Peter Pan & Wendy: David Lowery’s Disney live action remake is properly grown up

Disney live action remakes have more miss than hit, but this Peter Pan adaptation is actually smart and whimsical with a seam of melancholy.

Peter Pan & Wendy is streaming now on Disney+.

Peter Pan Syndrome may not be an actual medical term, but if someone is described as such, you know what kind of person they are.

Eternal youth and forever frolics may sound like fun and games, but we all know that life is only vibrant because it changes. There’s an inherent tragedy in getting stuck in a moment of your life, even if you think it’s the peak.

There’s a quote from an episode of Buffy spin-off Angel that perfectly encapsulates this – “It’s like a song. Now, I can hold a note for a long time, actually I can hold a note forever. But, eventually, that’s just noise. It’s the change we’re listening for. The note coming after and the one after that. That’s what makes it music.”

That line was being said to a character who tried to preserve the moment before his girlfriend dumps him, and that desire to hold onto something instead of facing what’s next is an obvious parallel to the Peter Pan story.

Peter Pan doesn’t want to grow up because he fears change. He fears becoming an adult.

J.M. Barrie’s story gets an update from filmmaker David Lowery. Picture: Disney

That emotional block courses through Disney’s latest live action remake of J.M. Barrie’s classic tale, a poignant seam that gives the adventure story pathos and heart.

Directed by David Lowery, Peter Pan & Wendy is a propulsive and visually beautiful (albeit with too-dark colour grading) movie full of whimsical action beats that will delight kids and adults alike. But where it really excels is how curious it is about the core of the Peter Pan story, these ideas around home, longing and growth.

Lowery, who co-wrote the film with Toby Halbrooks, returns Wendy to a more prominent role in the story, with most of the movie told from her perspective and experience. This adaptation is, in some ways, quite traditional as it follows the broad contours of Barrie’s play and novel. All the familiar beats of Tinkerbell, The Lost Boys and the crocodile are there.

Wendy Darling takes centre stage. Picture: Eric Zachanowich/Disney

But it creates a backstory to Captain Hook (Jude Law) that gives new significance to the ferocity of the feud between him and Peter Pan (Alexander Molony). And Law’s committed performance as the maligned pirate as both cruel, vindictive and, ultimately, a sad figure is superb. If anything, there could’ve been more Hook.

Hook is still a villain – his willingness to make Wendy (Ever Anderson) walk the plank to her death has not been dulled – but the full extent of his history makes him a more complex and interesting villain. And it sets up to ask deeper questions about Peter Pan and his whole “never grow up” philosophy.

The spritely Peter Pan and the bitter Hook serve almost as cautionary tales in parenting – two characters who could’ve turned out very different if life had been kinder or more nurturing. Their stories are dripping in melancholy, a vibe which permeates the whole film.

Jude Law’s Captain Hook is cruel, melancholic and, ultimately, tragic. Picture: Eric Zachanowich/Disney

And that’s why Wendy is the real focus of the movie. She’s the one who moves through the story with momentum and eventual purpose, it’s her arc we’re following – and it’s Peter Pan and Hook who help her become who she’s meant to be.

Lowery previously made Pete’s Dragon, one of the few Disney live action remakes that wasn’t ill-advised, so it’s not really a surprise the mercurial filmmaker did a bang-up job with Peter Pan & Wendy.

The filmmaker is known for his sometimes-meditative works, including A Ghost Story, The Green Knight and The Old Man & the Gun, and by bringing those sensibilities to Peter Pan & Wendy, he’s mounted a film that is very much grown up.

Rating: 3.5/5

Peter Pan & Wendy is streaming now on Disney+