‘Peter Pan & Wendy’: 4 Best Changes Made for Live-Action Remake (PHOTOS)
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Peter Pan & Wendy.]
Off to Neverland! Viewers are taken through the second star on the right and straight on ’til morning in the new Peter Pan live-action remake Peter Pan & Wendy, which premiered Friday, April 28 on exclusively on Disney+.
J.M. Barrie’s classic tale has been combined with elements of Disney’s 1953 animated film with direction and a screenplay from The Green Knight creator David Lowery (co-written by Toby Halbrooks). Starring in the remake is Alexander Molony as Peter Pan, Ever Anderson as Wendy Darling, Jude Law as Captain Hook, Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell, Jim Gaffigan as Smee, Alyssa Wapanatâhk as Tiger Lily, Joshua Pickering as John Darling, Jacobi Jupe as Michael Darling, and Alan Tudyk and Molly Parker as their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Darling.
They’re joined by the merry band of Lost Boys, an effective (massive) CGI crocodile, and of course, plenty of pixie dust. The movie is the story you know, but with key tweaks to the characters’ backstories, motivations, and in a key element for this film’s history, how they’re portrayed. What does remain is the dark nature of the original story.
Disney used to show much darker themes in their animated films. In recent years, the stories have become more kid-friendly for all ages. But Peter Pan & Wendy maintains the dark side of Barrie’s fairy tale. Yes, that means Captain Hook spends the entire movie trying to kill the children.
Here, we break down the best changes made for Peter Pan & Wendy (in no particular order), which is sure to make kids feel like heroes.
Peter Pan & Wendy, Original Film, Streaming Now, Disney+
The New Lost Boys
This iteration features a diverse group of Lost Boys who, as Wendy points out, aren’t all boys.
In addition to the racially and gender-diverse group is the inclusion of Noah Matthews Matofsky as Slightly. With this casting, the 15-year-old actor becomes the first actor with Down syndrome to be cast in major Disney role.
The only complaint we have about this bunch is that there wasn’t enough time spent getting to know them!
Wendy & Tinker Bell Are Friends
Wendy and Tinker Bell are adversaries in past Peter Pan stories because of Tinker Bell’s jealousy over Wendy’s attention from Peter. It’s a stale trope of pitting girls against each other over a boy.
In this tale, Wendy and Tinker Bell work together, with Wendy opening Peter’s eyes to how he neglects Tinker Bell’s feelings. It makes for a meaningful layer to each of their character arcs that sets a good example for young viewers.
Additionally, Wendy is the story’s main hero, soaring and sword-fighting her way through Neverland.
Peter Pan & Captain Hook's Backstory
More so than in past versions, we see the long, painful history between Peter Pan and Captain Hook played out, and Lowery’s iteration paints Peter as the villain of their backstory.
Peter’s refusal to grow up meant that no one else close to him could either. James, Peter’s very first Lost Boy, missed his mother and wanted to go home. Peter saw that as a betrayal and forced him to stay in Neverland. Their feud deepened when Peter cut off James’ hand, turning him into Captain Hook.
Peter Pan & Wendy is as much about its titular characters learning it’s OK to grow up as it is about humanizing Hook. With this remake, Disney continues its trend of showing viewers how its famous villains weren’t always the bad guys.
Tiger Lily Is a Fully-Rounded Character
The depiction of Tiger Lily and her people in the animated Peter Pan is one of media’s most egregious depictions of indigenous cultures, leaning into several racist stereotypes in the song “What Made the Red Man Red?” and beyond. Other Peter Pan movies also made huge errors with this character (Rooney Mara, a white woman, played her in 2015’s Pan).
Disney added a content warning to its 1953 film on Disney+. It reads, “This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now.”
Peter Pan & Wendy corrects the mistakes by making Tiger Lily a fully-rounded character who’s a hero rather than a damsel in distress. Wapanatâhk’s performance makes Tiger Lily a wise leader of the Lost Boys, who along with Wendy provides the emotionally intelligent role model the group (and Peter) needs. She primarily speaks in the Cree language throughout the film, and the scene showing her tribe is quick but respectful.
Wapanatâhk is part of Canada’s Bigstone Cree First Nation. She worked closely with the filmmakers to incorporate the Cree language and other parts of her heritage into her scenes.
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