One night in her London home, Wendy Darling (voiced by Kathryn Beaumont) is visited by a young boy from Never Land named Peter Pan (Bobby Driscoll), hoping to get his shadow back. His shadow had been snatched by the family dog while he was eavesdropping as Wendy was telling bedtime stories to her younger brothers. Peter offers to take Wendy back to Never Land, hoping that she will agree to be a mother to him and the Lost Boys who live there, having vowed to never grow up. Wendy agrees to go under two conditions: her brothers Michael (Tommy Luske) and John (Paul Collins) must be able to come too and Peter must understand that Wendy’s stay will not be permanent. As they fly off to Never Land with Peter’s temperamental fairy Tinker Bell (Margaret Kerry) in tow, various adventures await them. However, danger waits as well. Captain Hook (Hans Conried) has been pondering how to finally rid himself of his arch nemesis Peter Pan. When the boy arrives with new friends in tow he eyes a chance to get rid of him once and for all.
The essential idea of Peter Pan is to ask what it means to grow up and how this affects the power of imagination; the main narrative questions are fairly straightforward: What will become of Wendy and her siblings? Can Peter Pan defeat Captain Hook? In this land called Never Land, a place where children’s fairy tales come to life, it’s impossible not to root for Peter Pan and his friends.
It’s not hard to see why Walt Disney loved Peter Pan so much. One look at the world he created—the characters, the films, the theme parks—and it seems obvious that part of him remained a child throughout his life. The imagination and vibrancy of Peter Pan is evident in everything that Walt Disney touched. Furthermore, Peter Pan acknowledges the child that remains inside nearly all of us, long after we’ve entered adulthood.
If there’s anything to criticize about the film today, it would be the racist depiction of Native American Indians. A product of its time, the maroon skinned Indians would not pass muster today. Despite protests from various groups, Disney has not seen fit to change their appearance in any way over the years. For children who’ve never seen Peter Pan, a short discussion about Native American Indians might be recommended.
Sixty years after the film’s release, the animation is still amazing. The designs are beautiful and layout unique. Undoubtedly spurred on by Walt Disney, the animators who worked on Peter Pan truly made the characters and the unforgettable wonders of Never Land come to life. There’s a real sense of motion in how these characters interact and the flying sequences are breathtaking. Walt Disney achieved his goal of making Peter Pan a special experience for audiences of all ages.
The Diamond Edition of Peter Pan comes with a 50GB Blu-ray Disc, a DVD, and a Digital Copy. There is also a code for Disney Movie Rewards. The release is region free. The packaging prominently bills “Storybook App” as the fourth component of this combo pack, but you’ll need access to ITunes and a Smartphone or Tablet to access the games, color pages and other goodies the app provides.
Presented in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio, Disney’s 1080p transfer is a strong one, with vivid colors and a strong sense of depth. The image looks wonderful throughout, with nice lines and no evidence of aliasing or banding. While the colors aren’t as vivid as they have been in some previous releases such as Pinocchio, they never appear oversaturated.
The disc offers two English audio options. The Dolby Digital 1.0 original theatrical track is here for purists. The 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio presentation is a pure joy. While some elements still show the film’s age, the soundscape is surprisingly full and engaging. The added bass gives the proceeds a more immersive quality and dialogue remains clear throughout.
Subtitles are provided in English SDH, Spanish, and French.
The new special features are provided in HD. Previously released DVD special features are largely provided in SD:
- Introduction by Diane Disney-Miller: (HD, 1:15) Walt’s daughter provides a quick introduction to the film, touching on her father’s desire to adapt the J.M. Barrie classic and some of the artwork produced during the film.
- Commentary by Roy Disney: Recorded for the previous DVD release, Roy Disney provides a rather dry commentary from prepared notes. There are also audio clips from the film’s animating crew and voice actors. Despite the dryness, this is an informative and well edited commentary that’s definitely worth a listen.
- Growing Up with Nine Old Men: (HD, 41:08) Learn about the men Disney considered most important and influential in the filmmaking process from some of the people who knew them best, their children.
- Deleted Songs and Scenes: (HD,15:27) Uncovered in the Disney vault, two deleted scenes and two deleted songs, presented via original storyboards, concept art, rough cel elements and key frames: “The Journey Home,” “Alternate Arrival,” “Never Smile at a Crocodile” and “The Boatswain Song.”
- Classic DVD Bonus Features – Backstage Disney: (SD, 65:00) Five behind-the-scenes featurettes and documentaries include “You Can Fly: The Making of Peter Pan,” “In Walt’s Words: Why I Made Peter Pan,” “Tinker Bell: A Fairy’s Tale,” “The Peter Pan that Almost Was” and “The Peter Pan Story.”
- Classic DVD Bonus Features – Music & More: (SD, HD, 17:02) “Disney Song Selection” (presented in 1080p with DTS-HD MA 7.1 audio), “Deleted Song: The Pirate Song,” “Never Land: The Lost Song,” “Music Video: Never Land, performed by Paige O’Hara” and “Music Video: The Second Star to the Right, performed by T-Squad.” Avoid that last one. It’s absolutely awful!
- Disney Intermission: (HD) Pause the video at any point and younger viewers can join in “Pirate Training,” a series of tips, activities and video clips led by the first mate of the Jolly Roger.
- Peter Pan Sing-Along: An optional track. It can be engaged or skipped by pressing the “Play” option on the menu. This is a simple subtitle feature, not a karaoke one.
- DisneyView Side Bars: (HD) Fill the black bars to either side of the image with artwork from Walt Disney background painter Cristy Maltese.
