Peter Pan Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Peter Pan Blu-ray Movie Review

P.J. Hogan pays his respects to J.M. Barrie in this sweeping storybook adaptation...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown April 3, 2011

It's tough to take a family friendly tale about murderous old men and their equally murderous nemeses -- a ragtag band of homeless children led by a sword-wielding preteen narcissist -- at face value. So what is it about Peter Pan and his strangely barbarous adventures that have filled hearts of all ages with wonder since Peter first leapt out of author J.M. Barrie's imagination more than a hundred years ago? When it comes to children, the answer is simple: the pure magic of Neverland and its inhabitants. Pirates, fairies, Indians, mermaids, giant crocodiles, seasons that come and go on a whim, castles and caverns, skeletons and treasure, boys soaring above the clouds without a care in the world or a grownup in sight. What kid wouldn't love to fly over Neverland, build forts in its sprawling forests, or clash swords with Captain James Hook? For adults, the answer is a bit more complicated. After all, Barrie's adult characters tend to be stuffy, shortsighted, vindictive or downright vicious, and his young heroes are forced to rely on their own devices when weathering the storms created by said adults. Ultimately though, Barrie's stories resonate because so much of Neverland's fairy tale fabric rings true. As children hurtle towards adulthood, their trust in the adults they wish to emulate is systematically, almost inevitably shaken; a painful irony that leaves many a young adult pining for the simpler days of their youth. Who hasn't wished they were still a child? Who wouldn't have taken Peter up on his offer a thousand times over? We're all overgrown kids playing dress-up, dear readers, and Barrie's tales remind us just how much fun it would be to toss off the suits, shred the ties and embark on the greatest adventures of our lives without a care in the world or a grownup in sight.

Peter and Wendy share a moment of quiet respite...

Filmmaker P.J. Hogan (My Best Friend's Wedding) and co-screenwriter Michael Goldenberg (Contact, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) understand the all-ages lure of the Pan mythos all too well, and their 2003 adaptation of Barrie's 1904 stageplay ("Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up") and 1911 novel ("Peter and Wendy") hangs on the author's every word and anchors itself to the spirit, whimsy and heart of his fantastical tales. It's a tonal faithfulness though, not a plot-specific one, and it will catch some viewers off guard. Hogan and Goldenberg clearly weren't interested in rooting their Peter Pan in any sense of modern reality, and their devotion to Barrie's most fanciful visions are lovingly bound to the stories' early-20th Century stage-and-page frivolity. Children rocket through the solar system ("second star to the right and straight on till morning"), use needle and thread to sow shadows to feet, bound across trampoline clouds, pow wow with Indians, and scream in grad unison to the heavens to bring a fading fairy back to life. The color of the sky shifts to reflect Pan's mood, a sentient sun blows a morning wind across the island, and an icy Jolly Roger thaws in an instant and returns to the high seas. Crimson sunsets flood the screen with color, night descends most literally, and the Neverland jungles look as if they've dripped from a painter's brush. But it's Hogan and Goldenberg's utter commitment to Barrie's overripe dreamscape that keeps it all afloat. Everything from Saffron Burrows' narration to Hogan's slightly skewed depiction of London, the sensibilities of the Darling family, the upside-down physics of Neverland, and the dual nature of Pan and Hook are intimately, irrevocably entwined.

The plot itself reads like that of an animated film with specific ties to Barrie's stories but many flourishes all its own. While chasing his shadow, Peter Pan (Jeremy Sumptor, in the awkward throes of puberty) meets Wendy Darling (Rachel Hurd-Wood, delivering a sweet, beyond-her-years performance), a young girl with a penchant for storytelling whose frustrated father (Jason Isaacs) has decided it's high time his daughter started to grow up. Running away from the future laid before her by her well-intentioned socialite aunt (Lynn Redgrave), Wendy takes her brothers, John and Michael (Harry Newell and Freddie Popplewell), and follows Peter to Neverland, a magical island beyond the realms of reality. But Wendy quickly realizes Neverland isn't a home away from home. Peter's temperamental fairy, Tink (French actress Ludivine Sagnier), wishes Wendy dead (and attempts to have the girl assassinated, not once, but twice), pirates and other deadly forces constantly conspire against Peter and his Lost Boys, and Captain Hook (Jason Isaacs in a dual role) will stop at nothing, including manipulating Wendy and taking advantage of Tink, to finally plunge his blade into the ageless boy who fed the captain's right hand to a crocodile. Before long, Wendy becomes homesick (despite developing feelings for Peter), John warms up to a feisty Indian princess named Tiger Lily (Carsen Gray), Hook laments his inability to capture and kill Pan, and Peter, as always, refuses to grow up, no matter the cost.

It sometimes feels as if animation would have better served Hogan and Goldenberg's thoroughly enchanting script. The film's visual effects, though fun and creative, seem inadequately equipped to paint the filmmakers' highest flights of fancy; the young supporting actors, though impressive on the whole, lack the nuance a group of talented artists could lend to the Lost Boys; and Peter and Hook's ultimate battle is hindered by transparent wire-work and gaudy splashes of color. Still, there's something to be said for Peter Pan's ambitious, irresistibly quixotic live-action charms; a storybook simplicity and stageplay romanticism Steven Spielberg's Hook abandons somewhere between its half-pipe basketballing and egg-launching shoulder-canon assault. At its core, Hogan's Pan is a singular tale of escapism, its joys and its dangers. Love is as much a threat to Peter as his sea-faring enemies, and it's in Peter and Wendy's relationship that the film finds its substance and strength. More than a mere subplot, Peter and Wendy's delicate love story comes to bear on every decision, conflict and attack the star-crossed darlings endure. Sumptor injects an evasiveness into his performance that pits Peter against his own fears; his Pan isn't ignorant of love's wiles, he's terrified of the doom love spells for his never, never grow up principles. Like Hook, Pan is a creature of habit, and the two share far more in common than other filmmakers have dared unearth in their adaptations. James and Peter share the same dark impulses and the same selfish complacency, and Wendy has trouble stomaching either warrior's self-absorbed determination. But Hogan and Goldenberg, like Barrie long before them, strike a careful balance between Neverland's shadows and light, celebrating the innocence of Wendy and her brothers' adventure while touching on the subtler perils of Peter's world.

I don't know what it is about Peter Pan stories that shake me. At several points throughout Hogan's adaptation, my eyes began to sting and I found myself longing for something I couldn't quite put my finger on. This isn't a new phenomenon for me; the Pan mythos and its subsequent adaptations have held an eerie sway over me all my life and I'm continually moved to tears. (Even Hook, critically reviled as it is, will always have a special place in my collection.) Hogan's Peter Pan is no different and, as a matter of fact, left me in quite the emotional heap. Hogan plucks heartstrings without mercy time and time again (enough to leave some filmfans shaking their heads in dismay). But in this case, it actually works in a film's favor. Barrie tacked his heart to his characters' sleeves and wrapped the Darlings' Neverland adventure in the unshakable longing adults hold for their childhoods. Hogan doesn't attempt to dilute Barrie's sentimentality -- nor does he cling to Barrie's every plot point -- but he does go full force where others have shied away. The result is an intrinsically reverent retelling, or reimagining as it were, of a classic tale and a stirring family film in its own right.

Peter Pan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Peter Pan's 1080p/VC-1 encoded presentation is a hard one to pin down. In many ways, it's gorgeous. Every lush, brush-stroked frame hangs on the screen like an oil painting swimming with rich colors, sun-bathed skintones, sumptuous primaries, and inkwell blacks. Donald McAlpine's lavishly saturated palette can be quite overbearing, but it has a certain leatherbound storybook charm. Detail is also satisfying on the whole, with a variety of striking closeups, fertile vistas and jaw-dropping scenes to be had. But in many ways, the transfer is also disappointing. Shots that feature special effects aren't as crisp or revealing as those that rely on practical camerawork, an overzealous (but intermittent) application of texture-smearing noise reduction further complicates matters, shadows are sometimes muted, faces flush too often (poor Smee), and artifacts occasionally swarm the nighttime Neverland skies. Unfortunately, it isn't easy to determine which indistinct textures trace back to the source and which are the result of DNR. Either way, Pan's transfer isn't the sharpest sword in Universal's arsenal, nor the most faithful. But fans will be mildly pleased regardless, particularly those who compare the Blu-ray edition to its DVD counterpart as the upgrade is obvious and substantial.

Peter Pan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Pan's sound design isn't as sweeping or fantastical as its visuals, but Universal's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track embraces Hogan's imaginative flourishes, delivering a fairly immersive experience. James Newton Howard's lighthearted orchestral score lifts above the London clouds and skims across the Neverland seas, filling the entire soundfield with sprightly flutes, surging percussion and billowing strings. The rear speakers aren't as concerned with environmental ambience, but the film's beaches, jungles and stormy castles are suitably engaging, creating a real sense of otherworldly space. Likewise, LFE support isn't the nimblest I've encountered, but its bold, booming pronouncements exude power and presence all the same. Dialogue, meanwhile, is clear, intelligible and well-prioritized in the mix, and only the most chaotic scenes come close to overwhelming the young actors' at-times timid voices. Most everything else is in order as well. Directionality is decidedly decent, pans are nice and smooth, and the track's distinct dynamics are well suited to the quiet reflections and intense battles that present themselves. All things considered, Peter Pan's lossless mix is quite good, and should help children of all ages think nothing but happy thoughts.

Peter Pan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Peter Pan doesn't include a single special feature. Strange considering the 2004 DVD had quite a few. Eleven behind-the-scenes featurettes, an alternate ending, deleted scenes and much more... gone without a trace. The Blu-ray edition doesn't even offer the film's Coldplay-infused theatrical trailer. Very strange indeed.

Peter Pan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

P.J. Hogan's Peter Pan is one of the better live-action adaptations of Barrie's classic tales, and a worthwhile family film that's weathered the years fairly well. It isn't perfect, and its visual effects show their age, but the magic of Hogan's adaptation will draw in many a viewer, young and old. Sadly, Universal's Blu-ray release isn't quite as absorbing as the film itself. While its DTS-HD Master Audio track is a solid catalog contender, its video transfer has its share of problems and the original 2004 DVD's special features are nowhere to be found. Even so, this is probably as good as it's likely to get. Supplemental junkies will have to hold onto their DVDs and videophiles will have to shrug off a few nagging issues, but most Peter Pan fans will find the AV upgrade makes its Blu-ray release worth the cost of admission.