PETER PAN
Reviewed by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 1989 David N. Butterworth/The Summer Pennsylvanian
Every year around this time, or during the Christmas season, the Walt Disney studios unleashes one of its treasures on the general public. The motivations behind this, no doubt, are to introduce an animated classic to today's younger audience, an audience very different from that when the film was originally released.
Last year, audiences were treated to THE LADY AND THE TRAMP. This year, it's the turn of PETER PAN, a somewhat cruder film than that canine love story, but one which manages to mix enough elements to keep the young in years -- as well as the young of spirit -- happily entertained even after they leave they theater.
Based on James M. Barrie's beloved novel, PETER PAN is a familiar coming-of-age tale to most people, made all the more so by the recent rebroadcast of the 1960s television special starring Mary Martin. This animated version is probably the only time Peter Pan has actually been "played" by a boy.
Even though the film is under 90 minutes long, it does tend to get a little draggy towards to the end. This is due in part to the fact that, about two thirds of the way through, the film peaks, only to peak again not long afterwards. Captain Hook battles Peter Pan (and that infernal ticking crocodile) and it wouldn't be giving anything away to say that the good guy triumphs. They could have ended the film right there. Instead, Hook makes off with Wendy which sets up the second climax. It's confusing for the younger set and repetitious for the older ones.
One cannot easily think about PETER PAN and not the songs which accompany it. For example "I Won't Grow Up" and "Never Smile at a Crocodile." In this animated version, the former is never heard and the latter only appears in an instrumental form backing the toothy protagonist's occasional appearances.
It's hard not to notice the backgrounds in the film. These, such as the pirate ship, Skull Rock and scenes of London, are exquisitely detailed. The characters themselves seem somewhat flat in comparison, often lacking in detail. They register emotion more by a widening of the eyes than any kind of body language.
But the film really takes off when it shows us glimpses of these children's world from an airborne point of view. The scene where the children fly over to London, following the second star on the right, is quite breathtaking, much like those IMAX films about flight they show at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
And shots of Never-Never Land, also from the air, are quite magical. One, of Captain Hook and first mate Smee in a boat with captive Indian Tiger Lilly, is so beautifully animated that the water looks real. Disney has always been able to convincingly bring water to life in all his movies -- remember the storm in BAMBI or the subterranean sequences in PINOCCHIO?
If you can ignore some of the film's minor flaws, you should have a ripe old time at the movies. Thirty-six years after it was made, PETER PAN still makes for a wonderfully colorful entertainment.
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