Film Review: PETER PAN & WENDY (2023): A Timeless Tale Gets a Re-imagining in an Enjoyable Family Film

Peter Pan & Wendy Review

Peter Pan & Wendy (2023) Film Review, a movie directed by David Lowery, written by Toby Halbrooks and David Lowery and starring Alexander Molony, Ever Anderson, Jude Law, Alyssa Wapanatahk, Jim Gaffigan, Joshua Pickering, Jacobi Jupe, Molly Parker, Alan Tudyk, Yara Shahidi, Florence Bensberg, Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez, Noah Matthew Matofsky, Caelan Edie, Kelsey Yates, Skyler Yates, Diana Tsoy and Felix de Sousa.

Disney Plus’s new film, Peter Pan & Wendy, is directed by David Lowery and includes some tremendously exciting visuals that propel the movie to the top of the list of recent straight-to-streaming family films. The casting of the role of Wendy Darling is also delightful to behold. Wendy is played by Ever Anderson who has tremendous appeal as a young actress and she’s cast opposite a decent new star, Alexander Molony, who more than sufficiently plays the boy who never grew up– Peter Pan. It is Jude Law as Captain Hook, however, that gives Peter Pan & Wendy so much pizzazz. A swashbuckler like Pan needs a good foe and Law is used here to great effect, even rivaling the performance of the great Dustin Hoffman in Steven Spielberg’s beloved, Hook.

As Peter Pan & Wendy begins, Wendy (Anderson) and her young brothers, Josh (Joshua Pickering) and Michael (Jacobi Jupe) are having fun playing together when one of them (Wendy) accidentally causes some innocuous destruction in their home.  Mrs. Darling (Molly Parker) tries to tell Wendy that things will be changing soon since Wendy is growing up and heading to a new school. Wendy wants to stay young indefinitely and when she meets Peter Pan (Molony), she finds someone with similar beliefs to her own– a kindred spirit, if you will.

What would a Peter Pan movie be without the infamous Tinkerbell (she’s played here by Yara Shahidi)? The magical fairy makes her appearance in the movie and the tiny fairy establishes herself as no-nonsense and determined in everything she does. She also has dark hair this time out and more of a backstory than one may expect. Shahidi and Anderson share some sincere scenes together as the character of Wendy takes the extra time to truly try to hear what Tinkerbell is saying throughout the scenes in the film.

None of this would work as well as it does without Law, though. When Captain Hook is standing on top of a big crocodile in a cave the characters find themselves in, there’s plenty of fun to be had. Law doesn’t overact and he doesn’t underact. He plays the part perfectly and on-point creating one of the more memorable cinematic Captain Hooks of our generation. He revels in making Hook look as bad as he can and it’s Law’s best turn in years.

There are plenty of sequences of our characters flying through the sky. There’s also a scene where a kidnapped Wendy is forced by Captain Hook to walk the plank on the infamous pirate ship. What follows is some excellent sword fighting that will keep audiences entertained and enthralled for the remainder of the picture.

Also on board is the entertaining Jim Gaffigan as Hook’s assistant, Smee, who thinks he heard Wendy fall off the plank and into the water but Hook suspects otherwise. Gaffigan succeeds in his part in this film and he and Law play off each other quite well complementing one another in hilarious ways.

Don’t forget the tremendously appealing Alyssa Wapanatahk as Tiger Lily who gets some moments to shine within the film as well. The Lost Boys make their appearance here again and are kids who yearn to have a mom of their own one day. The kid actors in the film work well together in these roles even if some of them are lacking a bit in character development.

This is Ever Anderson’s movie from beginning to end as Law’s is more of a supporting role. Anderson makes the quintessential Wendy and keeps her character charismatic and relatable as she learns some valuable lessons in life from the rebellious Peter Pan. Anderson lights up the screen in every scene she’s in with her tremendous charm and energy. As Pan, Molony holds his own beside her although there’s a reason Wendy is included in the picture’s title. She’s the most pivotal part of the movie as she learns so many important things about herself and her future. Molly Parker also gets her moments to excel as the mom who needs her daughter to understand that she is, indeed, growing up for better more than worse.

While Peter Pan and Wendy does lack a bit of the cinematic scope of some other Hollywood versions of Peter Pan, it succeeds on its own merits as an entertaining audience pleasing film. You’ll feel the excitement of the flying scenes and the tension of the confrontation scenes between Pan and Hook as well. Ever Anderson is a radiant talent and she keeps the movie afloat even if it sometimes treads into familiar territory in the scenes that play during the midsection of the film. You wish you didn’t have to grow up while watching this exciting movie. Well, at least for about 100 minutes anyway.

Rating: 7.5/10

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