend it. First of all, is the gorgeous scenery and the cinematography. Such beautiful and vivid colours, that left you in wonder and wanting more. I also liked the fact, the producers made the film darker than the book to some extent, like making Hook more complex and more suave, an idea that they didn't quite explore in the Disney film. The acting was very good indeed. Rachel Hurd Wood is the picture of innocence as Wendy, and Richard Briers does more than a capable job as Smee. Plus Ludivine Sagnier was awesome, one of my favourite interpretations of Tinkerbell actually. Stealing the acting honours, like Dustin Hoffmann, like Hans Conried, like Tim Curry(in the animated series), is the wonderful Jason Isaacs, in a sometimes terrifying portrayal of Hook. And seriously he should have got an award for his brilliant performance. The music score was lovely too, very fantasy-like and sparkling.

In conclusion, a beautiful film, not as good as the book, but there is a lot to enjoy here. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Kids know Peter Pan as the hero who will never grow up and Wendy as the girl who is told she has to! But what kids think that ‘Peter Pan’ won’t work as a live action movie?

To my surprise, I found the live action ‘Peter Pan’ to be better than the Disney movie! ‘Peter Pan’ is more magical than the Disney movie!
Peter Pan (Jeremy Sumpter) returns in real life where he takes Wendy (Rachel Hurd-Wood) and her brothers to Neverland! Now with ‘Hook’, you had an adult Peter Pan (Robin Williams) which critics didn’t want to see! Neither did I! And I didn’t want to see Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell! Ludivine Sagnier is a far better choice! Dustin Hoffman was a good choice for Captain Hook but Jason Isaacs was even better!

‘Peter Pan’ features a charming cast (Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Richard Briers, Olivia Williams, Lynn Redgrave, Ludivine Sagnier), wonderful effects, stunning sets, mind blowing music and some amazing sword fights! I thought I’d like the 1953 Disney movie more but I liked this one better which says a lot!

Honestly, I found it rather difficult to review this movie. I mean, the fact that we know this tale back and forth make it really difficult to enjoy this movie. In my opinion, if it was the first adaptation, it would be really mind-blowing. At least, you have to admit that the whole thing looked really good and I thought there was also a decent cast (Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Lynn Redgrave, Olivia Williams, Ludivine Sagnier). Above all, it was really faithful to the original story which it was its blessing but also its curse. Indeed, as it is so faithful, you already know what’s going to happen next every 30 seconds and it makes the whole thing sometimes a little bit tedious to watch. Still, I thought it was pretty good and I enjoyed it. For P. J, Hogan , who went from a nice indie debut (‘Muriel's Wedding’ ) to a huge blockbuster (‘My Best Friend's Wedding’), it is yet another intriguing director effort. Too bad he made also some pretty tedious flicks (‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’, ‘ Unconditional Love’). Anyway, even though it is not really original and didn’t add much to this tale, I thought it was a gorgeous version, I really liked it and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you don’t know what to watch with your kids.