Disney's Peter Pan & Wendy... Reviewed + Neverland Experience in Orlando!

I have fond memories of Peter Pan and the Hook film. When I initially saw this film advertised on Disney+, I was apprehensive about even watching it but... I decided to shower in the old fairy dust and dive in.

Story: This film starts off as some of you would expect... by introducing Michael, John, and Wendy in their home just before bedtime. Michael and John are sword fighting in their iconic pajamas when Wendy came on the scene leaving her parent's room to enter the stairwell. Wendy Darling is the leading actress played by Ever Anderson, who looks like she could literally be the daughter of... Milla Jovovich. 

Fun Fact: After doing some digging, I found out that she is the daughter of Milla Jovovich.

Anyway, the kids make their way to the room... and I thought Wendy was going to put her head in her pillow and cry or something (but she switched gears), but she grabbed a toy sword and joined in on the action. It was all fun and games until something happened that got their father's attention, and he wasn't happy. He sent her on a guilt trip about her behavior and referenced it being her last night at home (she was being sent off to boarding school).

Her mom also jumped in on it, but she had more of a soft-handed approach. Nevertheless, they set the tone regarding Wendy moving forward with expectations of being a mature example for her siblings as she makes her way into womanhood.

These exchanges between Wendy and her parents brought something to mind. I look at so many adults who almost seem to assume that not only do they have to leave their childhood behind, but also joy in general. I know I'm not the only one that's seen such a thing. It's sad, and I'm not saying that we have to be childish, but some people forget what it's like to almost smile or even laugh.

I think that's one of the reasons I get a kick out of showing people funny pranks or hitting them with left-field twists in my jokes just to catch them off guard. It's great to see people smile or erupt in uncontrollable laughter. Doesn't make sense to be miserable just because we've entered adulthood. There's no age limit on Joy! The writer's had similar in mind because the film is based on that in part, outside of showing Peter Pan that he needs... others (i'll leave that there).

I don't know why, but Jude Law really didn't deliver as well as he could have as Captain Hook (in my opinion). (No shade) He just felt like someone casted for the part and acted it out to the best of his ability, but... he really didn't embody Captain Hook (the way Jim Gaffigan did with Smee). He tried, but... I don't know, it felt like he wanted to be serious but... I couldn't take him seriously and I didn't know where to really place him regarding his personality until later in the film.

I could place Dustin Hoffman in... Hook, he was charismatically sinister (and will probably hold the crown for the best portrayal of Captain Hook for quite some time). It's not fair to compare, but... I just couldn't get into Jude's particular rendition as much. He had his moments (skull island, on the ship, and during another serious scene that took place in the middle somewhere) that felt like he made the role of Hook his own, but... he didn't embrace that in full. When you see it, either you will know what i'm talking about... or you'll hopefully enjoy the character twice as much as I did.

Now on to Peter Pan, played by Alexander Molony. I didn't really know what to make of him at times, he gave off a tight-lipped vibe to me. He did a pretty good job in the role, but... when I think of Peter Pan... I think of a joyful character who was. He was... sometimes, but I walked away with him having a tight-lipped vibe. To be fair, I can't just overlook the script because almost as soon as Team Darling entered Neverland, all hell broke loose... so I didn't get to see Peter's joyous side as much as I would've liked. He likes adventure, so where are the smiles and joy in terms of adventure? Y'know? I saw glimpses.

Going back to... Hook, the lost boys were a bit more memorable. In Peter Pan and Wendy, they were kind of just there to a degree. They played their part when the writers remembered to utilize them, but there wasn't much in the way of charm (for me)... even though I believe they tried. You could certainly see pockets of it, but in other instances, they were more like extras.

Fun Fact: I think it was awesome that one of the actors cast in the film as one of the lost boys was an actor with Down syndrome. Not because he has Down syndrome, but because the actor was given the opportunity regardless of his Down syndrome. Slightly, was played by Noah Matthews Matofsky.

Overall, it's a decent film with pockets of enjoyment, and I like the connection between Peter and James... that gets a thumbs up. There were a few things that I wish were done differently for the sake of effect and action, even if it meant extending the film to let the lost boys and pirates shine a bit to showcase their quirks in battle (a bit more... because I liked the comical interactions). That would've been cool, but either way... I don't mind the ending, that was joyous.

I won't give it away, but you can see that Peter Pan chose... joy and I think that if more of us did, the world would be a better place.

Last but not least, Tinker Bell (played by Yara Shahidi), definitely played her part... but like other members of the cast... she wasn't memorable for me. The only lines that she had were at the end. She was there, the parts she played were critical, and they absolutely needed her to pull off a number of things including flight... but she went right back to the background. The leads are the leads so that's why I wasn't trippin' about the supporting cast as much it would almost be fair to call this movie... Wendy.

Visuals: When it comes to visuals, this was a beautiful film... even if CGI looked a little interesting at times (but it was easy to look past). Special effects were amazing when they were showcased, but... scenes and angles were stunning throughout (with or without them).

I'd have to say that my favorite scenes include Michael reaching for his teddy in mid-air in slow motion (that was awesome), skull rock when the croc came out to play, and the battle on Captain Hook's ship that threw everyone for a... loop.

I'll give the best scene to the ship battle, the best special effects scene to the clock tower, and the truest Peter Pan-style scene to Skull Rock (it was badass).

Audio: I used the 1More Aero Bluetooth 3D Earbuds to experience this film, which made the experience even better regarding the audio. The sound effects were utilized well... to the point that I was looking around the studio based on sounds coming from differing angles. One of the lost boys swung in on a swing and you can hear the stretching of the vine incoming from the back right side and coming to the front right side. 

I think it would've been awesome to have the 3D sound effects throughout, but I didn't mind at least having them tucked in here and there. The audio was served up in 5.1 surround sound.

Price: Price-wise, you can enjoy Peter Pan & Wendy for no additional cost beyond your Disney+ membership. So... instead of the price of one film, you get a month of Disney+ & Hulu for $9.99/Month.

Story 2

Visuals 5

Audio 5

Price 5

4.25 out of 5 Cool Points

     Neverland Experience | Orlando     

By the way, if you're in Orlando (Florida) anywhere from May 10, 2023 to August 06, 2023... consider grabbing tickets for the Neverland experience (this is an experience brought to you by our partners at Hidden). 

So consider coming out to enjoy yourselves (adults only).

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Quit Gaming? Why?!

It sounds bad, but I can agree that video game addiction isn't a good thing... but before you try to come at me (and force me to go all Bruce Leroy), I don't think that quitting gaming is the answer either. Woosah people... woosah!

A hobby doesn't have to be an addiction, there are casual gamers, hardcore gamers, professional gamers, and I guess the people who do more than their healthy share of gaming. Getting the addicts to game less and do other things might require cold turkey for some of the poor souls out there, but you can actually start with a timer.

I remember one of my friends was put on a game-timer by his mom. She didn't play, she had the system plugged into a timer and it would shut off. Imagine you're doing great in a game and everything just shuts off. (Momma no!) That sucked so bad, but... if you feel like you need to put a timer on that's an option. If you decide to put your children on a time, be fair and let it be a simple egg timer so they can save their progression, or... the money spent on the game will go to waste.

I think I was addicted at one point in my life. I know I was... but I found a happy medium with friends who motivated me to put down the controller and enjoy other things. We (well... Blu) talked about this already but the post was a year or two ago and I just feel like people like the Well Being Chief may have to pull it back some. If you game in moderation and you love it, why can't you play a video game?

One thing we promote is playing the types of games that work with your lifestyle. A busy bee can't work all the time and dedicated hours to Final Fantasy, but the busy bee has the right to dedicate an hour or two per week to enjoy his or her favorite game if they want. What's a life full of work without play? Grace mentioned that it's a break from reality for her.

What's the other side of not having time to smell the roses? That's straight-up depression in my opinion, and I believe that some people run into a midlife crisis because they didn't stop and enjoy once in a while. Being a grown-up doesn't mean a life of working every hour with no fulfillment. That's cap though because some adults aren't working all the time, some sleep in a lot when they aren't at work but a crap ton of people are on their phones too flipping through social media.

I call cap because (come on) it's not like that time is going to anything that's comparatively better than gaming. If we aren't playing single-player games (offline), we're playing multiplayer games interacting with other people doing something we enjoy doing while socializing. My idea of socializing isn't taking pictures of myself with filters to show my good side on camera just to wait around and see who likes and comments on them. We're enjoying some game time. I was thinking about this and I was going to add it to the top 10, but I wanted it to be separate. 

Yes, you can put too much time into something, but just eliminating it isn't always good. You can eat too much fruit, but that doesn't mean you should stop eating fruit. Exercise your options, there are different types of games and some have hundreds of hours in gameplay but sports games are limited to a time clock. Fighting games are on a time clock. Racing games are based on the length of the track. Casual games can be picked up and played on your phone and when you close it, you can pick up where you left off if it's like Candy Crush.

It's up to you if you want to quit... that's up to you, but if you want to game on... you have the right to.

I don't think that some people realize they're gaming when they play Wordle, but... they are (ha).

          

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