Peter pan has always intrigued me with it's themes of Youth vs Adulthood, Magic vs Reality and Hope vs Despair. Yet as Classic as the Disney Version is, it failed to address the darker sides of the story in order to keep with the Disney philosophy. This version is different. The screenplay and editing fully embrace both the beauty and the horrors that come with a story involving sword fights, kidnapping, attempted murder, and emerging sexuality. Even more important the movie understands that while eternal youth and innocence may seem like a dream come true, it comes at a heavy price of arrogance, anger, violence and worst of all loneliness. But even more important are the actors chosen to depict this environment and its inhabitants. The child actors all perfectly capture what it feels like to be footloose and fancy free which builds into the timelessness of the story itself. The movie expertly tells the story from Wendy Darling's point of view, as Wendy is the true heroine of the story. Wendy herself has always been my favorite character and Rachel-Hurd Wood did a wonderful job conveying the nuances of the character; she embraces both her adventurous spirit and her emerging maturity and reflective wisdom that many pre-teen girls feel caught between. Like Wendy , as a child I often felt caught between wanting to preserve my imaginative spirit despite everyone else's expectations, and Wendy's refusal to be anything but herself is an inspiration to people of all ages. Jeremy Sumpter is just as memorable as Peter, as he captures both his emotional highs and lows, one minute he could be eagerly slashing at pirates, then next he's falling into despair at the thought of being left behind and forgotten by Wendy as she starts to realize he can't give her the mature love and acknowledgment she needs. From what I've heard Jeremy Sumpter was the one who ensured Rachel's casting after meeting her at the audition and instantly bonding with her. As endearing as their romance is however, both the story and the characters acknowledge that in the end, as fun and carefree childhood is, there are important benefits to adulthood which leave us better than we could ever be as children. For as JM Barrie said, "All Children grow up, except one."
Reviews
3 Reviews
Peter Pan
(2003)
A perfectly retold Classic elegantly put together for children and adults alike
8 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The Hunchback of Notre Dame II
(2002 Video)
An Atrocity that undermines the complexity of its predecessor
31 December 2018
1996's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is an underrated drama that focuses on the abuse of power and religious fanaticism that was common in The Hundred Year War and how they affected the less fortunate. Even better, the film delivered with its cast of complex characters that all carried their own weight in the story In this sequel, their concerns are all shifted to...... finding a date for the dance? While there are many sequels to Disney films, this seems to be the only one that doesn't even understand what made the first one great to begin with. What's even more confusing is the lack of any serious conflict that one would expect from The Middle Ages; especially when it was so well used the first time The worst thing about this sequel is that it ignores the fact that one of the most important points of the original is about Quasimodo learning to abandon Frollo's distorted teachings about the world, such as only caring for what he could get out of others instead of what he's supposed to give in return. The fact that Quasimodo is obsessed with finding a girlfriend should come off as a red flag, but it never does even when he immediately starts carving a figure of the girl who ran away from him after seeing him for the first time. Then when they do start dating, he tells her that there's more to her than her looks, but he never discloses what that is. It's like I can only assume he's saying anything he can to get her to stay and he's just lucky she's too naive to ask any follow up questions. The moral of the story is, never put all your hopes and dreams on the shoulders of one person, because both of you will inevitably get hurt and if you ever want a relationship to work, you both need to be on some understanding of what you need in life. Please don't let this movie tell you otherwise.
Final Space
(2018–2021)
Pure, Unadulterated Heart and Soul!
28 December 2018
With all the carbon copy adult animations made in the past decade from "Family Guy" to "Mr. Pickles", I can happily say that "Final Space" is a giant step in the right direction in terms of creativity and likability. It's a perfect example of the underused genre, the tragicomedy, in which both the jokes and the drama rise and fall depending on the level of the tension in the story. The first half of the season mainly focuses on satirizing the cliches and patterns of Science Fiction with a few hints of emotional depth in the developing characters. However, the more the story goes on, the more the feelings of fear and loss become apparent to both the characters and the audience as the show transitions from a typical save the day, turn away to a brutal reminder of the tragedies of war. Much like "Avatar: The Last Airbender", "Final Space" starts off as a fantastical adventure but draws us even further in when we see the characters we've laughed with show their hidden fears and insecurities. Even the the comedy itself is very well written with the much needed addition of a straight man to balance off the insanity of the world, something sadly not seen in most adult comedies. As a viewer, i highly recommend it, but I must also warn you that once you enter that rabbit hole, be prepared for a long fall of excitement, adventure, loss, and heartbreak. And that's a looooooong way to fall!
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