Peter Pan is a 2003 fantasy adventure film directed by P.J. Hogan and written by Hogan and Michael Goldenberg. The screenplay is based on the 1904 play and 1911 novel Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by J.M. Barrie. Jason Isaacs plays the dual roles of Captain Hook and George Darling, Olivia Williams plays Mary Darling, while Jeremy Sumpter plays Peter Pan, Rachel Hurd-Wood plays Wendy Darling, and Ludivine Sagnier plays Tinker Bell. Lynn Redgrave plays a supporting role as Aunt Millicent, a new character created for the film.
Peter Pan premiered at the Empire in Leicester Square, London on 9 December 2003 and was theatrically released by Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and Revolution Studios in the United Kingdom on 24 December 2003 and in the United States on 25 December 2003. The film received positive reviews from critics but only grossed $122 million worldwide. With an estimated budget of $130.6 million (not including marketing costs), the film was a box office failure resulting in a $70–95 million loss.
{Which is very sad because I find this film as one of my all time favorites, and probably always will be till the day I die}.
Plot:
In 1904 in the nursery of the Darling household, located in central London, Wendy Darling tells her younger brothers John and Michael stories of Captain Hook and his pirates. Unbeknownst to the children, Peter Pan listens to Wendy's stories from outside their nursery window. When their Aunt Millicent arrives, she judges Wendy to be reaching womanhood and advises the Darlings to focus on Wendy's future prospects. One night, Wendy sees Peter return to the nursery to watch her sleep, but he is chased off by the family's nurse dog, Nana. At school, Wendy is caught by her teacher drawing a picture of Peter. During an attempt to stop the messenger from delivering a disciplinary letter, Wendy embarrasses her father in front of his superiors when Nana chases her into the bank. Mr. Darling chains Nana outside and declares that Wendy will leave the nursery.
Peter and Tinker Bell visit the nursery again to look for Peter's shadow, which Nana had bitten off during his previous visit. He introduces himself to Wendy, who then sews his shadow back onto him. Peter invites Wendy and her brothers to Neverland so she can tell her stories to his gang of Lost Boys. They use Tinker Bell's fairy dust, and fly to Neverland. Nana breaks free and alerts Mr. and Mrs. Darling, but they arrive too late. Captain Hook and his pirate crew are alerted to Peter's return to Neverland and fires a cannon at Peter, Wendy, Michael, and John. Tinker Bell tricks the Lost Boys into shooting Wendy out of the sky with an arrow, who mistake her for a bird. When Peter arrives, they find her alive, as the arrow hit the acorn he had given her which she had made into a necklace. Peter banishes Tinker Bell and ends their friendship.
Wendy awakens and agrees to the Lost Boys' request to be their mother, while Peter takes the role of their father. Meanwhile, John and Michael encounter Tiger Lily, a Native American princess, and all three are captured by Hook and his crew, who take them to the Black Castle. Peter, Wendy, and the Lost Boys save them, as Hook is chased by the crocodile who has followed him for years. After a celebration at the Native American camp, Peter shows Wendy the fairies' home and the two share a dance. Hook spies on the two of them and convinces Tinker Bell that Peter will eventually choose to leave Neverland for Wendy. When Wendy asks Peter to express his feelings, he tells her to leave him alone, refusing to believe that he can ever feel love without having to grow up. Tinker Bell leads Hook's men to Wendy's makeshift "house" and they carry a sleeping Wendy back to the Jolly Roger. Peter later returns to the Darling Nursery and tries to shut the open window, but fails.
Captain Hook tries to entice Wendy to become a pirate and sends her back to the Lost Boys, unaware she is being followed. Wendy persuades her brothers and the Lost Boys to return home with her. As Wendy says goodbye to Peter, she leaves him a cup of medicine to drink. When Wendy leaves the hideout, she is ambushed by Hook's crew, who capture her along with the rest of the boys. Captain Hook poisons Peter's medicine but Tinker Bell intervenes and drinks the poison. Devastated, Peter repeatedly proclaims his belief in fairies, which reaches out to the residents of London and revives Tinker Bell. Peter saves Wendy and frees the Lost Boys and the children fight Hook's crew. Hook forcefully uses Tinker Bell's fairy dust to grant him the ability to fly. During their duel, Hook taunts Peter about Wendy wanting to abandon him, and how she will eventually grow up and marry another man. Weakened, Peter falls to the ship and is incapacitated. Hook allows Wendy to say goodbye to Peter before he kills him, and she kisses him, which brings back his happiness.
After Hook is swallowed up by the crocodile, Peter covers the Jolly Roger in fairy dust and flies Wendy and the boys back to London and reunite with Mr. and Mrs. Darling, who decide to adopt the rest of the Lost Boys. Slightly, who got lost on the way to London and arrives at the house late, is adopted by Aunt Millicent. Peter promises Wendy that he will never forget her and that one day he will return to visit her, before heading back to Neverland with Tinker Bell. Wendy, now an adult, narrates that she never did see Peter again, but she continues to tell his story to her own children, and in turn to their grandchildren.
{The special effects done in this film are amazing, even to this day they still hold up really well. Better than some movies now}.
Visual Effects:
The visual effects in the film are a mixture of practical and digital. The fairies that appear in the film are actors composited into the film with some digital enhancements. According to actor Jason Isaacs, the filmmakers were impressed with actress Ludivine Sagnier's performance and decided to abandon their plans to make Tinker Bell entirely computer animated. The film also features a large, computer-generated crocodile. Another character, an animatronic parrot, appears in some scenes on the pirate ship. A complex harness was built to send the live-action actors rotating and gliding through the air for the flight sequences. They were then composited into the shots of London and Neverland, although they are sometimes replaced with computer-generated figures. One other aspect of bringing the story to life was the complex sword-fighting sequences, for which the actors were trained. Sumpter said that, "I had to train for five months before the shoot. I had to do harness training to learn how to fly and learn how to swordfight," and that, "I got stabbed a couple of times with a sword." Hogan says that the flying scenes were very difficult to accomplish, but that, "it was tougher on the kids than it was for me. They were up there on the harness 12 feet off the ground, having to make it look like flying is easy and fun." Sumpter grew several inches over the course of the film's production, requiring staging tricks to retain Hook's height advantage over Peter in face-to-face scenes late in the process. Hollywood-based producer Lucy Fisher also said that, "The window he flies out of had to be enlarged twice."
My Review:
As you haven't noticed I'm a massive Fantasy fan. Everything about this film is like a dream come true - this is the best adaptation of the original story ever brought to the big screen. From the story to the characters, the special effects to the music... I'm speechless how good this movie truly is. My favorite thing about this film is the soundtrack, James Newton Howard is one of my all time favorite film composers - I listen to the soundtrack on a daily basis, especially 'Fairy Dance', that is a strong competitor for the title of my favorite movie score of all time.
And I'd also like to appreciate Jason Isaacs in this film, not only did he play a stern, self-assured, family man, Mr Darling, but he also played an extremely intimidating, vengeful, hellbent Captain Hook who literally gave me nightmares as a kid; believe me that doesn't happen often - yeah I know I was a kid, but even at that age I was watching things like Beetlejuice and Gremlins and they didn't phase me. BUT ISAACS.... Jason Isaacs as Captain James Hook terrified me as a kid. Isaacs is so intimidating as a villain; not surprisingly he's played villains before and after this: Lucius Malfoy (apparently he played the Basilisk as well (Harry Potter Series)), Skekso 'the Emperor' (The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance), Admiral Zhao (Avatar; The Last Airbender), Ra's al Ghul (Batman: Under The Red Hood), and many more which it would take me all day to list.
Another thing I remember about him is the first scene where the audience is introduced to him, he's shirtless..... it's great! {This is probably one of the reasons why I'm so attracted to villains... DON'T ASK}.
Anyway, overall I highly recommend the film if you haven't watched it already; I give it... an 11/10, believe me it's that good!
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