Peter Pan

My Advice: Try

General Cautions:

There is violence in this film. Most of it’s playful but not all of it. Comic violence. Several times when someone could die. One brief mention of rum. A degrading depiction of Native Americans.

My Kind of Synopsis:

Peter Pan is about a group of children in a situation without parents. This creates situations that may seem inappropriate to adults but won’t seem all that different for children, at least they never stuck out at me when I was a child. It’s partly these inappropriate situations that makes the movie so entertaining.

It starts out with us watching the family situation of Wendy, John, and Michael. We learn several things from these first few minutes including that Wendy has to grow up and she has Peter Pan’s shadow. It’s not too much later that we meet Peter Pan.

When Peter Pan comes to the nursery he is trying to find his shadow that Nana, the dog nursemaid, has stolen. He and Tinkerbell make enough noise that Wendy wakes up. She talks at Peter and then finds out that when his shadow was stolen he was outside the window listening to her tell stories about him. When Peter finds out that Wendy has to grow up he decides to take her to Neverland to be a mother for the lost boys. (Wendy insists on bringing John and Michael too).

They go through various adventures in Neverland. These adventures involve mermaids, Captain Hook and his pirates, the “indians”, and a few other things. Through these adventures the children are learning a variety of lessons, the most important of which is what it means to grow up.

What the Kids Say:

PonyGirl – Since the first time she saw this movie she won’t stop talking about it and wants to watch it over and over. She really likes Jake and the Neverland Pirates and the Tinkerbell movies. It blew her mind when I told her this came first.

CarKid – I think he partly likes it cause his sister does.  I’m pretty sure he likes it on his own too cause he keeps saying “Peer Pa” (Peter Pan) and “croc”.

Recommendations and Why:

Peter Pan is a movie I watched several times growing up. It’s they type of movie where I just assume everyone else has seen it. I was going against this assumption when I decided to write this review but I’m sure there is someone out there who hasn’t seen it.

Ever since I “grew up” I’ve heard people talk down Disney (Peter Pan’s portrayal of Native Americans is one I’ve heard the most). I don’t necessarily disagree with the things they claim, I disagree with their final opinion that Disney is evil (especially the content of their movies). Sometimes it’s nice to go back and pretend you never grew up. Peter Pan gives you this opportunity with it’s childish ways.  I know many people who love(d) this movie as a child. I know many people who love this movie as an adult. If you haven’t seen this movie I’d just like to say that it’s worth it.