Peter Pan (1953)

Peter Pan is a 1953 American animated fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney and based on the play Peter Pan: The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by J. M. Barrie. It is the 14th Disney animated feature film. While it might not be a big hit as Cinderella, it was a moderate success at the box office among critics and fans alike.

Peter Pan is the final Disney animated feature in the Canon released through RKO before Walt Disney's founding of his own distribution company, Buena Vista Distribution, later in 1953 after the film was released. Peter Pan is also the final Disney film in which all nine members of Disney's Nine Old Men worked together as directing animators. It is also the second Disney animated film starring Kathryn Beaumont, the late Heather Angel, and the late Bill Thompson after their roles in Disney’s 13th animated feature, Alice in Wonderland.

Plot
Wendy and her two brothers are amazed when a magical boy named Peter Pan flies into their bedroom, supposedly in pursuit of his rebellious shadow. He and his fairy friend, Tinkerbell, come from a far-off place called Neverland, where children stay perpetually young. Enchanted, the kids follow him back. But when Pan's nemesis, the one-handed pirate named Captain Hook, causes trouble, the kids begin to miss their old life.

Why It Can Fly

 * 1) Beautiful animation.
 * 2) Great cast of characters, Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Wendy Darling, Tiger Lily, Mr. Smee and Captain James Hook.
 * 3) Tinkerbell's character development; she starts off as a jealous brat, but becomes nicer later on in the film.
 * 4) The Neverland setting is amazing.
 * 5) Awesome songs, like the timeless classic, "You Can Fly!"
 * 6) The action scenes are fun and cool.
 * 7) Captain James Hook is a really entertaining villain and the late Hans Conried did a great job voicing him.
 * 8) It has a sequel, Return to Neverland, which was more or less decent.
 * 9) The film was so popular that the characters Peter Pan, Wendy Darling, Tinker Bell, Mr. Smee and Captain James Hook became meet and greet characters at the Disney Parks.
 * 10) Funny and hilarious slapstick moments between Captain James Hook and Tick-Tock the Crocodile.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Although the Native Americans or Indians are just the figment of the imagination of 1800s'-1900's British children, just like everything in Neverland is attuned to the imagination of children (pirates, fairies, mermaids, cannibals...), they double down with racial stereotypes with their song "What Made the Red Man Red?". To be fair though, back in the era this movie was made, this kind of stuff was acceptable, also because there is a similar depiction in the original J.M. Barrie's play and work, and the film itself is a comedy. The controversy, like the cases of many other films, started decades later.
 * 2) Peter Pan can be quite unlikable in some scenes, especially when he mocks Wendy, despite being his friend.
 * 3) Gentleman Starkey, who was Hook’s butler and first mate in the original novel, hardly has any character development, screen time, and lines.

Reception
Bosley Crowther of The New York Times criticized the film's lack of faithfulness to the original play claiming it "has the story but not the spirit of Peter Pan as it was plainly conceived by its author and is usually played on the stage." Nevertheless, he praised the colors are "more exciting and the technical features of the job, such as the synchronization of voices with the animation of lips, are very good." However, Time gave the film a highly favorable review, making no reference to the changes from the original play.

Rotten Tomatoes reported the film received an approval rating of 81% based on 36 reviews with an average score of 7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though it doesn't delve deeply into the darkness of J.M. Barrie's tale, Peter Pan is a heartwarming, exuberant film with some great tunes.".

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Trivia

 * Peter Pan was Michael Jackson's favorite movie. That's why he named the ranch that owned after Neverland.
 * Wendy's facial design is recycled from Alice from Alice in Wonderland. In fact, they are both voiced by the same voice actress, who was Kathryn Beaumont, who eventually recycled her voice for Alice.
 * Hans Conried, the voice of Captain Hook and Mr. Darling in this film, later worked on Sleeping Beauty when he performed live action movements as King Stefan, but was himself replaced by Taylor Holmes for the voice of Stefan for unknown reasons, making it unknown who voiced Lord Duke.
 * The last Disney animated film to be distributed by RKO before Buena Vista.