‘Peter Pan and Wendy’: Is Peter Pan the weakest link in Disney+’s movie?
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The story of Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up, has been told time and again, through different media and lenses. Every rendition felt similar in more ways than one, but David Lowrey’s ‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ takes a slightly different route while still retaining the heart of the Disney classic, and we have a feeling everyone is going to love it!
The title itself takes away some importance from Peter Pan when it puts Wendy’s name right next to him, and more of that is explored in ‘Peter Pan and Wendy.’ Alexander Molony and Ever Anderson have both done a brilliant job portraying the characters of Peter Pan and Wendy, and major props go to Molony for his portrayal of this slightly tweaked version of Peter Pan. Is Peter Pan the weakest link in this iteration?
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One of the best things about ‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ as a film is that they haven’t portrayed Wendy Darling as a damsel in distress. Instead, she is a strong young woman, who cares deeply about those around her. Much like others, Wendy wanted to remain a young girl instead of going to a boarding school, and this led her to fly away to Neverland with Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. Although Peter and Wendy start as friends, she is soon shocked by his behavior.
Peter Pan is cocky and overconfident, especially in matters of Captain Hook. When Wendy notices this, instead of simply going along with it, which has been done in other versions of this classic, she calls him out on it, and Tinkerbell looks more than thrilled about it. If there was anyone who could possibly put Peter Pan in his place, it had to be Wendy. ‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ strongly centers around the brilliant female characters, and also, Captain Hook, played by Jude Law. One can’t help but wonder if Peter Pan was side-lined in his own film.
Is Peter Pan the weakest link?
While Peter is incredibly confident about his abilities, particularly when it comes to defeating Captain Hook, Wendy realizes that Peter is nothing without the lost boys, girls, and Tinkerbell. Of course, Wendy also makes it a point to explain this to Peter who scoffs away but possibly realizes that he is nothing without the people around him. Peter Pan and Captain Hook often battle it out in ‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ but you won’t always find yourself rooting for Peter Pan, especially when he’s fighting him on his own. You can either blame that on Wendy’s statement, or Jude Law, take your pick.
It is interesting how Lowrey chose to portray Peter Pan in ‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ because this also had us sympathizing with Captain Hook and everyone around Peter who were almost suffering because one kid decided he never wanted to grow up because of his troubled childhood. While one can relate to and understand what Peter Pan goes through, there are far too many better characters in ‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ that deserve more attention, and that includes the huge crocodile in the waters. As much as we loved Alexander Molony, we simply didn’t feel the same about Peter Pan.
You can stream ‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ on Disney+ from April 28, 2023.