Peter Pan

[oyceter]

Ha, got to see Peter Pan today (saw Cold Mountain yesterday because the theater we were going to watch Peter Pan at had an electricity outage!). I liked it, but with a few reservations.

The bad first: Jeremy Sumpter was, er, not my Peter Pan. Actually, he felt kind of like Jake Lloyd in Phantom Menace, a little too rote or something. I don't know what it was, but the bits of magic in the movie fell flat when he spoke. I also thought the movie relied a leeetle too much on special effects in a way that Peter Jackson managed to miraculously avoid in LotR. Some shots didn't work for me, like the one with them flying past the planets. I also got a little annoyed with Tinkerbell's slightly too obvious kind of humor.

Other than that, I really liked it. It felt like the Peter Pan in my head and makes me miss the book. I don't really remember the Disney version or the Mary Martin filmed play that I watched so often in childhood; I don't even remember the book that much, which I read dozens of times. I loved how the movie had a narrator, and small mentions of things like the hidden kiss in Mrs. Darling's mouth that made me remember not the other two movies, but the book. Neverland was spectacularly beautiful and wild. I loved the Darling family, and the people who played Wendy and Captain Hook were particularly good. Especially Wendy, who had to carry the weight of the movie.

And it managed to capture the melancholy of the book, which I don't think the other two movies really did. That was one of the things I liked about Hook (I know, everyone says it's a horrid movie, but I watched it young and in love with Peter Pan). I liked the thought of Wendy growing old and waiting for Peter to come back for her, except he never does.

Comments

Love your icon

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Haven't seen PP yet, but love the Dream icon--I'm just reading those (the ones I can find, that is)

Re: Love your icon

[oyceter]

Thanks! I think I made some more Sandman ones over here if you'd like to see (lots of pictures on the page, so long loading time). Sadly, not very many icons =(. Someday I am going to scan my Sandman postcards and icon. At least that's what I keep telling myself ;).

You just started the series? How're they going?

Peter Pan fan

[masqthephlsphr.livejournal.com]

I bought the book--a big 8 1/2" x 11'' illustrated version of the book--a long time ago after seeing "Hook", which I thought was a wonderful sequel to the original story. I also have a little Disney Peter Pan statue. One of his arms broke off so I call him "Peter Pan de Milo". Big Peter Pan fan.

And my heart skipped a beat when I saw the poster of the upcoming live-action movie. Then after seeing the trailer, I decided maybe I wouldn't see it. Something in the trailer, I don't know what, made me think twice. There are plenty of versions of Peter Pan out there to see instead.

Re: Peter Pan fan

[oyceter]

OOoo, illustrated. We had an illustrated one too, but I have no idea where it went, or who illustrated it or anything =(. I fell in love with Hook as a kid via the novelization! Heh, worst way ever ;).

I like Peter Pan de Milo... very classy ;).

It's a very gorgeous movie in some ways... has a few missteps that are regrettable (heh, Peter!) but also a lot of eye candy that I really liked. I think I need to read the book again to get a better feel. Hey what other movie versions are around? I've seen Hook, the Disney one, and a taped version of the Mary Martin one...

Who thought "Hook" was bad?

[masqthephlsphr.livejournal.com]

I loved "Hook"! I was 27 when it came out, and I found it completely charming. I suppose I might have had a different perspective than some of your friends, coming at it from the point of view of an adult who had been in the corporate world. Watching this stiff paunchy adult all caught up in his so-called "real world" job finding out he had this lost identity--Peter Pan of all people! was magical for me.

I've always enjoyed the theme of "discovering your real (magical) identity". My favorite film when I was a kid was "Escape to Witch Mountain" where the kids find out they are really aliens.

And Robin Williams was absolutely great, as was Dustin Hoffman and Julia Roberts and Maggie Smith.

Wee!

Re: Who thought "Hook" was bad?

[oyceter]

I did too! I think I read the novelization first because of Scholastic book order or something, and finally bought the tape when I saw it in a supermarket. I loved the whole thing about an old Pan who had to learn to be a kid again, seeing as how my main goal in life back then was to not grow up ;).

But it's funny, because half the reviews I've read of this version pan Hook, and almost unfailingly, when people talk about Robin Williams' career, they mark it as one of the down spots.

And finally: Maggie Smith is Wendy?! That's awesome!! I had no idea!

Re: Who thought "Hook" was bad?

[masqthephlsphr.livejournal.com]

Maggie Smith is Wendy?! That's awesome!! I had no idea!

What's amazing is she was supposed be playing an extremely OLD Wendy thirteen years ago, and now she is playing a vigorous Professor McGonegal in the HP series, and pulling off both well!

Re: Who thought "Hook" was bad?

[oyceter]

Hee, yeah! I really want to see OotP with her in it, just so I can have full pleasure watching her and Umbridge.

The kid actors in HP and Hagrid haven't quite gotten into my head, but whenever I read the books now, I can't help but see and hear Richard Harris and Maggie Smith. Have you seen her in Gosford Park?

I did

[masqthephlsphr.livejournal.com]

Although my memory of that movie isn't quite in my head. But I see the HP kids loud and clear. I saw the movies before reading the books, so that makes sense.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

I don't think i've ever read the PP book. A book i was reading recently talked about the Oz books which made me want to reread the original and maybe read for the first time some of the sequels. I thought Hook was great and also enjoyed the animated version, which i saw when i was younger. Peter Pan isn't one of those stories that has ever really captured me, though, so i've been rather indifferent to the plethora of adaptations going around recently.

[oyceter]

Oooo Oz! I used to be so obsessed with that when I was about seven! I hunted down and checked out all fourteen of them in the public library. My favorites are still Glinda of Oz and Road to Oz, but that's probably just because I owned them and so reread them most often. I'm not sure how well they stand up though =(. I reread the first one for a kid lit class, and wow, very strange and not-quite-charming.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, a lot of kids books are (so much) darker than we remember them being. I wonder how much of that is that we didn't notice the darkness at the time, or if we liked it at the time. I have a feeling this'll come up a lot in the 2 fairy tale classes i'm taking next semester.

[oyceter]

*nods* Makes me kind of wonder about the sensitivity toward content in books aimed toward children. I mean, Anne was pretty fuzzy, but Narnia and many of the other books and stories I read weren't, Greek myths in particular!

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

*looks puzzled* As in, makes you wonder about how sensitive we as adults are to the content in books aimed toward children? (Not sure exactly what you're trying to say in your comment.)

[oyceter]

I think you've got it right (but not sure). I'm thinking mostly about the didactic nature of a portion of kid lit and also the thought that children should have less scary books to read for fear they are easily frightened. The idea that most children's books are gentle and non-threatening and therefore not suitable for adult reading also ties into this. I guess an example would be Neil Gaiman reporting that he gets a good deal of mail from adults questioning the suitability of Coraline for children because of the scare factor, while most of the children he's heard from just love it.

[angeyja.livejournal.com]

And it managed to capture the melancholy of the book, which I don't think the other two movies really did. That was one of the things I liked about Hook (I know, everyone says it's a horrid movie, but I watched it young and in love with Peter Pan). I liked the thought of Wendy growing old and waiting for Peter to come back for her, except he never does.

Perhaps, not quite everyone. :cheeky grin:

Sooooo, given that he's such a big part of the movie (Jeremy), think it's worth it?

[oyceter]

Hrm... depends on how much you love the story and how much you like the eye-candy. Eye candy is very gorgeous. Esp. the mermaids. And Mrs. Darling I thought was perfect. And Wendy and Hook make up for Peter, imho.