Uh, you'll have to forgive me for asking, but didn't Disney just issue this movie in a special edition a few years ago? Well, yeah. But this time they've added even more extras, filling a whole second disc in a new Platinum Edition.
Let's begin, though, with the movie. Based on James M. Barrie's popular 1904 play, Disney's 1953 animated version of "Peter Pan" tries hard but doesn't quite live up to its famous stage counterpart. Is it any wonder? The stage play took on a life of its own, becoming a public phenomenon. Not even Disney could match its reputation. Nevertheless, the film is colorful, spirited fun and provides its own particular delights. What's more, the new 2-disc edition offers pleasures of its own, with a host of bonus features.
In Disney's movie we find all of Barrie's imaginative characters, plus a few new ones. Peter and his pixie partner, Tinker Bell, whisk the Darling children--Wendy, John, and Michael--off to Never Land. There, they meet up with the creations of Wendy's fantasies: Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, the crocodile that swallowed the clock, Princess Tiger Lily, the Lost Boys, and they have to do battle with pirates and Indians to win their way back home.
The highlight of the film is undoubtedly Hook. He is a fine, dastardly villain. So good, in fact, that when Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman made the 1991 live-action update, the producers were canny enough to realize it was the pirate's story and name it "Hook." Voiced in the Disney film by versatile comic actor Hans Conried (who also does the father, Mr. Darling), Hook combines the perfect degree of menace and humor to entertain children and adults. Peter, on the other hand, comes off rather one-dimensionally, almost always acting the prankish rogue. Young Bobby Driscoll, who had previously done, among other things, Disney's "Treasure Island," appropriately voices the character.
As much as I like Disney's "Peter Pan" and as petty as it may seem of me to say, I see the film suffering several distinct drawbacks. First, there is no single musical number to associate with the story; indeed, there are no songs that are particularly memorable. "You Can Fly" and "A Pirate's Life" are the only pieces I could recall from previous viewings, with "The Second Star to the Right" following behind. Next, the comedy is mostly slapstick, lots of chases and pratfalls, and not always too funny. I liked this as a kid, but now I'm a little disappointed that Disney didn't attempt to capture more of the the stage play's sweet charm. In addition, the art work is not quite up to the standards of Disney's earliest first-length features. Like everybody else, the Disney studios were feeling certain financial constraints in the 1950s, and they chose to forego some of the lavishly painted backgrounds they had used in the past. Finally, in this age of political correctness I'm sure that more than a few people may take offense at Disney's depiction of Native Americans, in terms of their stereotyped appearance and speech and all.
These shortcomings are probably not serious enough to dampen most viewers' spirits, however, certainly not youngsters'; but for me they keep the movie from consideration as an absolutely top-drawer Disney classic.
Let's begin, though, with the movie. Based on James M. Barrie's popular 1904 play, Disney's 1953 animated version of "Peter Pan" tries hard but doesn't quite live up to its famous stage counterpart. Is it any wonder? The stage play took on a life of its own, becoming a public phenomenon. Not even Disney could match its reputation. Nevertheless, the film is colorful, spirited fun and provides its own particular delights. What's more, the new 2-disc edition offers pleasures of its own, with a host of bonus features.
In Disney's movie we find all of Barrie's imaginative characters, plus a few new ones. Peter and his pixie partner, Tinker Bell, whisk the Darling children--Wendy, John, and Michael--off to Never Land. There, they meet up with the creations of Wendy's fantasies: Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, the crocodile that swallowed the clock, Princess Tiger Lily, the Lost Boys, and they have to do battle with pirates and Indians to win their way back home.
The highlight of the film is undoubtedly Hook. He is a fine, dastardly villain. So good, in fact, that when Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman made the 1991 live-action update, the producers were canny enough to realize it was the pirate's story and name it "Hook." Voiced in the Disney film by versatile comic actor Hans Conried (who also does the father, Mr. Darling), Hook combines the perfect degree of menace and humor to entertain children and adults. Peter, on the other hand, comes off rather one-dimensionally, almost always acting the prankish rogue. Young Bobby Driscoll, who had previously done, among other things, Disney's "Treasure Island," appropriately voices the character.
As much as I like Disney's "Peter Pan" and as petty as it may seem of me to say, I see the film suffering several distinct drawbacks. First, there is no single musical number to associate with the story; indeed, there are no songs that are particularly memorable. "You Can Fly" and "A Pirate's Life" are the only pieces I could recall from previous viewings, with "The Second Star to the Right" following behind. Next, the comedy is mostly slapstick, lots of chases and pratfalls, and not always too funny. I liked this as a kid, but now I'm a little disappointed that Disney didn't attempt to capture more of the the stage play's sweet charm. In addition, the art work is not quite up to the standards of Disney's earliest first-length features. Like everybody else, the Disney studios were feeling certain financial constraints in the 1950s, and they chose to forego some of the lavishly painted backgrounds they had used in the past. Finally, in this age of political correctness I'm sure that more than a few people may take offense at Disney's depiction of Native Americans, in terms of their stereotyped appearance and speech and all.
These shortcomings are probably not serious enough to dampen most viewers' spirits, however, certainly not youngsters'; but for me they keep the movie from consideration as an absolutely top-drawer Disney classic.
Uh, you'll have to forgive me for asking, but didn't Disney just issue this movie in a special edition a few years ago? Well, yeah. But this time they've added even more extras, filling a whole second disc in a new Platinum Edition.
Let's begin, though, with the movie. Based on James M. Barrie's popular 1904 play, Disney's 1953 animated version of "Peter Pan" tries hard but doesn't quite live up to its famous stage counterpart. Is it any wonder? The stage play took on a life of its own, becoming a public phenomenon. Not even Disney could match its reputation. Nevertheless, the film is colorful, spirited fun and provides its own particular delights. What's more, the new 2-disc edition offers pleasures of its own, with a host of bonus features.
In Disney's movie we find all of Barrie's imaginative characters, plus a few new ones. Peter and his pixie partner, Tinker Bell, whisk the Darling children--Wendy, John, and Michael--off to Never Land. There, they meet up with the creations of Wendy's fantasies: Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, the crocodile that swallowed the clock, Princess Tiger Lily, the Lost Boys, and they have to do battle with pirates and Indians to win their way back home.
The highlight of the film is undoubtedly Hook. He is a fine, dastardly villain. So good, in fact, that when Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman made the 1991 live-action update, the producers were canny enough to realize it was the pirate's story and name it "Hook." Voiced in the Disney film by versatile comic actor Hans Conried (who also does the father, Mr. Darling), Hook combines the perfect degree of menace and humor to entertain children and adults. Peter, on the other hand, comes off rather one-dimensionally, almost always acting the prankish rogue. Young Bobby Driscoll, who had previously done, among other things, Disney's "Treasure Island," appropriately voices the character.
As much as I like Disney's "Peter Pan" and as petty as it may seem of me to say, I see the film suffering several distinct drawbacks. First, there is no single musical number to associate with the story; indeed, there are no songs that are particularly memorable. "You Can Fly" and "A Pirate's Life" are the only pieces I could recall from previous viewings, with "The Second Star to the Right" following behind. Next, the comedy is mostly slapstick, lots of chases and pratfalls, and not always too funny. I liked this as a kid, but now I'm a little disappointed that Disney didn't attempt to capture more of the the stage play's sweet charm. In addition, the art work is not quite up to the standards of Disney's earliest first-length features. Like everybody else, the Disney studios were feeling certain financial constraints in the 1950s, and they chose to forego some of the lavishly painted backgrounds they had used in the past. Finally, in this age of political correctness I'm sure that more than a few people may take offense at Disney's depiction of Native Americans, in terms of their stereotyped appearance and speech and all.
These shortcomings are probably not serious enough to dampen most viewers' spirits, however, certainly not youngsters'; but for me they keep the movie from consideration as an absolutely top-drawer Disney classic.
Let's begin, though, with the movie. Based on James M. Barrie's popular 1904 play, Disney's 1953 animated version of "Peter Pan" tries hard but doesn't quite live up to its famous stage counterpart. Is it any wonder? The stage play took on a life of its own, becoming a public phenomenon. Not even Disney could match its reputation. Nevertheless, the film is colorful, spirited fun and provides its own particular delights. What's more, the new 2-disc edition offers pleasures of its own, with a host of bonus features.
In Disney's movie we find all of Barrie's imaginative characters, plus a few new ones. Peter and his pixie partner, Tinker Bell, whisk the Darling children--Wendy, John, and Michael--off to Never Land. There, they meet up with the creations of Wendy's fantasies: Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, the crocodile that swallowed the clock, Princess Tiger Lily, the Lost Boys, and they have to do battle with pirates and Indians to win their way back home.
The highlight of the film is undoubtedly Hook. He is a fine, dastardly villain. So good, in fact, that when Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman made the 1991 live-action update, the producers were canny enough to realize it was the pirate's story and name it "Hook." Voiced in the Disney film by versatile comic actor Hans Conried (who also does the father, Mr. Darling), Hook combines the perfect degree of menace and humor to entertain children and adults. Peter, on the other hand, comes off rather one-dimensionally, almost always acting the prankish rogue. Young Bobby Driscoll, who had previously done, among other things, Disney's "Treasure Island," appropriately voices the character.
As much as I like Disney's "Peter Pan" and as petty as it may seem of me to say, I see the film suffering several distinct drawbacks. First, there is no single musical number to associate with the story; indeed, there are no songs that are particularly memorable. "You Can Fly" and "A Pirate's Life" are the only pieces I could recall from previous viewings, with "The Second Star to the Right" following behind. Next, the comedy is mostly slapstick, lots of chases and pratfalls, and not always too funny. I liked this as a kid, but now I'm a little disappointed that Disney didn't attempt to capture more of the the stage play's sweet charm. In addition, the art work is not quite up to the standards of Disney's earliest first-length features. Like everybody else, the Disney studios were feeling certain financial constraints in the 1950s, and they chose to forego some of the lavishly painted backgrounds they had used in the past. Finally, in this age of political correctness I'm sure that more than a few people may take offense at Disney's depiction of Native Americans, in terms of their stereotyped appearance and speech and all.
These shortcomings are probably not serious enough to dampen most viewers' spirits, however, certainly not youngsters'; but for me they keep the movie from consideration as an absolutely top-drawer Disney classic.
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