Return to Neverland
Another Disney rerelease DVD this time with pixie power
Tags: Peter Pan Categories: DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Dec 18th, 2007
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Return to Neverland is a sequel to the 50’s classic Peter Pan as adapted by the Disney studio. There were differences from Disney’s Peter Pan and J.M. Barrie’s novel and play, so a cinematic sequel had to take direct inspiration from the previous film. The story, however, is based on what J.M. Barrie wrote, about Peter Pan returning to London only to find Wendy grown up with a daughter of her own. In Return to Neverland Captain Hook kidnaps Jane and takes her to the magical island.
As far as sequels go, this isn’t a bad one, and for the most part stays true to the spirit of the original film. For several years Disney would churn out cheaply made direct to video sequels and continuations of hit films, so having another Peter Pan adventure was inevitable. Released briefly in theaters (in what may have been an afterthought) Return to Neverland came out on home video in 2002 or 2003.
Set during World War II, the first 10 minutes or so are somewhat depressing and over many small kids heads. With the bombs falling around London, it would only seem natural for the themes that are central to the Peter Pan mythos about growing up, but don’t quite ring true in its execution. Jane is a tough and independent girl, aged beyond her years because of the events in London. Her younger brother is oblivious to the danger as he is much too young, and she resents him for this.
While at Neverland, Jane learns that it is alright to be a child, and helps Pan foil Hook once again. The story is fairly standard, and the animation decent enough. Return to Neverland simply lacks the same charm Disney’s original has.
As for this DVD release, the important special features are retained – the deleted scenes. Gone is the game and storybook feature from the previous edition. They didn’t add a whole lot of value, but it’s somewhat interesting to see them absent. In their place are two new items meant to drum up interest for the upcoming Tinker Bell film. One is a new game Tinker Bell’s Challenge. The other is a series of three vignettes from the upcoming film. Simply replacing the items with obvious marketing gimmicks is somewhat lame, Disney. There was no reason to cut out the other stuff, even if it wasn’t that great. Having something new specific to the film or the Peter Pan character would have been nice too.
There really isn’t any compelling reason to pick up this edition if you have already seen or own it. Return to Neverland is alright – it doesn’t sully the original, but neither does it enhance it.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
| + More Peter Pan and Neverland | 5.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
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- Setting too grim initially for the intended audience - Lacks the charm of the original - previous bonus "features" gone in favor of marketing drivel (not that what was taken out was so great to begin with, but stil) |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| If you really like the original, this is worth watching at least once. | |
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Tags: Peter Pan
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Dec 18th, 2007 and is filed under DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
