Development on a live-action Peter Pan film began on April 13, 2016, with Lowery directing. Lowery was announced as writing the film with Halbrooks, while the production team expanded the next four years due to work in the remake's script. The film's title was announced on January 7, 2020. Production was expected to begin in April 2020 and wrap in August that year but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming ultimately began in March 2021 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Shooting also occurred on the Bonavista Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador, in August 2021, and in the Faroe Islands as well as the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.[2]
Peter Pan & Wendy premiered on Disney+ on April 28, 2023. The film received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
In EdwardianLondon, Wendy Darling spends her last night at home with her parents and her two younger brothers, John and Michael, before leaving for boarding school the next day. She is unhappy with her departure and feels she does not want to grow up. Having heard Wendy's wish, a free-spirited boy named Peter Pan arrives to take her to Neverland where she will never have to grow up. With the help of his companion, fairy Tinker Bell, Wendy, John, and Michael fly to Neverland.
Upon arriving, they are attacked by a ship of pirates, led by Captain Hook, who wants revenge on Peter for cutting off his right hand and throwing it to a crocodile. Wendy becomes separated from Peter and her brothers and meets Tiger Lily and the Lost Boys. She witnesses the pirates capturing John and Michael to drown them at Skull Rock. Peter fights Hook, while Wendy, Tiger Lily, and the Lost Boys save John and Michael. Hook and the pirates are chased away by the crocodile. Peter is proud of his victory, but is slapped and scolded by Wendy for his recklessness, and the Lost Boys tell her that he has a complicated history with Hook.
Retreating to Peter's hideout, Wendy sings a lullaby to the Lost Boys, which accidentally reveals their location to the pirates. Wendy learns from Peter that Hook was once "the very first Lost Boy" and his best friend James, until he left Neverland and grew up to be a pirate. Hook's crew captures the Lost Boys, Tinker Bell and the Darling children, while Hook ambushes Peter, who seemingly falls to his death. Instead of feeling joy, however, Hook feels empty and unsatisfied. He reveals to Wendy that the reason he left Neverland was because he missed his mother and wanted to find her. Eventually, he got lost at sea and was rescued by his first mate, Mr. Smee, and the pirates who raised him. When he returned to Neverland, Peter could not accept how much he had changed, and the two became arch-enemies.
While Tiger Lily finds and nurses Peter back to health, Hook forces Wendy to walk the plank, but she flies away with Tinker Bell's pixie dust and the happy thought of wanting to grow up. Tinker Bell flies the ship into the air with pixie dust, helping the Lost Boys break free and battle the pirates. Peter arrives to confront Hook, and after a long duel, finally apologizes to him for being a bad friend, but Hook does not want their rivalry to end. When Wendy turns the ship on its back, causing the pirates to fall down into the sea, Peter attempts to save Hook, encouraging him to fly, but without happy thoughts, he falls into the sea while losing his hook. Afterward, the Lost Boys decide they all want a real home, so they fly back to London on the ship with the Darlings.
Arriving home, Wendy introduces the Lost Boys to her parents. Peter reveals the Darlings' house was his old home until one day he ran away after an argument with his mother, who told him to grow up, and never came back. Wendy suggests he stay, but Peter feels he is not ready to grow up. He bids farewell to Wendy and the Lost Boys, and returns to Neverland with Tinker Bell.
Back in Neverland, Hook and Smee are revealed to have survived the fall. As they hang on to floating obstacles in the sea, Hook sees Peter returning on the ship and smiles civilly.
In February 2018, Whitaker stated that the script was entering early stages of development.[10] He further explained that the film will be grounded in realism, though it will also be "a big, rollicking adventure, too."[10] By October of the same year, the fourth draft of the script had been completed with a fifth draft underway. Lowery stated that "the number-one priority is getting the script right".[11] The filmmaker elaborated that the project is personal to him, as he is a fan to the original, acknowledging that he had been "agonizing over every little detail".[11] He confirmed that the modern-day adaptation would have to change elements to avoid the racial stereotypes present in the original film.[11]
In December 2019, Lowery stated that he and Halbrooks had written an additional "draft-and-a-half" at that point, adding that it would have to have "a few more drafts to go" before it is ready to be filmed.[12] He described working on the film as "challenging" due to both his personal love for the original film and its popularity among fans.[12] He also feels that he had to justify the film's existence due to other live-action Peter Pan films having been developed, while also doing "justice to the source material".[12] The filmmaker stated that the outlook that he and the studio has, is: "[i]f it has to be done, it has to be done right".[12] Comparing his work on Peter Pan to Pete's Dragon, the filmmaker stated that the latter was less stressful seeing as the original had been an "under-the-radar Disney title" with little following, which allowed him more creative freedom.[12] By 2020, the film was officially titled Peter Pan & Wendy.[13]Joe Roth joined the film's production team as an additional producer.[6]
Production for Peter Pan & Wendy took place in Vancouver, British Columbia.[20] It was originally set to begin on April 17, 2020, and wrap in August 2020, but filming was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[21][22] Filming began on March 16, 2021.[20] Additional filming took place on the Bonavista Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador, in August 2021.[23] Scenes were also filmed in the Faroe Islands. Reshoots took place in Vancouver, from February 2 to 8, 2022.[24] The Cliffs of Moher in Ireland were an additional location used for Neverland.
The film was originally set to be released on Disney's streaming service, Disney+, but was later rumoured to be released theatrically.[5] In December 2020, the film was officially announced to be released as a Disney+ exclusive again due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[26] The film was released on Disney+ on April 28, 2023.[27]
Reception
Audience viewership
According to the streaming aggregator Reelgood, Peter Pan & Wendy was the seventh-most-streamed program across all platforms during the week of April 27, 2023.[28] and the tenth during the week of 4 May 2023.[29] According to Whip Media's TV Time, Peter Pan & Wendy was the second-most-streamed film across all platforms in the United States during the week of April 30, 2023,[30] and the fourth during the week of May 5, 2023.[31] According to the streaming aggregator JustWatch, Peter Pan & Wendy was ninth-most-streamed film across all platforms in the United States during the week of May 7, 2023.[32]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 64% of 149 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Peter Pan & Wendy's obligatory fidelity to the animated classic keeps it from achieving Neverland nirvana, but David Lowery's pensive direction gives this rendition some of its own magic."[33]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[34]
Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com, gave the film two and a half stars out of four, writing: "Peter Pan & Wendy ultimately settles for 'everybody misses their mother', a sentiment that's true for most people, but is a slim reed to hang such a big film on, especially one with other problems."[35] Benjamin Lee of The Guardian, gave the film three stars out of five, saying: "Jude Law's full-throated performance as Captain Hook is the most distinctive thing in a passable but unnecessary Disney live-action remake."[36] Ben Travis of Empire gave the film three stars out of five, and wrote: "David Lowery’s second Disney reimagining is artfully constructed and full of interesting ideas. But for a film about the energy and imagination of youth, it often feels trapped in its own head."[37]
Robbie Collin of The Telegraph gave the film five stars out of five, and said: "David Lowery's take on JM Barrie's classic is top-to-bottom wonderful – and the perfect antidote to the recent, dire Super Mario Bros. film."[38] Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a negative review, writing: "Even if he could grow up, J.M. Barrie's age-defying scamp must feel like he's trapped in a time loop, so often has he been revived. This straight-to-streaming take ranks among the least imaginative."[39] Tara Bennett of IGN gave the film a six out of ten, and wrote: "A handsome remake that forgot to have fun."[40]
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