Review: "Peter Pan & Wendy"

On February 5th, 1953, Walt Disney released the animated adaptation of Peter Pan, a blockbuster hit for the studio. 70 years later, a newly reimagined version of “Peter Pan” was released to Disney+ this week: Peter Pan & Wendy (2023). Here are my thoughts:

Wendy Darling is about to be shipped off to boarding school where she will be separated from her brothers, John and Michael, not to mention from her parents. Distraught, Wendy yearns to stay a child and have fun adventures with her brothers. They get that opportunity one night, when they meet Peter Pan. With a little help from Tinker Bell, Pan and the Darling children travel to Neverland and they begin an epic battle against Pan’s archenemy, Captain Hook and his crew of pirates.

“Peter Pan & Wendy,” pays homage to Disney’s original animated “Peter Pan,” but it can also be compared to Steven Spielberg’s Hook (1991) because it tells the same story of the boy who doesn’t want to grow up. Some clever twists in this film provide an in-depth backstory explaining why Captain Hook is cruel and how he and Peter Pan became enemies. In addition to that, the character of Wendy Darling is portrayed as an equal to Peter Pan, a warrior who is just as—if not more—clever and feisty.

Disney’s original animated “Peter Pan,” told us that, while we can’t stop growing up, but we can always hold on to our inner child through the stories we grow up on. They simply play an important role in helping to define our identities. While “Peter Pan & Wendy,” continues that theme, it also gives more inspiration in the sense that kids often fear growing up because they think that once they’re grown up, having fun is over and there’s no more adventure. This rendition brings home the truth that life never stops being an adventure—there’s always fun to be had!

This film’s cast features Alexander Molony making his live-action debut as Peter Pan and Ever Anderson, who previously played the young Natasha Romanoff in MCU’s Black Widow (2017), as Wendy Darling. Jude Law stars as Captain Hook, with Jim Gaffigan as Mr. Smee, Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell and veteran Disney voice-over artist Alan Tudyk as Mr. Darling. Unlike Disney’s original “Peter Pan,” this film does not continue the tradition of having the characters of Captain Hook and Mr. Darling portrayed by the same actor, whereas in the original film, both characters were voiced by Hans Conried. (That was also the case for the original “Peter Pan,” Broadway adaptation with Mary Martin, which premiered the following year in 1954). The film was co-written by Toby Halbrooks and David Lowery and directed by Lowery. Both Halbrooks and Lowery previously collaborated in Disney’s remake of Pete’s Dragon (2016).

All in all, “Peter Pan & Wendy,” is an entertaining movie. It helps us all better appreciate the opportunity to actually be able to grow up because to have that opportunity is better than to not! It also brings hime the importance of being surrounded by people who love you.

             

Burny Mattinson: Yet Another Unsung Disney Legend

Few people are fortunate enough to work for the same company for 70 years. When one works for a company for that long, to say they’ve achieved legendary status is an understatement. Burny Mattinson was employed by the Walt Disney Company for 70 years and throughout that tenure he juggled all kinds of jobs.

Mattinson was inspired to go into animation having been entranced by the craft when he saw Disney’s Pinocchio (1940) as a young boy. When he was old enough to start applying for jobs, he went to the Disney Studios with a portfolio the first chance he got in 1953. At the time, there were no openings in the animation department, but his portfolio managed to impress the then head of personnel, Ken Seiling, and he was fortunate to be given a job in the studio’s mail room as a “traffic boy.”

After working as a “traffic boy” for six months, his first feature job was as an Inbetweener (an artist who sees that every frame of the film is connected together) on Lady and the Tramp (1955). He did character animation on Sleeping Beauty (1959) and The Sword and the Stone (1963) and again worked as an Inbetweener on 101 Dalmatians (1961) and Mary Poppins (1964). Unfortunately, he did not receive screen credit until a few years later, working as an animator on The Jungle Book (1967) and The Aristocats (1970), as well as the first two “Winnie the Pooh” shorts: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966) and the Oscar-winning Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968).

In addition to his “feature” contributions, Mattinson also served as an assistant animator to Eric Larson, a member of Walt Disney’s “Nine Old Men,” helping to animate Professor Ludwig Von Drake for the Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (1961-1969). Mattinson’s talent also caught the attention of Frank Thomas, another “Nine Old Men,” who suggested he design the opening title sequence for The Rescuers (1977). 

By the time the 80’s rolled around, Mattinson listened to a “Disneyland” Album released in 1974 entitled An Adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Performed by the Walt Disney Players. He began to toy with the idea of adapting the album as a short film, Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1982) and pitched idea to the then Disney CEO, Disney’s son-in-law Ron Miller. Miller initially balked at the idea, but later relented when he heard what it meant to make the project to Mattinson and he even agreed to let Mattinson make his directorial debut in the project. The short film was a success and earned Mattinson a Best Short Film, Animated Oscar Nomination. He was later re-hired as a Director on The Great Mouse Detective (1986).

In the 90’s, Mattinson continued to work as a Story Artist on films produced throughout the Disney Renaissance period: Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), and Pocahontas (1995). He was awarded the Disney Legend Award in 2008, and was hired yet again as a Story Artist on Winnie the Pooh (2011), Big Hero 6 (2014), Zootopia (2016), and Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), the middle two of which both won Best Animated Feature Oscars. (“Ralph,” was also nominated). Mattinson’s last credit at Disney was a Story Artist for Strange World (2022) before he passed away at the age of 87 on February 27th, 2023. There will be a dedication to him in Disney’s upcoming animated feature Wish (2023) due for release in November of this year.

Burny Mattinson was beyond lucky to work for Disney for the past seven decades. Not long before “Winnie the Pooh” was released he pitched an idea for a feature-length film with Mickey Mouse as the main protagonist which unfortunately never surfaced. While that project never saw daylight, all the film projects Mattinson contributed to established Mattinson was an exceptional artist who never stopped doing what he loved. He was an inspiration to us all.