Peter Pan (1953)
Peter Pan (1953)
Audio: #1 English Dolby AC3 5.1 @ 448 kbps, #2 English Dolby AC3 1.0 @ 128 kbps
Subtitle: English, French, Spanish
DVD5 | ISO | 01:31:47 | NTSC 4:3 (720x480) | 29.97 fps | 4.36 Gb
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Music | USA
IMDB
Directed by: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson
Starring: Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont and Hans Conried
Audio: #1 English Dolby AC3 5.1 @ 448 kbps, #2 English Dolby AC3 1.0 @ 128 kbps
Subtitle: English, French, Spanish
DVD5 | ISO | 01:31:47 | NTSC 4:3 (720x480) | 29.97 fps | 4.36 Gb
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Music | USA
IMDB
Directed by: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson
Starring: Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont and Hans Conried
An adaptation of J. M. Barrie's story about a boy who never grew up. The three children of the Darling family receive a visit from Peter Pan, who takes them to Never Land, where an ongoing war between Peter's gang of rag-tag runaways and the evil Pirate Captain Hook is taking place.
Peter Pan (1953)
One night Wendy, John, and Michael are visited by the boy who wouldn't grow up, Peter Pan. When Pan hears that Wendy, his main source of maternal influence, will be leaving the nursery to grow up, he decides to bring her and her brothers back to Neverland, where she can continue to act as the mother of the Lost Boys. Back in Neverland, the villainous Captain Hook is desperately trying to locate Pan, and his crew has tired of his obsession. In a last ditch effort, Hook uses the pixie Tinker Bell, furiously jealous of Pan's new relationship with Wendy, to find the Lost Boys' hide out.
Peter Pan (1953)
![Peter Pan (1953)]()
If you go years without watching the films of Disney's Golden Age you tend to forget how good they really are. They really aren't just for kids, they're some of the most effortlessly entertaining motion pictures in the world. The most amazing thing you're likely to find is how well they age, with few exceptions, the jokes and humour will always be fresh, the characters loveable and shockingly multi-layered, and the tales utterly enthralling.
Peter Pan (1953)
![Peter Pan (1953)]()
Though not my favourite of the Disney cannon (that would be a hard choice, but I'm leaning towards The Jungle Book, Peter Pan was a mainstay throughout my childhood, and twenty-plus years later I still remember the lyrics to the songs ('we're foll-o-ing the lea-der, the lea-der, the lea-der…'), the best lines ('Shooting a man in the middle of his cadenza? That ain't good form, you know.'), and some very specific visuals (the nanny dog trying to fly with her ears was a real 'good ol' days' inducer). I caught myself actually, physically laughing out loud to some of the more amusing moments, and was dumbly grinning from ear to ear for the entirely too brief 77 minute run time.
Peter Pan (1953)
![Peter Pan (1953)]()
Peter Pan is a very cleanly animated film, more cleanly than most Disney films to that point, with sharp outlines and bold colours. The characters are of the early trademark Disney style (the kind that the Japanese tried to mimic, leading to modern Anime style), and fit snuggly into the greater canon, unlike more visually experimental animated features like Sleeping Beauty and 101 Dalmatians, which belonged more to designers like Bill Peet and Eyvind Earle. Peter Pan is a quintessential story to the Disney mythos (a child refusing to grow up is kind of what drove Walt, but let's not get into the psychology of the thing), it is not the quintessential story, by any means, but has earned its place in the history books.
Peter Pan (1953)
![Peter Pan (1953)]()
The character animation just about flawless, with a myriad of broad and subtle moments. Though Peter's acrobatics and the amazingly realistic angled shots are amazing, the real genius lies in the scene where the Hook hunting crocodile makes his tick-tock entrance much to Smee and Hook's chagrin. Smee's ear throbs, Hook's eyebrows palpitate, and the croc dances into view. Perfect.
Peter Pan (1953)
![Peter Pan (1953)]()
The child in me never realized how hysterical Captain Hook and Mr. Smee really were, not to mention the children's real father George (voiced by Hans Conried, who also voices Hook). Every character has his or her site gag or slapstick moment, but the melancholy obsession and overall pathetic nature of Hook is quite amusing in a very modern fashion (think The Office). Steven Spielberg and screenwriters James V. Hart and Nick Castle (wait? The Shape?) very wisely picked up on in their 1991 updating of the Pan story, Hook. I go on record stating it's the only thing I still like about the frankly obnoxious film.
Peter Pan (1953)
![Peter Pan (1953)]()
The editing of the film is striking considering the techniques of the time, and the fact that it was aimed at children. The cutting between Pan and Hook's stories is surprisingly sophisticated, though not as fluid as it would perhaps have been if it was made today. Most of Disney's films up to this point followed a main character from beginning to end, but our leads (Pan and Wendy) are often left to their own devises in favour of John, Michael, or Hook. The threads all reconnect neatly, but still show amazing faith in the audience on the Disney and company's part.
Peter Pan (1953)
![Peter Pan (1953)]()
The modern Disney sanitation machine seems to have let Peter Pan slip through its tight little fingers. Though I'm sure we'll never see an official DVD release of Song of the South due to stereotypical portrayals of African Americans (I've still never been able to actually see the film), and Pecos Bill's cigarette will forever be lost to us, it seems that the red man wasn't quite un-PC enough to warrant any digital 'colour-correction'. I'm quaintly a bit shocked that my super-PC mother let me watch a cartoon containing a song entitled "What Made the Red Man Red", as sung by Cleveland Indian mascots. I suppose we should thank goodness for small favours, and who knows what will happen next time Disney tries to re-release the film.
