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All children grow up... except one.

With Peter Pan, the 2003 live-action adaptation of J.M. Barrie's immortal and universally-adored creation, writer/director P.J. Hogan came armed with a budget of $100 million to return audiences to the worlds and characters they've come to know and love. And all of them are here in abundance. We have the Darling children: the lovely Wendy (Rachel Hurd-Wood), the eldest, most imaginative, and most passionate, as well as her two younger brothers John (Harry Newell) and Michael (Freddie Popplewell) who - let's face it - are pretty interchangeable. Their father, known only as Mr. Darling (Jason Isaacs), is somewhat cold and demanding, the oh-so-proper banker (who knows the cost of everything) who wants his children to behave and grow up, and the sooner the better. Meanwhile, their mother Mrs. Darling (the radiant Olivia Williams) is warmer and infinitely more affectionate, although deferential to the overbearing Mr. Darling. Their dog Nana (Rebel) is quizzically but gainfully employed as the children's babysitter, and their omnipresent Aunt Millicent (Lynn Redgrave) is simply a kooky old coot with some heavy-handed ideas about childrearing.

Staying faithful to Barrie's original storyline, the story kicks it into high gear as one night the children are visited by Peter Pan (Jeremy Sumpter), the magical child who never grew up. After regaining control of his captured shadow, and with the assistance of Tinkerbell's (Ludivine Sagnier) magical fairy dust, the children are whisked away to Neverland, a realm that could only come out of the imagination of a child. There are mermaids, Indians, pirates, mountains, secret castles, lush gardens, luminescent grottoes, and not a single adult to be found. As always, not all is well in Neverland. The magical realm is constantly under the heal of Captain Hook (Jason Isaacs, maintaining the longstanding tradition that the actor who plays Mr. Darling should also play Captain Hook) and his gang of cutthroat pirates. During a battle with Peter Pan, Hook lost his hand to a simply gargantuan crocodile, and the mustachioed villain is gunning for revenge.

By the by, was Captain Hook called "Captain Hook" before he lost his hand and replaced it with a hook? Or did he gain the appellation afterwards? If so, what was he called before? Captain Schwartzbaum? Captain Escobar? And who made him a captain? There don't seem to be any kind of armed forces marshalled about Neverland. Perhaps the title is mostly honorary, in which case I suppose it wouldn't be any real sort of insubordination for his underlings to rise up against him. Hook does have a predilection for shooting crewmen who piss him off one way or another. That's not exactly the best way to bolster morale.

Whatever. Anyway, to sum up any more of the plot would be an exercise in pointlessness. Pretty much everybody is familiar with the tale of the young Sir Pedro, even if they've never actually seen the original play or more than twenty minutes of any other iteration of the tale. What's more important here is whether or not P.J. Hogan and company do a reasonable job in translating this timeless tale to the silver screen.

Call it "Hook-in-Mouth" Disease if you will, but I have never seen an adaptation of Peter Pan that has utterly captivated me from start to finish. As much as I enjoy what is perhaps the best-known adaptation of the story - Disney's 1953 animated classic - it has never captivated me as much as other animated tales of its era like Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, or 101 Dalmations. Perhaps it is the story's scattershot nature, its overly brisk pace, or its carefree exuberance that make the tale of the boy who never grew up so endearing and resonant to generations of children, but Peter Pan, while an enjoyable story, never captivated me in the same way that other fairy tales, fables, and stories of its ilk did.

So no, I've never been the biggest Peter Pan fan. Apparently, moviewatchers weren't too entranced with Hogan's film either. It came and went in the winter of 2003, earning a disappointing $48 million at the North American box office and another $65 million internationally. Perhaps the movie will gain a second life on home video - as well it should, because Peter Pan, surprisingly enough, is the strongest adaptation of the tale that this reviewer has ever seen, and a pretty terrific movie to boot.

The movie isn't perfect; it suffers from a few rather slow stretches, and a few scenes simply don't work as strong as they should. However, when Peter Pan has its game on, it's marvelous. All of the children do fine work in each of their respective roles. While none of them stand out as extraordinary (think of Emma Watson's Hermione Granger from Harry Potter or even Lindsay Lohan in Freaky Friday), they each bring warmth, exuberance, and enthusiasm to their parts. In the dual role of Captain Hook and Mr. Darling, the great Jason Isaacs shines. He adds just the right amount of uptight primness to Mr. Darling, and imbues Captain Hook with both menace and pathos. He makes it crystal clear that Hook embodies everything that Peter Pan loathes and fears about growing up: frustration, loneliness, and emotional emptiness. You can see the regret and longing behind Hook's eyes, but never to the point that it humanizes him too much.

There are too many memorable scenes here, such as the flight to Neverland, the encounter with the rather dark and menacing mermaids, the "I do believe in fairies!" sequence, and the thrilling battle in Hook's Black Castle by the sea. The exquisite set design and special effects work have created a Neverland like we've never seen before. It is lush, sensual, cartoonish, and dreamlike, like something that crawled out of a child's imaginary world and painted itself into a storybook. The world is consciously artificial and larger than life, but in a manner that never seems excessive or extraneous.

Much has been made about the supposed "sexing up" of the relationship between Pan and Wendy. Truth to be told, there is some sensuality to the tale that previous adaptations of the story haven't gone anywhere near. The two share a floating dance sequence in which their feelings for each other are brought to the surface, while another scene featuring a shared kiss is followed by an eruption of energy and excitement that would have Michael Powell raising an eyebrow in dismay. It's clearly an orgasmic allegory, yet at the same time their innocence and affection is clearly childlike and sweet-natured. It's only us "filthy-minded" adults who see this tale for what is: Wendy's coming-of-age, her progression from childhood to pubescence, leaving the whimsy of childhood behind in a final celebration of fancy, clarity, and innocence. There's absolutely nothing inappropriate here for children of any ages.

So yeah, it's a shame that Peter Pan got overlooked in theaters. It's a wonderful little film, and easily the best filmed adaptation of the story ever made. Thankfully, it's not too late for the petulant little crapcan kid in all of us to make another stop in Neverland. It's worth the trip.

Video:

Peter Pan is presented in its original widescreen theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1, and the transfer has been anamorphically enhanced for your widescreen-viewing appreciation. Peter Pan is one of the most visually resplendent films I have ever seen, and as such the film requires nothing less than a phenomenal visual representation on home video. The transfer is close, but not quite there. Colors look vibrant and alive, with warm neons, deep blacks and blues, and an overall crisp palette with little bleeding or chroma noise. Contrasts are reasonably handled, although some interior scenes came across as a little flat and unengaging. Sharpness is the main issue I have with the transfer; while most scenes come across reasonably well defined, there is some noticeable softness and lack of fine detail throughout the picture. The film looks well throughout, but it just could have and should have been just a bit sharper. Overall the film looked very good indeed, but it should have looked great.

Audio:

The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. An optional French language soundtrack is included as well, also in Dolby Digital 5.1. The mix is extremely engaging and aggressive, although perhaps not quite at Saving Private Ryan-levels of intensity. There is some immersive imaging that dances throughout the soundstage; the track really provides for a discrete sense of placing and directionality, resulting in an audial experience that provides for a thrilling experience. LFE is used wonderfully, giving the soundtrack some serious sonic boom (just listen to that crocodile attack!), while surrounds are used expansively and engagingly throughout the film. The score boasts some impressive dynamic range, while dialog levels show off some serious clarity and brightness. A fine soundtrack, to be sure.

Extras:

The extras, while enjoyable, are a little light in the sense that the viewer is given around two dozen featurettes that all average somewhere near two minutes in length apiece. I suppose Universal felt that, given the film's weak performance at the box office, there was no point in lavishing extraneous attention on the DVD. A shame. Anyway, The Pirates' Ship section gives access to a host of supplements relating to Hook's ship. Board the Pirate Ship contains a minute's worth of video that shows how the ship was designed, including early conceptual drawings, schematics, models, special effects sequences, and construction. We also see some of the actors performing on the ship set, surrounded by a host of bluescreens. Through the Eyes of Captain Hook is a six-minute video sequence of footage following Jason Isaacs on the set of the film. The Pirates vs. The Lost Boys runs two minutes in length, interviewing some of the actors who portrayed either Hook's pirates or Pan's Lost Boys. The Lost Pirate Song runs just over a minute, in which director P. J. Hogan discusses the pirate song that was cut from the movie. We even see the pirate cast recording the film, but alas; it was never shot.

Next is The Black Castle. The Enter The Castle sequence runs slightly over a minute, and we are rewarded with some footage that details the planning and construction of this magnificent set. Learning To Fly runs for six minutes in length, in which the cast and crew discuss their approach to the film's numerous flight sequences. The Mermaids' Tale is a two-minute sequence in which we meet and learn more about the haunting mermaids from the film. While in costume, these poor ladies had to be carried around the set on a stretcher!

Now let's turn our attention to The Darling House, the real world home of our protagonists. Here we can find a four-minute Alternate Ending, in which we see that the narrator of the movie has been, in fact, the grown-up Wendy herself (played by Saffron Burrows). She receives a surprise visit from Pan, which gives the story some sweet-natured but unnecessary closure. We also have Deleted Scenes: Mr. Darling in the Dog House, which runs nearly four minutes and features a rather unnecessary scene featuring Mr. Darling getting stuck in Nana's doghouse. Then there's Me and My Shadow, which runs over a minute and showcases some behind-the-scenes footage of the shadow-chasing sequence. In the Dog House with Nana goes for nearly three minutes, in which we meet Rebel, the sweet-faced St. Bernard that plays the part of Nana.

If you haven't guessed by now, a "Play All" function would have been really nice.

We now move into the next section: The Neverland Forest. The Explore the Forest sequence runs just under a minute, and provides a host of on-set, behind-the-scenes footage of Pan's forest. Tinkerbell: Behind the Fairy Dust is a four-and-a-half minute sequence featuring Ludivine Sagnier, the adorably sexy actress who brought Tinkerbell to life so wonderfully, and the host of animators and special effects geniuses who made the little fairy fly. I Do Believe in Fairies is a minute and a half in length, and delves into the memorable Fairy Dance sequence. Princess Tiger Lily runs for about a minute, and interviews Carsen Gray, the young actress who played Princess Tiger Lily. Gray is of American Indian descent, and spoke actual Iroquois in the film.

Trekking onward, we move unto The Home Under The Ground. The first section is Dig Under The Home, running under one-minute in length and featuring behind-the-scenes footage of the Lost Boys underground lair. The Legacy of Pan, hosted by Sarah Ferguson is an eleven-minute featurette hosted by the unfortunately omnipresent Duchess of York, in which the cast and crew provide a rather high-level but mildly entertaining look at the creation of their film. We also take a cursory but informative look that history of the Peter Pan phenomenon. The Duchess' Outtakes is two minutes of outtake footage culled from the filming of the previously mentioned featurette. Lost Boys on the Set! runs slightly over two minutes, featuring footage of the actors playing the Lost Boys talking about their roles and clowning around on the set. Rounding out this section are the DVD Credits .

There are also some Universal previews for The Cat In The Hat and Two Brothers that appear when you first put the disc in your player.

Final Thoughts