VOD: Peter Pan & Wendy (dir: David Lowery, 2023)

"You are too old for this to be the type of fun that you are having!"

After the shiny new 100th-Anniversary Disney ident, a spirited opening juxtaposes the core themes of fantasy play and growing up that sets the scene effectively for this latest and lively adaptation from (perhaps unexpectedly) director David Lowery.  The inevitable contemporary knowing and revisionist elements generally sit well with the more (over-)familiar story and touchstone elements, married together with generally good effects work (and less reliant on the CG-bloat of recent live-action versions) and a delightful confident score by Daniel Hart.  The first act hurtles along in a very engaging manner, which is maintained reasonably well throughout the rest of the film.  The selling point for this version is Jude Law as a rather tormented Hook, clearly having a blast but never resorting to pantomime.  The thinness of the story and its blunt metaphors remain, but this is a well-written and decently-realised version of the familiar property.