Peter Pan
Year: 1953
Director: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson & Hamilton Luske
Starring: Kathryn Beaumont, Paul Collins, Hans Conried, Bobby Driscoll & Tommy Luske
Runtime: 77 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 22/03/21
Director: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson & Hamilton Luske
Starring: Kathryn Beaumont, Paul Collins, Hans Conried, Bobby Driscoll & Tommy Luske
Runtime: 77 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 22/03/21
We spend most of our childhoods wanting to grow up only for when we get there to wish we were children again. Which is why when I was young I never understood why the three main characters of Peter Pan wanted to stay children so badly. Obviously now that I am twenty-five, working forty hours a week, and spend most of my spare time either cleaning or feeding myself, I completely understand their desire to stay as children.
Based on the children’s play by J.M Barrie, Peter Pan tells the tale of the Darling children Wendy (Kathryn Beaumont), John (Paul Collins), and Michael (Tommy Luske). The three children play all day telling the stories of Peter Pan (Bobby Driscoll) and his battles against Captain Hook (Hans Conried) in Neverland. Their father, George (also Hans Conried), has had enough of these silly stories and in a fit of range tells Wendy she’ll be getting her own room, is not to encourage the boys to spout such nonsense, and is to grow up.
That night Wendy is visited by Peter Pan who takes the three children away to Neverland with him. There they meet the Lost Boys, Mermaids, and a group of Native Americans, however Peter’s faithful pixie Tinkerbell disapproves of Wendy and inadvertently puts the Darling’s in danger by informing Captain Hook of their whereabouts.
Based on the children’s play by J.M Barrie, Peter Pan tells the tale of the Darling children Wendy (Kathryn Beaumont), John (Paul Collins), and Michael (Tommy Luske). The three children play all day telling the stories of Peter Pan (Bobby Driscoll) and his battles against Captain Hook (Hans Conried) in Neverland. Their father, George (also Hans Conried), has had enough of these silly stories and in a fit of range tells Wendy she’ll be getting her own room, is not to encourage the boys to spout such nonsense, and is to grow up.
That night Wendy is visited by Peter Pan who takes the three children away to Neverland with him. There they meet the Lost Boys, Mermaids, and a group of Native Americans, however Peter’s faithful pixie Tinkerbell disapproves of Wendy and inadvertently puts the Darling’s in danger by informing Captain Hook of their whereabouts.
At the time, Peter Pan was one of Disney’s most modern adaptations. Previously the studio had adapted material from fairy tales, or books that were written in the previous century. J.M Barrie created the play for Great Ormond Street Hospital in the early 1900’s, less than fifty years before the film was made. This helps make the film feel much more modern than most Disney Animated Classics up to this point. However, Peter Pan is perhaps one of the most problematic Disney films in terms of its depiction of misogynistic practices, and harmful racial stereotypes. The storyline involving Tigerlily and the Native Americans for example (or as they are referred to in the film, Indians) has been removed from more modern releases of the film due to its extremely problematic depiction of that race of people, and the song “What Makes the Red Man Red?”. I’ve personally not seen a more modern version of the film, so I can’t say how detrimentally their exclusion affects the plot as Tigerlily is quite central to some of the film’s major moments. But I can only say it’s probably for the best as watching those scenes in 2021 made me want to curl up inside myself and die at how politically incorrect they are.
Wendy is also given a whole lot of abuse over the course of the film for being a girl. She’s regularly excluded from things, seen as less human than her male counterparts, and the only reason why Peter takes such an interest in her is because he likes the idea of permanently adding her to his collection of adoring fans in Neverland, almost like he owns her. Wendy is voiced by Kathryn Beaumont, which some may recognise as the voice of Alice in Alice in Wonderland. She’s equally great in this film as Wendy and is arguably one of my favourite Disney voice actresses, she brings so much character to the roles and made them so real.
Wendy is also given a whole lot of abuse over the course of the film for being a girl. She’s regularly excluded from things, seen as less human than her male counterparts, and the only reason why Peter takes such an interest in her is because he likes the idea of permanently adding her to his collection of adoring fans in Neverland, almost like he owns her. Wendy is voiced by Kathryn Beaumont, which some may recognise as the voice of Alice in Alice in Wonderland. She’s equally great in this film as Wendy and is arguably one of my favourite Disney voice actresses, she brings so much character to the roles and made them so real.
These issues make Peter Pan sound like a bad film when it’s really not though. It’s an extremely enjoyable animated film with some fantastic character development, the likes of which was unparalleled in Disney films at the time. Wendy, John, and Michael feel more like real people as they have proper emotions in the film, and genuinely react to what’s happening around them. Captain Hook is also a great villain with genuinely understandable motives. The reason why he is after Peter Pan is because Peter cut his hand off and fed it to a crocodile! If I was in that position, I think I would want revenge. The scenes with him, Smee, and the crocodile are also hilarious. The idea of having the music alert the viewer of the crocodiles presence long before anyone catches site of it is not only effective storytelling, but makes it difficult not to find funny as we already know from that moment that we’re going to get a hilarious scene of Hook trying to escape this infernal ticking noise that endlessly pursues him.
Whilst Peter Pan is certainly a problematic film when viewed through modern eyes, its messages are just as important as ever. Because of the aforementioned problems it hasn’t aged as well as many of the other Disney Animated Classics, though I would still highly recommend seeking it out if only for Beaumont’s excellent performance as Wendy, and the hilarious Captain Hook scenes.
Whilst Peter Pan is certainly a problematic film when viewed through modern eyes, its messages are just as important as ever. Because of the aforementioned problems it hasn’t aged as well as many of the other Disney Animated Classics, though I would still highly recommend seeking it out if only for Beaumont’s excellent performance as Wendy, and the hilarious Captain Hook scenes.