Peter Pan

Today finds me in a much better mood and that’s due to some late movie catch-up. I saw Bad Santa and Peter Pan today. Enjoyed both. More on Bad Santa later…

I grew up watching the J.M. Barrie derived “Peter Pan and the Pirates” on Fox. Tim Curry was firmly implanted in my head as the best Captain Hook. What was great was the balance they brought to the story of Peter Pan. The fact that Hook and Pan are two sides of the same coin was an important rule that the series followed. It also had some of the best dialogue of any show on television. At times it could hold it’s own against today’s cop dramas with the amount of jargon and colloquialisms the pirates and the lost boys bandied about. The show succeeded in creating a new world and following the rules of that world. A trait that has not always been appreciated in other Peter Pan adaptations. I was cautiously thrilled when I heard P.J. Hogan was making a new Peter Pan movie, hoping it wouldn’t be more Hook dreck.

In retrospect, I realize Hogan’s film Muriel’s Wedding has many of the aspects of Peter Pan. Muriel didn’t want to grow up and is prone to storytelling. The storytelling has grown quite a bit from Muriel’s Wedding and is elaborately built out in Peter Pan. The sets were a joy to watch on screen, even if they could be a bit overdone at times. One thing I particularly appreciated is that London has some of the same fanciful embellishments that Neverland has. This helps to make clear that the whole movie is Wendy’s telling of the story from beginning to end. Also I’d forgotten how important Peter Pan is to popular culture. It is the standard all “coming of age” films are judged against in some way or another. It’s full of spoken gems like Pan’s declaration “To die would be a great adventure”, “Second to the right and then straight on till morning” (both lines that have found a second life in Star Trek), “Oh the cleverness of me” and the line that reached the exalted bumper sticker status “I do believe in fairies.” Olivia Williams seems a bit typecast as of late as she’s been opposite Peter Pans in Rushmore and Heart of Me.

Which brings me back to the telling of the story. The movie is narrated by Mrs. Darling, Olivia Williams. This brings about a nice sense of symmetry since it’s Wendy’s story. Clearly Mrs. Darling is who Wendy will grow up to be and Mrs. Darling probably told the story of Peter Pan to Wendy, who is repeating/living the story on her own. That same balance exists throughout the movie. Peter Pan needs Hook who needs Peter Pan. Wendy is growing up and that means giving up certain things and gaining others. Also we are finally treated to a real menace in Hook, not the toothless whiner of previous attempts. He kills people left and right without the slightest provocation. His menace adds emotional heft to the moments that Peter Pan confronts him, and the dangerous world of adulthood that may lay ahead for Wendy and anyone else who ever grows up. He’s not just an evil caricature as Hook’s humanity is on display more than before adding a bittersweet level for adults who can all find a bit of him inside them.

The music was a bit much at times with it’s obvious heart tugging. The sexuality of the movie that has been talked up in reviews is a bit much, it’s not The Swimming Pool. Ludivine Sagnier was disappointing as Tink. Since she doesn’t have any dialogue she fell back to the classic silent film method of over exaggerating. The movie has its moments where it becomes a tad manipulative, the “I do believe in fairies” scene comes to mind. It’s a good scene without stretching it out as much as they do. Overall, I found the flaws acceptable since it’s a story told by a child who’s inventing this new universe as they go along. The experience of seeing it in the theater is one I plan on recalling frequently as I watch the DVD. One little girl was so caught up in the “I do believe..” scene she stomped around in front of her seat chanting along. Any movie that connects with it’s audience like that is something special and unique.

Surely one of the most enjoyable movies I’ve seen this year, well that came out in 2003. It’s this years The Iron Giant. A movie aimed at kids which has a magic and story that will grow with them into adulthood. Listening: Hanging Around The Day Part 2 - Polyphonic Spree