Peter Pan, A Review...
Just... Wow...
I think I picked this movie up in a $5.00 bin somewhere. I surely must have at least looked at the plugged-in review at some point, but for whatever reason (probably because Grace is such a Tinkerbell lover), I decided it was at least worth a preview. And here I sit... again... with mixed feelings...
Just to be clear, I am talking about the 2003, live action, PG rated release. So obviously this review is a little late...
I'm starting to think I'm overprotective and neurotic... Do not comment on that...
But PG? Really? I promise I am not going to go on comparing every movie I see for the rest of my life to The Hunger Games, but I kid you not there was far more sexual innuendo and at least as much violence (realistically, I guess I'd have to watch them side by side to be completely accurate on that, but I'll tell you I winced and looked away while watching Peter Pan on my little laptop screen, and I never did that while watching The Hunger Games at the theater) in this film.
Let's delve into each of these aspects of the movie a little more. Peter Pan and Wendy... Look. I cry when Peter sees Wendy at the window in the animated, "Return to Neverland". I'm not sure there's any little girl who doesn't want Peter to make his home in London at the end of the animated, "Peter Pan," grow up, and spend his life with Wendy Darling. But to see him hovering over her bed with a sly grin and who knows what (maybe all of us know) rolling around in his thoughts was just plain creepy. I'm not going to say that the feelings shown throughout the film aren't spot on for many pre-adolescents, but that doesn't necessarily mean it should be that way. Which is why... even though I'm not going to sit down for 1 hour and 54 minutes to take the whole thing in with my kids; I am going to hold on to it, because it actually provides some incredible teaching moments. But really... I cannot stress it enough that these need to come in bits and pieces. I couldn't help making the connections between love and lust while watching some of the scenes, and the sad truth, in the end, is that Peter chooses lust, while Wendy chooses love... and this makes it impossible for them to ever have a life together. And that, friends, is the concept that makes this movie worthwhile. It's also the concept that, although I found myself uncomfortable with some of the content, makes me want to show this thing to every Junior High student I have ever known and then embark on a series of conversations about knowing who you are and becoming what you were meant to be.
The killing is extensive. I kind of cringe when Captain Hook shoots one of the pirates (off screen) in Disney's animated "Peter Pan" and we hear the body hit the water. This film goes beyond that kind of violence in leaps and bounds. Death by hook, guns, suffocation, poison... to be honest, I stopped counting the carnage at some point, because I couldn't keep up. And it's not off screen. And some of it is bloody (not gory, mind you, but bloody). Hook is swallowed whole by the crocodile. And, perhaps, the most disturbing party for our family would be Tink's death (she is eventually brought back to life, but not before several minutes of chanting, "I believe in fairies," and quite a few extended shots of her corpse). Yes, the more I think about this, the more I know there are scenes I can never show to Grace.
And the naked kid butts... just over the top. I can't remember how old John and Michael Darling are supposed to be, but they're not babies. How could I possibly show this to my kids while simultaneously stressing the importance of modesty?
And I think this is where things are starting to get more than just a little tricky for me in regard to entertainment. I mean, think this through. How can I look at my daughter and say, "Grace... you should never, ever look at a boy with his pants off... this is immodest and violates the principles that God has put in place for us regarding nakedness... that's just for marriage... but here, go ahead and look at these naked kids on screen..." It just doesn't work. And this is causing me to consider what else doesn't work. I have never quite been able to go with the concept that you should never watch or read anything you wouldn't find appropriate to do, yourself. Frankly, every excellent story has some component of good and evil. If you set the aforementioned standard; you'll never watch or read anything... including history, for example, which would be dangerous. But figuring out what works for entertainment purposes (and teaching purposes... and literary purposes... you'd have to read previous posts to really understand my differentiation here) is becoming more and more important to me. And to be completely honest, I haven't arrived at a good answer for this yet. I'm still searching.
Back to the movie...
No profanity, in case anyone is wondering. About the worst name calling we get is, "Codfish" and, "Old, Alone, Done For." Which, is what Captain Hook ends up saying of himself when he finally succumbs to the crocodile... and, ironically, is what I found myself saying of Peter as he flies away from London.
The end of the movie is, perhaps, the best lesson. As I watched the darling family reunited... and even the lost boys welcomed into families of their own... and as I listened to the narrator recounting how all children must grow up... except one... I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Peter Pan, who heads back to a deserted Neverland (minus the fairies) to meet essentially the same fate as his enemy. My two favorite quotes (not so different from one another), come from Peter:
First, when Hook is about to kill him, Peter says, "To die would be an awfully big adventure." And then, as he considers whether to stay or leave London, he says, "To live would be an awfully big adventure." And he's right on both counts. But the boy who supposedly has the greatest adventures of all does neither... so sad...
Well... now that I've ruined the childish spontaneity of Peter Pan, I guess I'd better get on with the day...
Lisa
