Movie Review: Peter Pan 4 Stars

An action-packed animated version of the J.M. Barrie classic, Disney’s 1953 Peter Pan is at times gay and breezy and, at other times, sinister and creepy.

Wendy, Michael and John are visited by Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up, who is searching for his shadow which Wendy has captured. Sprinkling the children with pixie dust shaken from Tinker Bell, Peter Pan teaches the kids to fly and off they go to Never Never Land.

Tinker Bell’s jealousy gets the better of her, and she rats out The Lost Boys and Wendy, Michael and John, who are captured by the nefarious Captain Hook and his galleon of pirates. Peter Pan comes to the rescue, swashbuckling scurvy dogs up and down the yard arm, and, ultimately, banishes Hook to the edges of Never Never Land, where Hook is hounded by his nemesis, Tick-Tock The Crocodile.

If you can get past the Victorian sentiment that little girls are perfect, puberty is evil, and Native Americans are hook-nosed savages and borderline idiots--I can--you’ll enjoy this rollicking movie and its terrific soundtrack.