I kind of have a weird relationship with Peter Pan. I do remember watching Peter Pan at a young age, but I never really had a strong attachment to it. I actually winded up becoming much more enamored by the original J. M. Barrie novel in high school. But I haven’t really seen the Disney classic since I was a kid. I definitely did enjoy my viewing of it as an adult, but I also feel like it has its problems.

For those who aren’t aware, Peter Pan starts off by showing us the lives of the Darling children: Wendy, John, and Michael. All three are enthralled by stories of Peter Pan and his adventures in Neverland. It turns out that Peter Pan is very much real, and takes the three children to Neverland. The Darling kids must help Peter Pan and his friends in their battle with Captain Hook and his band of pirates.

I think the movie works really well as an adventure movie. The fantastical quest here feels really fun, and so it’s a journey that ends up feeling like it was worth taking by the end. It also has some really memorable characters, like Tinkerbell, Captain Hook, and Smee. I think the movie’s adventurous elements are what captivated audiences in the first place, but I also do think the movie has some very strong themes and messages about growing up, which winded up giving the movie a lot of staying power.

However, I definitely don’t like everything about Peter Pan. I mentioned how I really liked some of the characters, but other ones I just really didn’t care for. The ones I’m mainly talking about are the Lost Boys, and unfortunately Peter Pan himself, who just winds up coming off pompous most of the time. Also, I do feel like it’s worth addressing the racism here. Look, I usually don’t bring this sort of thing up in movies, because it generally doesn’t bother me. I’m able to laugh at racist humor, but I do wind up feeling uncomfortable when I see sincere racism. I’m also able to overlook things like Japanese slurs in World War II movies or Vietnamese slurs in Vietnam movies because I recognize that they’re products of their time. But Peter Pan has some really random Native American stereotypes, even going as far as to have a whole song that’s called “What Made the Red Man Red?” And look, I’m not one of these people that thinks movies should be banned or censored or anything, so I’m not saying this for those reasons. I just think that it’s something that’s worth knowing if you plan on watching this movie as an adult, because I know I certainly felt uncomfortable watching the scenes with the Native Americans in them.

Aside from all of that, though, I think Peter Pan is a pretty good movie. This definitely isn’t one of my all-time favorite Disney movies, and I don’t really think it is for many other people either. I still think it’s essential for the true Disney nuts out there though. If nothing else, I think it’s worth it for the truly fun depictions of Captain Hook and Tinkerbell that are in the movie. The movie certainly has some problems that drag it down, but otherwise I think it’s still a pretty fun adventure.

3.5/5