Customer Reviews

Peter Pan

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This wonderful Disney production offers flights of fancy that appeal directly to children's fertile imaginations. The ability to fly, to be a devil-may-care youngster and never grow up, to engage in derring-do with pirates, never having to bother with school, and exploring fantasy worlds of islands, mermaids, Indians and mysterious caves is a powerful magnetic pull for young dreamers. The lush color lensing of this animated adventure is superb, and the characters and catchy tunes add to the pleasure of watching this film, for young and old alike.

Peter Pan, the title character, is a spry, charming lad who loves his carefree existence. He is, however, upstaged by his companion, the delightfully naughty Tinker Bell, a temperamental pixie who literally sees red when Wendy accompanies Peter Pan to Never Land. Captain Hook and his shadow, the crocodile, the sniveling Smee, the beautiful mermaids, and the stoic Tiger Lily are the characters who stand out in this movie. Wendy and her brothers, John and Michael are okay and basically come along for the ride. The sprightly song "You Can Fly!-You Can Fly!-You Can Fly!" is just one of the memorable tunes for which Peter Pan is fondly remembered.

I never considered Disney's "Peter Pan" to be one of their best animated classics up there with "Bambi" and "Pinocchio," and it was while watching all of the extras that come with this Platinum Edition that I figured out why this is the case. Much is made of Walt Disney's affection for the J.M. Barrie's story of the boy who would not grow up, and it dawned on me that I always identified more with Tom Swift, the boy inventor, than with Peter Pan. Consequently I have developed a hypothesis that there is a choice to be made between Peter Pan and Tom Swift, similar to those we make between Superman and Batman, Elvis and the Beatles, Ginger and Mary Ann, etc., as part of our pop culture consciousness. However, that being said, even those of us who were in a hurry to grow up can still enjoy Disney's unique take on Peter Pan in this 1953 version.

As most of us know from "Finding Neverland" or our own familiarity with the story of the story, "Peter Pan" was originally a stage production with actors being hoisted on wires to fly, Tinker Bell being created by a flashlight, an actor playing Nana and a young woman as Peter. Disney's animated version has great fun making the characters fly, turns Tinker Bell into a pantomime pixie who would become the icon of the Disney studio, and for the first time had the boy who never grew up being modeled and voiced by an actual boy (Bobby Driscoll). Wendy is voiced by Kathryn Beaumont, who had just done the title character Disney's "Alice in Wonderland," by vocally the show is stolen by the great Hans Conreid as both Captain Hook and Mr. Darling, and Bill Thompson as the memorable Mr. Smee.

One of the things that proves the immortality of "Peter Pan" is how many different versions of it work, each providing its own twist on the tale (my favorite is director P.J. Hogan's 2003 film version, which I think is far and away the best version for adults). Here the emphasis is on Neverland as the greatest playground ever, where Captain Hook and Tinker Bell take turns stealing the film. Peter Pan is a bit more of an imp here than elsewhere, but that is balanced by the gravitas that Wendy brings to the proceedings. The only serious flaw here is the depiction of the Indians, although a consideration of the song "What Makes the Red Man Red?" from the perspective of contemporary political correctness may still find the racism more silly than anything else. It goes without saying that these attitudes are true to the times, and my preference has always been for pointing out these flaws rather than editing or ignoring them.

I might not consider this a top tier Disney film, but the DVD extras more than make up the difference, because once again we the studio treating its classic film the way all classic films should be treated on a 2-disc DVD set (which includes a new digital restoration). On Disc 1 there is a sneak peak for the upcoming "Tinker Bell" computer animated movie, an opportunity to sing along with the movie's song, and a storybook of "Peter's Playful Prank." Then there is the audio commentary track is a compilation of interview clips "hosted" by Roy Disney. The commentary bears no relation to what is happening on screen so it really is just to be listened to and you will find that several of the bits appear in the featurettes on Disc 2. It is fascinating to listen to the likes of film critic/historian Leonard Malting, animators Marc Davis (Tinker Bell), Frank Thomas (Captain Hook), and Ollie Johnston, along with actresses Beaumont and Margaret Kerry (model for Tinker Bell), and others.

On Disc 2 you get to the Backstage Disney section, which includes Walt Disney's own explanation for "Why I Made 'Peter Pan,'" a mini-documentary on "The Making of 'Peter Pan,'" and one of the highlights of the extra features, "The 'Peter Pan' That Almost Was," that looks at the evolution of the Disney version over the course of more than a decade. There is also a 1952 featurette on the film and Art Galleries considering hundreds of gorgeous pieces of original artwork done for the production. The Music & More section includes the deleted song "The Pirate Song" and the lost song "Never Land" performed by Paige O'Hara, along with a music video of "The Second Star to the Right" performed by T-Square. For Games & Activities there is an Read-Along version of the entire film, "Camp Never Land: Train To Be A Lost Boy," "Smee's Sudoku Challenge," "Tarrrget Practice," and "Tink's Fantasy Flight," all of which will appeal to the wee folk who are not familiar with playing computer games on an actual computer. Finally there is "Peter Pan's Virtual Flight," which I assume takes us over a computer generated London prepared for the upcoming "Tinker Bell" movie.

I've been making a point of re-watching all the Disney classics from my youth and commenting on them with adult eyes. It's been a very interesting experience, and PETER PAN is no exception.

What stands out are all the elements Disney wouldn't dare put in an animated film today...like the carefree knife play and the pirate who Captian Hook picks off with his hand gun. But by and large, the whole fire engine red faced "injun" scene is pretty amazing. Prune-faced and hook-nosed, the red man hits every stereotype in the book...and it just goes on and on.

While we're all familiar with the story of PETER PAN, I had no recollection the whole thing was essentially motivated by jealous females. Tinkerbell is jealous of Wendy. The mermaids are jealous of Wendy. Wendy is jealous of Tigerlily. Jealous Tinkerbell sells Peter out (at least Tigerlily was smart enough to keep her mouth shut). All are vying for Peter's attention, and he's near oblivious to the lot of it.

And Peter, in my opinion, is kind of an unlikable jerk (along with the retarded lost boys). A wise-guy, who pouts and listens to no one, he turns on his best friend, Tinkerbell, and banishes her forever, making the effort to reconcile only when he thinks she's about to die. At one point, I was kind of hoping Captian Hook would at least get one good shot in.

It's an all right piece of animation, better than SNOW WHITE and far better than ALICE IN WONDERLAND...but not nearly as good as JUNGLE BOOK, which is by far my Disney favorite. PETER PAN lands somewhere between SNOW WHITE and ROBIN HOOD on my scale. With the most enjoyable parts involving the hungry crocodile or Wendy's littlest brother (who's really cute).

This movie animates one of the most imaginative plays ever written, albeit with a little 'Disneyfication.' It's by far my favorite; there is an enjoyably long spectrum of characters. Every time I watch this movie, it takes me back to those times I wish I was in Never-Never-Land.

P.S. The claim that this movie is an allegory to the JFK years is easily refutable, since this movie was made in 1953, while the play is over a century old.

Peter Pan is one of the most entertaining and charming Disney movies ever made. It follows the adventures of Wendy, John, and Michael Darling, and of course the boy who never grew up, Peter Pan. Captain Hook is one of the funniest and evil villains ever created and his first mate, Smee, is absolutely hilarious.

I have to admit that this movie doesn't follow the book very much, but is better. The characters are so much more lovable in Disney's tale. Now why couldn't Barrie be this imaginative?

A new, live version of Peter Pan recenyly came out. and when I saw it I couldn't help but be disappointed. I missed all of those timeless songs, charming characters, and humor. Peter was dressed as if he came straight from the jungle, and unfortunately it followed the book. I know you may think that sounds odd of me to say that I didn't like it because it was an accurate adaption, but it's true.

So if you want to watch an exciting and classic movie buy this DVD.

Great video for kids. A great Disney classic. I ordered and it was here in no time!

Here is another story that I love after I read it in a book - Peter Pan: The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up. Peter Pan has appeared in numerous adaptations, sequels, and prequels since then, including various stage musicals, live-action feature films like Hook and the live-action version of Peter Pan that came out in 2003, and also the authorized sequel novel Peter Pan in Scarlet, that came out in 2006. Out of the adaptations that are the best, I would say...I love Disney's and the new live-action film (I not one to choose side you know).

Disney's version of the story, is the widely known film version of the story; so popular that Peter's fairy friend Tinker Bell because the mascot of The Walt Disney Company, and the centerpiece of it's Disney Fairies media franchise including the direct-to-DVD film Tinker Bell, the film also shows that Tink actually speaks (she dosen't in the original film). Yes, I love this film. The animation and backgrounds are excellent and the casting is very good too, which reprises Kathryn Beaumont (who was the voice of Alice in Disney's Alice in Wonderland) as Wendy Darling. And I love 5 of the out the 8 songs from the film, which are:
"The Second Star to the Right,"
"You Can Fly!"
"Following the Leader,"
"What Makes the Red Man Red?" And...
"Your Mother and Mine..." But especially "Second Star to the Right."

So overall, I would say this film is an excellent film for young and old alike.

This is a great movie for kids, I loved it when I was little. I still think it's great. What I don't understand is this whole racist thing. I'm pretty sure that I am one of the only people who honestly doesn't think about racial issues at all when watching movies like this. My aunt is full-blooded Cherokee Indian and she loves this movie. I guess I just don't think about things the way many others do. I don't want to get into a discussion of all this p.c. propoganda. All I'm saying is, this movie is definitely a classic, and should be a part of any kid's life.

Following the success of both Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland, came Peter Pan, continuing a great era, the 1950's. This film tells the unforgettable story of the boy who never wanted to grow up, living in a wonderful island called Never Land, where he has decided to take the Darling Children and where they live a wonderful but dangerous adventure fighting the evil Captain Hook and his nasty team of pirates. Peter Pan is a great and very memorable but somehow seems to get forgotten now. It seems that modern Disney films like Aladdin and the Lion King have taken over, making wondeful classic Disney films be forgotten. Peter Pan is a children's classic and deserves to be remembered forever.

This Special Edition DVD isn't quite one of their best releases but it includes a decent number of bonus features and featurettes. Luckily, this feature, Peter Pan has been officially announced as part of the Platinum Edition line, which will give Peter Pan a more majestic release.

The day my dad bought me this tape back in april 1993, I instantly fell in-love with it. And while it was only the third addition to my Disney collection back then (following "The Little Mermaid" & "Beauty and the Beast"), today, having over 20 Disney films in my library, it still remains one of my favorite Disney movies ever.
I loved everything about this film, but mostly the glossy animation. It reminds me of that in "Cinderella". Very pristine, very detailed, amazing colors. Equally important, the characters are very appealing, especially Tinker-Bell and the evil-yet-hilarious Captain Hook. Wendy is also a great character, drawn very beautifully. The story of "Peter Pan" has always interested me, and therefore I had high expectations upon watching this movie for the first time. I remember watching it with my sisters; we were totally blown away by it. It's easily a classic in a league of its own.