Peter Pan & Wendy Movie Review: Exactly one month after the release of “The Little Mermaid”, Peter Pan & Wendy arrives today on Friday 28 April on Disney+, the latest live-action of another of the iconic stories of the Disney family. 

The film, directed by David Lowery (previously director of “The Invisible Dragon” in 2016), takes up the story of the boy who didn’t want to grow up already told in the 1953 animated film and in the various remakes, updating it and adapting it to today’s social content. In the cast: Jude Law as Captain Hook, Alexander Molony, in his film debut in the role of Peter Pan, and Ever Anderson (Wendy), daughter of director Paul W. S. Anderson and actress Milla Jovovich, the protagonist of Resident Evil saga.

The film tells the story of Wendy Darling, a girl who is afraid to leave her childhood home, and meets Peter Pan, a boy who refuses to grow up. Together with her brothers and a little fairy, Tinker Bell, she travels with Peter to the magical world of Neverland. There she meets an evil pirate captain, Captain Hook, and embarks on a thrilling and dangerous adventure that will change her life forever.

Like every time with live action, the first question everyone asks is: did we really need it? Generally speaking, no. Fortunately, the writer is part of that small group of people who approach Disney live-action not expecting a carbon copy of the original films, thus enjoying the additions and changes that are made to the narratives from time to time.

This new version of Peter Pan hasn’t been immune to changes either. In fact, a colored Tinker Bell is represented, some girls enriching the ranks of lost children, together with a child with Down syndrome. The attention that Disney is placing on diversifying the representation in its stories is now clear, even at the risk of attracting major criticisms, such as those made in the case of the aforementioned “The Little Mermaid”, a live-action that caused a lot of noise for the fact that he cast Halle Bailey for the role of Ariel. 

Another aspect Disney is focusing on is female representation as already noted in the Marvel universe. And, in fact, the characters of Wendy, Tinker Bell (Yara Shahidi), and Tiger Lily (Alyssa Wapanatâhk) are the real protagonists of this film. Reckless, aware of their value, and in solidarity with each other. None of the three embodies the classic damsel in distress waiting to be saved by a man, on the contrary, it is they who on several occasions save Peter and remind him that she alone could not do it.

Despite all these interesting attempts, the film as a whole doesn’t come out with flying colors. If the female characters are well written, even if not perfectly, the male counterparts come across as flat and uninteresting. In Peter’s case, this poor writing is aggravated by the inexperience of the young actor who is still immature, who never manages to pierce the screen and therefore reach the heart of the viewer. 

The same goes for Jude Law as a Captain Hook that doesn’t belong to him. The only standout moment occurs in a confrontation between him and Wendy, where the actor managed to go beyond the facade of the villain and therefore dig a little deeper into the character’s psyche, allowing him to show his undisputed skill.

It is clear that the film was designed for on-demand distribution and not for a theatrical release. All this has led to a lower budget and this can be seen above all in the non-excellent special effects which result in many points being very “plasticky”. The photography, on the other hand, retains the Disney quality we are used to.

With a fast pace, sometimes even too fast, affecting the emotional connection with the characters and the story, “Peter Pan & Wendy” is the right product when you are looking for a film without infamy and without praise to spend a carefree evening.