I have three children ages 6, 4 and 2. I will be reviewing this movie from their perspective, not that of an adults. They really enjoyed the movie. Since they are not professional cartoonist, they did not care about the quality of the drawings. If anything, the 'old style' cartoon movie (similar to the first Peter Pan) kept the feel of the first movie. If they had used too many computer graphics, it would not have flowed well from the first movie. My children also liked the story. It was exciting, but not scary even for the youngest. Each of the characters was reasonably developed, although Jane is the focus of the movie. She is Wendy's daughter, and Peter gets a supporting role in the plot. Hook is back and is mean without being frightening. Even the octopus, Hook's tormentor, is pretty tame. As for the quality of the music, my kids liked it and even asked for the soundtrack. (It is OK, but mostly instrumental takes from the movie. There are three good songs on it though...) Finally, some reviewers have critiqued the voices and complained they are not exact matches for the first Peter Pan. If you know him personally, then you might have a complaint. You have also grown-up way too much to ever enjoy this movie. (Go see the Exorcist or something!) Unless you have gone to bed every night since the 50's listening to Peter, you will not notice anything different on the voices. From a child's perspective, you won't be thinking of such things anyway. The story deals with typical Neverland topics: growing up, the pressures of being a kid, and the battle between carefree youth and grumpy people. By the way, this is all done without making adults or parents out to be the bad guys. The pace of the movie is great, keeping the kid's interest and being long enough to take them on a meaningful adventure without exhausting their attention span.The best part of the movie is the end when Peter takes the kids home and is reunited with Wendy. It is a great scene and one that brings back memories of the first movie's magic to both young and old. I know my kids loved it. I thought this movie did not strike me as a lot of Disney movies do these days shallow, trashy and money driven. This is a 1950's style Disney film, not the crud they also release these days with cussing, stupid adults and not too subtle adult themes.
My kids thought this movie was great and a real clean story. Appreciate a kid's movie through their eyes, not an adult's, and you will escape to Neverland with your children enjoying the trip along the way!
This is a good movie for the younger group, although the adults will probably enjoy it as well.
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There have been numerous Peter Pan movies, several of which take place AFTER the original story ("Hook" being the best rendition so far). However, Disney, with it's Direct to video roll, for some odd reason, decided to put this one on the big screen!As an animator myself i can honestly say that this is far below disney's usual standard. The animaton is stiff and akward. The voices of the characters are not even remotely close to the original (especially the lost boys) and Peter Pan himself comes across as nothing more than a brat without his charm that has made him such a beloved icon.
Disney is also 'getting with the times' and instead of confrunting and trying to debunk the horrible stereotyped "injuns," the indian camp looks more like they were wiped out and aren't even mentioned in the movie, just to be safe.
As for the story, it had a lot going for it. The material was all there, it's just a shame the writers just took whatever came by first. Jane is non-empathetic, and her transition from wanting to grow up to being a kid is very downplayed.
This film is much more lighter than the original Peter Pan which was rather dark in places. The worse that happens in this is Peter Pan is thrown 5 feet to the deck of a ship. ow.
I must give them credit though for the ending. Peter and Wendy's reuniting was something i thought they wouldn't even bother with because it was too dissapointing, but they were somehow able to put a light spin on it. good job disney! at least you're not completely out of ideas yet!
Granted kids will enjoy it for there is enough potty humor to keep them entertained, but parents might suffer seeing their beloved childhood memories dashed into bits.I put this movie in the DVD player fully expecting the piece of crap movie that many of the reviews here talk about. After watching it ALL THE WAY THROUGH, I wonder if these reviewers actually watched the whole thing? Granted, it's not the caliber of the original, but it is definitely a more than pleasant family film to enjoy together with the children. The positives: the animation and backgrounds really amazed me; the characterization of Tinker Bell is especially faithful to the original. At times, the backgrounds slip into an almost too-perfect computer generated look, but overall, the animation is very good and better than what you normally see. Kudos also to the voices, especially the one of Captain Hook, who (again) is very faithful to the original. The story is also quite good; somewhat predictable, but definitely different enough to separate it from the original. I enjoyed the homage to the Mary Martin TV series (believing in Fairies/Tinkerbell getting weak) and the feistiness of the Jane character. The beginning of the film owes a little to the Narnia series, as it is set during the war when children were being shipped off for their own protection. Once in Neverland, it is back to fantasy and the realities of the war are not really dealt with again. The negatives are few; my biggest gripe is the potty/gross-out humor that I feel mars the film. The powers that be seem to be fascinated with snot; I could definitely do without the constant visual reference to this body fluid. In general, what this film really lacks is a strong plot-mover. It is entertaining, but not riveting; at no time would it be difficult to stop the movie and get a snack, makting this a great DVD to watch, but definitely not a movie to run to the theater to watch. The DVD itself has some nice extras; a few deleted scenes with commentary by the show's production team. There are also a few sneak peaks for the upcoming Tinkerbell movie (Tink looks better in traditional animation; not too swift in computer 3D style) and the obligatory game, "Quest for the Light." Overall, a good film to watch with the kids that is above the level of most of what's out there; if you are attempting to compare it to the original though, you will be slightly disappointed.
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I don't believe Disney has ever made a sequel that lived up to the magic of the original film. That said, some sequels are better than others and this is one of the better ones. I think this movie was very good mainly because it didn't "re-do" the original story in reverse (like Lady & the Tranp 2 or Little Mermaid 2) or try to lamely continue the old one (Cinderella 2, Jungle Book 2). This is a new story with a new heroine, and stands on its own merits.Wendy's daughter doesn't believe. She has had to grow up fast in a world where her father is off to war and London is under seige. So when Captain Hook kidnaps her thinking she is Wendy, she needs to learn how to believe again. And that belief will give her family hope. An uplifting story, filled with adventure and familiar characters. It's not as good as the original, but is definitely worth watching.
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