By Todd Garbarini
I remember the first time I saw Peter Pan (1953) on the big screen. It was the re-release in the summer of 1976 on a very hot day at the Cort Theatre on East
Main St. in Somerville, New Jersey. Unlike The Outsiders’s Pony
Boy Curtis, when I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of
the movie theatre, I had only one thing on my mind: food. My hunger for
beautiful animation was satiated for the moment, but I was very hungry after spending
nearly three hours in the theatre. My
childhood was sprinkled with double features of Disney cartoons and live-action
films. Until I saw the thrilling Superman: The Movie in 1978, Peter Pan really gave the seven-year-old
I was the idea that I could actually fly – at least vicariously. The Sir James
Matthew Barrie story of a boy who soars through the air and who doesn’t age has
captivated the world for well over a century, easily crossing cultures with its
love of childhood and its adventures in Neverland. There are several sequences that may raise a
few eyebrows in today's politically correct environment, such as those of
involving the depictions of Native Americans in a visibly racist fashion,
however this film is a product of its time and Disney has wisely chosen not to
alter it in any way. On that note, it is interesting that to this day we still
cannot get a legitimate video version of 1946’s Song of the South, a film that I enjoyed immensely as a child but
appears to be a sore spot with the company in how African-Americans are
depicted in that film.
The action in Peter Pan begins in Bloomsbury in London wherein two brothers, John
and Michael Darling, are playing pirates, based on stories that their older
sister Wendy told them. Their father feels that Wendy should have her own room
now and must stop telling silly stories to the young ones who keep the
household in chaos. That night, Peter
Pan and his little sidekick Tinkerbell show up and take the kids to Neverland,
a place where Peter lives and has made the decision to never grow up, remaining
instead a child. There are other people
in Neverland, including the Lost Boys, a group of six youngsters who are all
dressed in pajamas. There are also a
group of pirates just off the coast headed by Captain Hook and Mr. Smee (Smee
plays Otis to Hook’s Lex Luthor). It
turns out that Tinkerbell is jealous of Wendy and aims to get her out of the
picture! More adventures ensue, but this
is a Disney film, and no great harm ever comes to the characters.
This is the first time that the film
has been released on Blu-ray, and as is customary with the previous Disney
releases, the film has undergone a major restoration. The results are
spectacular. The nuances detailed in the images are sharp and sumptuous. If you
haven't seen the film on Blu-ray, you really haven't seen it. I know it's a
cliché but it's very true especially when it comes to films of this ilk.
The Blu-ray comes with a standard
definition DVD as well as the requisite digital copy. In addition to the film, there is a wealth of
extras: I’ve made no bones about the
fact that I love audio commentaries, and thankfully one is included with this
film. It is provided by Roy Disney, and also included are comments from the
animators and some voice actors as well.
Backstage
Disney – this extra is
shot in standard definition and previously appeared on the original Platinum
DVD released in 2007. There are five
featurettes in this batch:
You Can Fly: The Making of Peter Pan
In Walt's Words: Why I Made Peter Pan,
The Peter Pan That Almost Was
Tinker Bell: A Fairy's Tale
The Peter Pan Story
Music
& More – A collection
of songs:
The Pirate Song
Never Land: The Lost Song
The Second Star to the Right
There is an introduction to the movie
by Walt’s daughter, Diane Miller-Disney, shot in high definition.
Growing
Up with Nine Old Men – this
is a nice documentary that runs about forty minutes and is in high definition
also. The nine old men in question
consist of animators Les Clark, Marc Davis, Ollie Johnston, Milt Kahl, Ward
Kimball, Eric Larson, John Lounsbery, Wolfgang Reitherman, and Frank
Thomas. Unfortunately, all of these
gentlemen have since passed on. However,
their children discuss their fathers’ work for Disney.
There is a short section on deleted
songs and scenes which consist of storyboards and early artwork. There is also a Peter Pan sing-along which allows children to sing-along songs.
This can be enabled by turning on the subtitle option.
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