Peter Pan - Return to Neverland [2002]

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Peter Pan soars back onto the screen in Disney's all-new animated feature, Return to Never Land. This sequel to the 1953 classic Peter Pan has a reassuringly old-fashioned feel, with computer-generated images and more-traditional artwork cleverly blended to recall the original. Wendy, now married with children, is living in a London ravaged by the blitz. Every night she enchants her small son with tales of pirates and Pan to distract him from the bombings but her serious young daughter Jane finds the stories of magic and fairies unconvincing in the face of a war-torn reality. After a fairly slow beginning establishing the bleak backdrop and the various characters--Jane's smug conscientiousness grates at times--the scene is set for the adventure to begin; and once the nefarious Hook and crew loom into sight, things really take off--literally.

In Never Land nothing much has changed: the dastardly Captain Hook, now tormented by a clicking octopus rather than a ticking crocodile, just wants to be hated; his crew remain bloodthirsty but bumbling; and feisty fairy Tinker Bell shimmers around in a jealous strop when another female appears on the scene. Unfortunately, the story line hasn't changed much either, being a thin re-working of the original, although there is an interesting mirroring between mother and daughter--one who was afraid to grow-up and the other distrustful of childhood, with its emphasis on fun and lack of responsibility.

It was never going to be easy to follow the original Peter Pan but Return to Never Land is an engaging sequel and the uplifting "So To Be One of Us" is Disney music at its best. (Ages 3 to 9)--Helen Baker

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Synopsis
Set in London during the blitz this is the story of Wendy's daughter, Jane who is kidnapped by Captain Hook who mistakes her for Wendy. Can Peter Pan, Tinker Bell and the lost boys save Jane?...

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From the Back Cover
From beyond the "second star to the right" the magical enchantment of Peter Pan is back in RETURN TO NEVERLAND - a dazzling, all-new adventure, full of just as much fun, fantasy and flight as the original .

Your favourite characters including Tinker Bell, the comical Lost Boys, Captain Hook and bumbling Smee are back - and you'll meet Jane, Wendy's sceptical daughter who has outgrown her mother's childhood tales of flying with Peter Pan. Jane no longer believes in fairies let alone flying but when Captain Hook's pirate ship swoops down upon London and carries Jane off to Neverland, Jane discovers revenge on Peter Pan is still his number one plan.

The crafty pirate sets a trap for Peter Pan and Tinker Bell and only Jane can help. It is up to her to call upon "faith, trust, and pixie dust" to take flight and save Peter, and all of Never Land.

Featuring marvellous animation, all-new music and high flying adventure from start to finish, PETER PAN: RETURN TO NEVERLAND is fantastic Disney fun for the young, and young at heart. You'll want to Return To Never Land again and again.

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2007-08-25 rating:
Surprisingly good sequel
I was more than a little wary to buy this very belated sequel to Disney's original classic, Peter Pan. Such a long time had elapsed that I felt sure that it would prove to be nothing more than a poor production aimed to make as much money as possible with minimum effort. But I was wrong...

In Return to Neverland, Wendy is all grown up and has children of her own. She tells them stories of Peter Pan, which delight her son but which her daughter, Jane, comes to resent. On the eve of the children's evacuation to the country (the story is set during the Blitz), Jane finds herself in Neverland and meets all the major characters from the original: Tinkerbell, the Lost Boys, Captain Hook, Smee, and of course, Peter Pan himself. The animation and vocalisations are both excellent and good imitations of the old film.

The story seems to be unconnected to J.M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, but it is still entertaining and at only 70 mins, it is just the right length of time to keep the little ones enthralled without their losing interest. However, the songs are distinctly out of place, having a modern style that is not consistent with the 1940's context. That said, I would definitely recommend Return to Neverland to any fans of the original Disney movie.

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review by: date: 2005-04-29 rating:
Not the original but kids should love it
No, it is not as good as the first but it is nearly impossible to follow a classic. However, my son loved it so what more do you need - it made him laugh and he has happily watched it multiple times. If you are an adult I am sure you can pick holes in it but I don't think the makers were expecting its audience to analyse changes to the characters!

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review by: date: 2004-11-16 rating:
Cynical cash in
My 3 year old daughter loves the original Peter Pan, and so do I. So we bought this for her, and she watched it once. It is rubbish. The story seemed half baked and depressing. The music was not a patch on the original. It wasn't funny. The characters had no spark. Keep your money.

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review by: tinkerbelle37 date: 2002-09-15 rating:
RTN was great! *whispers* ...but the original is better...
The title of this review says it all. I think Return to Neverland is an enchanting and magical sequel to Disney's original Peter Pan, but it definitely wasn't perfect.

The biggest problem with it is that the plot is entirely predictable. Wendy grows up and has two children: a girl, Jane, and a boy, Danny. World War II causes Jane, the eldest, to forget about "childish things" such as Peter Pan and Neverland, but her brother still believes. Then one night, Captain Hook arrives and captures Jane, mistaking her for Wendy, and takes her back to Neverland. There's more to the story, but the ending is typical: Jane believes in Peter Pan once again. (But really, what other plot could Disney use for a Peter Pan sequel?) I thought that the original was better plot-wise because it was based on the original story, though I must admit that the special effects, coloring, and sound used in Return to Neverland somewhat made up for the story.

It looks like Disney used a computer to animate Tinkerbell's pixie dust, making it look more realistic. I also liked how they cast leaf-shadows when the characters were standing under trees and such. It makes them look more life-like. But the animation isn't perfect; I think Disney could have done better. If you pay close attention, you'll notice that some characters appear to be cross-eyed or much more cartoonish than they should. (e.g., Mickey Mouse looks more cartoonish than Snow White because Mickey is a talking mouse in red shorts and Snow White is simply an animated human.) This is another reason why I like the original better: everything might look less 3-D than the sequel, but you can tell the Disney animators spent more time making sure everything was perfect.

I also noticed that Peter, Hook, Tinkerbell, and the Lost Boys's personalities seem to slightly differ from the original. Peter, Tinkerbell, and the Lost Boys are generally much more playful -- Tinkerbell actually does things like blowing raspberries and making faces at Hook. The crocodile has been replaced by a giant octopus (which I seriously don't understand), and Hook acts more afraid of it than the croc. It was also a bit of a disappointment that the mermaids were in only one scene and the Indians, John, and Michael Darling weren't mentioned at all, unless you count the opening sequence (which was actually one of the best parts of the movie).

My point: Return to Neverland may not be the best Disney sequel yet (I believe that was Toy Story 2), but it's still a very good movie.


review by: thorne151 date: 2002-08-19 rating:
My Daughter Loved It
It is true that as a movie this is not the world's greatest. Some of the problems are those inherant in a sequel others are just poor film making. However, as an attempt to entertain children it is a roaring success if my 4 year old daughter is anything to go by. Whilst her father goes to war (strangely in an American Jeep), Wendy's daughter Jane goes to Neverland, much against her will. Whilst she does get rescued by Peter Pan she returns the favour in fine style later on. In doing so she has achieved hero status in my daughters mind. At last a girl hero in a Disney film that she can really look up to. It seemed to be important for her. She loved it.

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