Peter Pan [HD]

One of the greatest children's films for adults of all time
I do not think that most kids can appreciate how great of a movie P.J. Hogan has made with this new version of "Peter Pan." However you really have to be familiar with not only all of the various versions of the story from Disney to Steven Spielberg but also J. M. Barrie's original plays and books to really appreciate everything that is in this movie. Hogan's purpose was to go back to that original material, but it is impossible not to touch upon everything that has come since then. My generation cannot hear the words "I do believe in fairies" without thinking of Mary Martin beckoning out from our television sets beseeching us to clap (or when Smee turns and gives an aside to the viewer).

On the one hand there are the fantastic elements as Peter Pan (Jeremy Sumpter) and the Darling children Wendy (Rachel Hurd-Wood), John (Harry Newell), and Michael (Freddie Popplewell) fly off to Never-Land. But this is a more realistic Never-Land than every before for all...

"Second star to the right and straight on til morning!"
This live-action version of Peter Pan stars Jason Isaacs as Captain Hook and Jeremy Sumpter as Peter. The story begins in London, where motherless Peter has come to listen to stories told by young Wendy (Rachel Hurd-Wood). He takes her and her brothers to Neverland to live the wild pirate life, until it is time for them to return home and grow up.

All the characters you remember from your childhood are here: The ticking crocodile (computer-animated and scary), the fiesty Indian Princess, funny Pirate Smee, spunky Tinkerbelle, and even Nana, the dog-nanny. The film is photographed almost entirely in dark, moody lighting to heighten the feeling of magic and danger. Jason Isaacs hams it up just right as the dashing and outrageous Captain Hook and he is good as the timid clerk, Mr. Darling. Jeremy Sumpter looks just like Peter should look - beautiful, cocky, and fun-loving.

Definitely darker and more sinister than the old Disney version, this film has a lot to...

"That was no Thimble!"
The last time J. M. Barrie's infamous creation hit the big screen was in the lacklustre "Return to Neverland", the latest in a long line of pitiful animated sequels that the Disney Company have been mechanically churning out. The time before that was in Steven Spielberg's critically ill-received "Hook". With these two movies as a somewhat stale background for writer/director P. J. Hogan's attempt to recreate the fairytale, it was not surprising if audiences at large were somewhat cynical.

But children's literature translated onto the big screen is always successful when it is done faithfully and respectfully, and that is precisely what Hogan and his team have done. For the first time ever (if you can believe it) a young boy plays the part of the Boy Who Never Grew Up: Jeremy Sumpter, complete with bare feet, pan pipes and captivating smile. Following in the pantomime tradition, Jason Issacs plays both George Darling and Captain Hook, meek and clumsy in one role, charismatic and...

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