This post will contain spoilers...and a rant or two about "Peter Pan and Wendy." You've been warned.
A few years ago, when Disney announced they were remaking Peter Pan, I was like, okay cool. When they announced they cast Jude Law to play Captain Hook, I was like, okay hot. When they released the teaser trailer and then the official trailer, I was like, okay...at least try to give it a chance.
I am obsessed with Peter Pan. I have an entire shelf dedicated to many different editions of the book. I have multiple maps of Neverland. I read so many different adaptations and re-imaginations and sequels, with varying levels of diversity and maturity. I did my undergrad thesis on the original novel by J.M., full-on dissecting the book on an academic and creative level. I have several different versions of a novel (or novels) written/outlined of my own adaptation/re-imagination Barrie. I have, so far, two tattoos dedicated to the cause. I have a good chunk of the o.g. book memorized. I have many, if not all, of the original animated Disney soundtrack memorized. I have a majority of the 2003 version memorized.
And I have a lot to say about the remake that Disney+ just released today.
In the first ten minutes, I counted no less than seven factual errors (major ones) that the movie changed (plot wise) from the original novel/play. One was in the first two minutes: it is theatre and cinema tradition that Mr. Darling is played by the same actor that plays Captain Hook. It's thematic and cinematic and cheaper and traumatizing in a Freudian way.
Speaking of Captain Hook, Jude Law is hot (like hawt hot, like hooooot), and canonically, Captain Hook is very, very attractive. I thought, maybe since they cast Jude Law, they'd revert to that o.g. fact...they didn't. They made Jude Law ugly and repulsive, and it's highly disappointing (on multiple levels...except maybe that Freudian one). ALSO, Hook is a gentlemen. An Englishman. An Eton graduate. He would never, neeeeever try to stab someone when their back was turned, fucking never. Like, fucking damn, people; do your research. I have a few other issues with this character, but they're all relatively minor. I'm on the fence about the thing at the end, because it hints at a sequel (so did Tiger Lily--and Tinker Bell), so we'll see (maybe he'll be hotter then...though I doubt it).
Tiger Lily: I looooooooved her. Loved her. Loved that they cast an actual native person for the role. Loved that she spoke her language (though, they did this in the 2003 version, too). Loved that she was like a mentor to the Lost Boys/Girls. Loved that she helped heal Peter. Loved her. Not sure I have a con.
Tinker Bell: Again, not sure I have a con. Love the casting/diversity. Love the lack of female animosity between her and Wendy. Love the dress and the lack of shoes. Overall, yes.
Lost Boys/Girl: The casting crew did amazing with the diversity (yes, it needs said a third time--if you see someone like you, it can be life changing). I love the rag-tag group of genders and background and ages. I love the modge-podge of costumes, and I love the fierceness.
Peter Pan: He was...a little young. I don't know if that's good or bad. I mean, yes, he's the boy who never grows up, sure, but he looks very, very, very young. He's also no arrogant enough. Peter Pan is arrogant as fuck, hence the crow calls. He's awesome, and he knows it. He also didn't run away as a young boy; he ran away when he was a baby, some sources say when he was a day old (don't. change. the. facts.).
Wendy: I love how strong she was. She wasn't waiting for Peter Pan to save her on that pirate ship; she saved herself. She saved herself a lot, and then she saved everyone else, Peter Pan included. She was a fighter. She also didn't ever go to boarding school. However, I like how they steered away from the Mother thing (not her mother, but her being a mother); it's refreshing, and it breaks that gender stereotype of what's excepted from her at home as well as at Neverland (run away from one place telling you to grow up and have babies to a place where you already have them and have to take care of them, talk about a nightmare).
Mr and Mrs. Darling: There wasn't any animosity here. Wendy had no reason to not want to grow up. They weren't forcing her out of the nursery. They weren't telling her to stop playing silly games or stop telling silly stories or to be a lady. They just wanted to give her an education, something that wasn't a given to many children of that era let alone a female one (hell, I'll take a boarding school education). They weren't complaining about their jobs or the expenses of being an adult--aka they were giving the children zero reason to hate the very idea of growing up. Mr. and Mrs. Darling as just as much as a villain as Captain Hook in the book if you really think about it (gotta pat my own back right now, making a lot of excelling points on the fly).
Neverland: What was with Big Ben? Those weren't mermaids. Loved the accurate and inclusive depiction of native people. Couldn't any of the pirates be attractive? The peaks and islands were very Irish to me. The Lost Boys/Girls hideout, thought? Holy. Fucking. Shit. Yes. All of the yes. I mean, come onnnnn! It's like the monastery and the abandoned hunting 'cabin' from "Ever After", all of my dreams come true. AND the winding staircase in their hideout mirrored the winding staircase at the Darling house, which was the most beautiful and subtle of touches.
Overall, there were some good choices made, but they all had to do with casting and with the Wendy part of "Peter Pan and Wendy." Overall, they totally didn't follow any version of Peter Pan (not the original play, not the original book, not even their original movie). If this is how they're going to treat "The Little Mermaid," Imma loose even more of my shit.
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