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Peter Pan
R1 - America - Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (17th March 2007). |
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The Film
 In recent times when "Peter Pan" is mentioned an image of Michael Jackson is conjured up, famously a fan of the character it's a shame that a literary classic character is now associated with the freakish pop singer. Despite this the character still is as endearing and encourages an adventurous spirit as ever. J.M. Barrie's character has seen many adaptations from stage, radio, comic book form, live action film, animation and others but none as memorable and long lasting as this 1953 Disney version. This would be the last feature film that included the involvement of the 'nine old men' of the Disney corporation, the influence of these ambitious animators and creators paved the way for future animated storytellers and set a benchmark for these types of films. Each one more popular than the last and "Peter Pan" was hit right out of the gates. It's not hard to see why as it has many elements that are the staple for children's imaginary games and fosters those adventurous tendencies we all had as children, often naïve and innocent. The film has flights of fancy, pixies, pirates, and a band of boys that just won't grow up. It's this other world 'Neverland' that represents the childlike spirit and is a place that everyone who has seen this film or read the book has cherished. Walt Disney certainly saw that in the original source material and with his brand of storytelling thrown into the mix and "Peter Pan" makes the perfect character to adapt to the Disney world. "Peter Pan" tells the story of the lovable boy from Neverland who has lost his shadow, a young girl, Wendy Darling (Kathryn Beaumont) from London has it locked in her drawer. When one night Peter (Bobby Driscoll) and Tinker Bell travel to the Darling house to reclaim his shadow, Wendy and her brothers, John (John Collins) and Michael (Tommy Luske) are awoken by Peter who convinces them to fly with him to Neverland. The adventure begins as the Darlings meet the lost boys, find adventure and escape the clutches of the sinister Captain Hook (Hans Conried). The film is considered one of the best of the post-war Disney features and the proof is in the popularity and lasting nature of the characters and story. Disney picked a classic story to adapt, its appeal of adventure and the free-spirited nature of the film is something that all children can embrace. In true Disney fashion the film is very kid-friendly and features songs and a light feel to it, originally the film's tone was much darker when developed in the mid 1930's, but this lighter fare makes it more accessible and is a much closer representation to Barrie's original play than any other version made. The film is filled with wonderful characters and viewers will instantly find their favorite lost boy or perhaps even their favorite pirate, Captain Hook's sidekick Smee (Bill Thompson) is a personal favorite of mine. Their characteristics are brilliantly brought to life by the talented crew of animators that used real life actors as reference in a pre-computer age pre-visualization. These techniques are the reason why the characters feel so real and human. Adding another layer to the animation are the voice actors that breathe life into the characters. This harmony of talents works to bring the world of Neverland to life, a world that is filled with so many fantastical elements it was virtually made for the animated medium and makes "Peter Pan" a marvelous film that should be shared with as many people as possible, it really is pure magic.
Video
Presented in the film's original ratio of 1.33:1 this full frame transfer has been restored from the original elements and the result is a pristine and stunning looking transfer, considering the film was made in 1953 it looks like it was made just this year. The colors are brilliantly vibrant and rich, some backgrounds appear soft but that is mostly due to the layered process of creating these frames in the animation process. Character lines are mostly defined well and there were only minor speckles to speak of throughout the print. Otherwise this is a fantastic effort from Disney who has presented the film in the best shape ever.
Audio
Four audio tracks are included in English Dolby Digital 5.1 (Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix), the film's original English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono track as well as French Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, for the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its English 5.1 track. The 5.1 track isn't as dynamic as one would expect as it seems like an up-mixed mono track, while the music and score is well rendered throughout the sound space I felt that a lot of the film was front speaker heavy. Otherwise I was pleased with the overall quality as there was no distortion to speak of and the mix was clean and clear. Purists will also be pleased that original theatrical mono is also included on this DVD release. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired.
Extras
DISC ONE: First up is a feature-length audio commentary which is hosted by Roy Disney and features archival contributions from Producer Walt Disney, animators Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Marc Davis & Ward Kimball, the track also features contributions from film historians Leonard Maltin, John Canemaker & Jeff Kurtti, and finally includes the participation of live-action model Margaret Kerry and voice actress Kathryn Beaumont. This track unlike others should be considered a historical document chronicling the making of this animated classic. Roy Disney takes us through each step as other participants provide us with background on the film and the process of development as well as share stories of their involvement in the film. They comment on the endearing nature of the characters and storytelling techniques to the animation process and the design of the characters. The topics of covered are varied and cover a broad scope of the production as well as the impact and importance of the film. Although at times the tone is dry and mechanical this is still an informative and above all interesting track that sheds light on one the Disney Company's most successful post-war feature films. Following that is an "All-New Movie Tinker Bell" sneak peek that runs for 2 minutes 24 seconds and is basically a trailer for this upcoming CGI feature film. Next up is "Disney Song Selection" feature which allows you to skip directly to 5 songs from the film, you can either view the songs with a 'play all' function or individually with or without the lyrics. The song selection includes: - "The Second Star to the Right" which runs for 1 minute 11 seconds. - "You Can Fly" which runs for 2 minutes 16 seconds. - "A Pirate's Life" which runs for 27 seconds. - "Following the Leader" which runs for 1 minute 23 seconds. - "Your Mother and Mine" which runs for 1 minute 34 seconds. Also on the disc is "Peter's Playful Prank" storybook this interactive feature enables you to check out a story read by Wendy about Peter and his prank on Captain Hook, you can view the feature as with a 'read-along' function or 'read-to-yourself'. Rounding out the extras on this disc are a collection of bonus trailers for: - "The Jungle Book" which runs for 1 minute 25 seconds. - "Meet the Robinsons" which runs for 2 minutes 28 seconds. - "Tinker Bell" which runs for 1 minute 5 seconds. - "Peter Pan: Return to Never Land" which runs for 1 minute 2 seconds. - "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey's Great Clubhouse Hunt" which runs for 41 seconds. - "Disney on Blu-Ray" spot which runs for 51 seconds. - "The Aristocasts" which runs for 1 minute 9 seconds. - "The Little Mermaid III" which runs for 59 seconds. - "Ratatouille" which runs for 1 minute 50 seconds. - "Disney Movie Rewards" which runs for 43 seconds. - "Disney Vacation Club" which runs for 32 seconds. DISC TWO: This second disc is broken up into three sections; they are 'music & more', 'games & activities' and finally 'backstage Disney'. Music & More features the following extras: A deleted song entitled "The Pirate Song" which runs for 1 minute 19 seconds. The song is preludes a scene of the Captain convincing some lost boys to be pirates and then the entire ship breaks out into song about the benefits of piracy. Next is "'Never Land': The Lost Song" a featurette that runs for 2 minutes 39 seconds, in this clip we take a look at the discovery of the lost song and the recording of it 67 years after it was written. Next in this section is a music video entitled "Never Land" performed by Paige O'Hara and runs for 3 minutes 15 seconds. This section is concluded with a second music video entitled "The Second Star to the Right" performed by T-Squad and runs for 2 minutes 57 seconds. Games & Activities features the following extras: "English Read-Along: Peter Pan" feature runs for 77 minutes 28 seconds, this is the entire film in storybook form with read-along markers at the bottom of the screen. "Camp Never Land: Train to Be a Lost Boy" includes 3 games: - "Smee's Soduko Challenge" which allows you to play in normal mode as well as 4x4 and 9x9 puzzles. - "Tarrrget Practice" where you learn to hit pirates and avoid your lost boy friends. - "Tink's Fantasy Flight" where you learn to fly. Backstage Disney is the final section of this DVD and features the following extras: "You Can Fly: The Making of Peter Pan" a featurette which runs for 15 minutes 59 seconds, in this clip we follow the creation of the character and the influence it had on Disney as a child and his efforts into making "Peter Pan" into a feature-length animated film, we also look at how the animated medium benefited the story as we go through the production process that was started in the mid 1930's and was halted by the outset of World War II and then was re-started after the war in 1947 as we follow the filmmakers through the process of casting, animating and the release of the film. Next up is "In Walt's Worlds: Why I Made Peter Pan" a featurette which runs for 7 minutes 44 seconds, this is a dramatic reenactment of an article published in April 1953 written by Walt about why he made the film and covers the inspiration the character had on his childhood and the challenges of bringing it to the screen. Following that is "Tinker Bell: A Fairy's Tale" featurette which runs for 8 minutes 27 seconds, here we take a look at the evolution of the Tinker Bell character from the ball of light in the original play to the live-action character in the 1924 silent film and the Disney incarnations of the character. "The Peter Pan That Almost Was" is a featurette that runs for 21 minutes 3 seconds and takes an interesting look at the development of the story and how that is often the most difficult aspect of the animated productions. Many films under Disney spend years in development and "Peter Pan" was one such film, in this clip we take a look at the various story ideas that were developed but never used. A collection of 9 art galleries are included on this disc that feature material from the Disney Vaults, many of which have never been seen before, this archive provides a wonderful reference to this film and it's characters. The galleries included are: - "Visual Development" which features 55 images of the development of various aspects of the film's production. - "David Hall Concept Art" which features 35 images of the art designer's work. - "Mary Blair Concept Art" features 38 images of her design work. - "Character Design" includes 5 sub-categories that include: - - "Peter Pan" which feature 18 images. - - "Tinker Bell" which feature 23 images. - - "Captain Hook" which features 23 images. - - "Wendy" which features 12 images. - - "Miscellaneous" which features 48 images. - "Storyboard Art" includes 59 images of storyboard created for the film. - "Layouts and Backgrounds" includes 49 images. - "Production Photos" includes 18 images. - "Live Action Reference" features 58 images. - "Publicity" features 27 images of posters and other materials. Next up is "The Peter Pan Story" a vintage featurette from 1952 that runs for 12 minutes 4 seconds, this clip looks at the art of storytelling and also the making of "Peter Pan" as an animated film through the Disney company. It takes a look at the planning of the story and preparing the film for animation as well as features some clips from the film at the end. Finally "Peter Pan's Virtual Flight" interactive feature rounds out the extras on this disc and you can choose to play this 2 minute 2 second clip with or without narration from Pan himself as we are taken on a tour of London and the landmarks of Neverland. A 3-panel booklet is included in the case and outlines the extras on these discs.
Overall
While this DVD is a vast improvement over the previous deleted single disc release, I'm still disappointed that a new feature-length documentary on the making of this film was not produced for this Platinum Edition release. Other than that minor gripe I'm generally pleased with the extras that have something for both adults who grew up with this film to kids with the inclusion of the games and activities.
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