Today sees the release, on DVD, of Peter and Wendy. This is a new re-telling of the classic tale of Peter Pan which premiered on ITV over Christmas. I watched the movie with Lara this weekend and you know what, I really really enjoyed it. As someone who previously studied movies (but who also enjoys watching them for fun), I found Peter and Wendy to be moving, inspiring and incredibly cleverly constructed.
Peter and Wendy is based, very closely on the story of Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. The twist in the tale is that the story is retold through the eyes of Lucy Rose, a young teen who is undergoing heart surgery at Great Ormond Street hospital. As Lucy reads her copy of Peter Pan to the other children on the ward, she is transported into the world of Neverland. In Neverland Lucy appears as Wendy and in fact, almost all of the characters in the story are people that Lucy meets in real life - from her Doctor (Hook) to her mother (Mrs. Darling) and all of the children on the ward.
As the story progresses and Lucy approaches her surgery, the story flicks ever more frequently between real-life and Neverland. It is never quite clear whether Neverland is a hallucination or a dream but the two worlds start to blur as Wendy's life increasingly approaches danger. I found the whole experience immersing - to see Peter Pan and Hook battling over a pile of hospital beds was quite fascinating!
Much of the movie is filmed in the dark and, to be honest, it is quite a dark film so Lara found it intimidating and a bit too full of peril; she stopped watching at about half way because she found the near-drowning scenes too scary. And it is just as well because I think Lara may have found the end of the movie very emotional as one of the children on the ward does die. However, I felt the movie was packed with emotion and tenderness throughout. I thought it dealt really well with the anxiousness of Lucy's Mum and the early teen romantic tension of Wendy and Peter.
Holly was most taken with Tinkerbell the fairy who is played by Paloma Faith - a fascinating casting that works incredibly well. Captain Hook (the Doctor) was also brilliant...it took me most of the movie to realise that I recognised Stanley Tucci from the Hunger Games.
I think the 12 certificate on Peter and Wendy is probably best given the fighting, fear and emotion of the movie. I loved it though and I thought it did very well to stay close to the original plot of the story. Very clever.
