Peter Pan & Wendy review: A sweet and timely remake that updates the classic story

The latest adaptation of the JM Barrie classic updates the story and characters and wins with its fresh take and commitment to diversity

Ever Anderson as Wendy Darling in Peter Pan & Wendy. Photo: Disney+

The story of Peter Pan, Wendy and Neverland has impacted generations of viewers and readers.

After JM Barrie’s play Peter Plan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up debuted in 1904, it was followed up by the 1911 novelisation Peter And Wendy.

Big screen adaptations began with a silent film in 1924, but it was the 1953 animated film Peter Pan that brought the story to millions of new people, while it has been watched by many, many more over the decades since. The likes of Steven Spielberg’s Hook, 2003’s Peter Pan and 2015’s Pan have also been made, but failed to match the magic of the Disney outing.

Peter Pan & Wendy doesn’t, too. But it’s still a sweet and delightful take on the beloved story, which it tells through a modern lens, while also exploring timely themes that make it feel all the more prescient.

It has been co-written and directed by David Lowery, who previously oversaw Disney’s delightful live-action remake of Pete’s Dragon. Peter Pan & Wendy opens with a focus on Wendy Darling (Ever Anderson), who is about to leave her mother Mary (Molly Parker), father George (Alan Tudyk) and two brothers John (Joshua Pickering) and Michael (Jacobi Jupe) behind for boarding school.

Wendy is afraid to leave her childhood home behind, even though her parents insist that it’s time she should grow up. Then, one night, Peter Pan (Alexander Molony) and a tiny fairy Tinker Bell (Yara Shahidi) arrive at Wendy’s home to take her and her siblings to the magical world of Neverland, where Pan refuses to grow old.

As well as being the home to Pan, other Lost Boys and an indigenous tribe, Neverland’s waters are sailed by Captain Hook (Jude Law), a pirate and Peter’s enemy, who wants to gain revenge against him after he cut off his right hand and fed it to a crocodile. He has since replaced his hand with a sharp, metallic hook.

Peter Pan & Wendy might be overly saccharine from time to time, but Lowery’s swash-buckling approach to direction makes sure that it’s always light-hearted and fun to watch unfold. Lowery takes such an inventive and carefree approach that he even includes several musical moments in the film. They never feel forced, though, and are organically incorporated.

While he’s always firmly aware of his primary audience, Lowery also manages to make sure that Peter Pan & Wendy is populated with numerous dark moments and scenes that give the story an important edge.

That’s hardly a surprise when you consider that, as well as the child-friendly Pete’s Dragon, Lowery has previously directed the romantic crime drama Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, the supernatural fantasy A Ghost Story, and medieval fantasy The Green Knight, each of which were firmly aimed at adults.

With Peter Pan & Wendy, Lowery knows exactly the right imagery and shots to use to be gripping, while always making sure that he doesn’t alienate its intended viewers. The highlight of which is the look, size and chaos created by the giant crocodile that threatens Hook and his fellow pirates, which leads to the film’s most entertaining sequence.

What also makes Peter Pan & Wendy stand out is how it updates the characters and its story. Not just in its depiction of Neverland’s indigenous tribe and the diversity of its ensemble, but also by how it examines themes of the fears and pressures of growing up, friendship, ego and responsibility.

Ultimately, there’s a theatricality and melodrama to Peter Pan & Wendy that occasionally overwhelms the film, and its sincerity gets a bit much, too. But more often than not, it’s such an enjoyable and uplifting watch that you’ll be able to overlook these flaws, especially as it looks at Wendy, Peter Pan and even Hook in such a fresh and original fashion.

Peter Pan & Wendy will release on Disney+ on Friday