When you look up to the sky and notice the second star to the right gleams brighter than the rest of the heavenly beings you know there must be other signs of other life. You’ve heard of the tales of mermaids, pirates and Indians; you’ve even heard of the boy who would never grow old. But what if what you’ve heard is not all that there is? What if the story had another story? What if the story that you’ve always known wasn’t the beginning at all? What if the story you’ve always known is actually the middle?
The Story
PAN takes a turn from the classic story written by British playwright, J.M. Barrie. Unlike Finding Neverland, this new adaptation of the tale takes pleasure in using poetic licence to shed light to how Peter Pan became Peter Pan. Keeping the orphan theme, we begin with a desperate mother (Amanda Seyfried) trying to keep her son safe from “The War”. Using either of World Wars as a backdrop for another war that was being waged in a parallel universe – i.e. Neverland – we’re taken from our known world into the enchanted land where time is suspended and belief is the bedrock of your capabilities.
We see a young James Hook (Garrett Hedlund) struggling to find a way back to our world since he was enslaved by the evil (addition) of the fair, yet merciless Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman). We get a background story of how the lost boys happen to be in Neverland – both by choice and through slavery, as well as a feistier and ageless Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara).
Roles and Casting
Now the reason why I’m doing this section differently is because Jason Fuchs only uses Barrie’s characters and setting. He created his own story by reviving classic characters who’ve touched the lives of many children across the world.
Levi Miller is a sassy Pan. Miller completely captures Pan’s playfulness and childishness in this adaptation retaining Barrie’s magical touch. But Fuchs’s Pan also sees Miller portraying Peter’s identity crisis of being “just Peter” and “the one” they call “Pan”. Miller did a great job balancing child-like playfulness with the more mature emotions that come with attempting to understand honourable sacrifice rather than being defeated by reckless abandonment.
Garrett Hedlund had the heavier weight of attempting to create a fellow hero out of the iconic one-handed villain. Channelling his inner Indiana Jones, Hedlund creates a suave and over confident Hook who uses his charms and bravado to hide his cowardice. His role was to distract audiences from the old narrative to bring them into Fuchs’s “long before” notion. There are traces of the beloved villain, but it was interesting to see not just Fuchs’s recreation, but also Hedlund’s interpretation of Hook’s own identity crisis in a land where anything is possible through “thinking ‘happy thoughts’”.
The more interesting additions are Blackbeard and Tiger Lily.
Although Tiger Lily has always been part of the story, she’s always seen as Peter’s playmate and Wendy’s competition. In saying that, Fuchs’s portrayal sees Rooney Mara step up and be less of the damsel in distress that the Disney animation portrayed her to be, but rather depicted her as a warrior princess. Mara isn’t just a badass, she is also Pan’s guide to unlocking his potential. Poetic licence takes control as Mara and Hedlund share touching moments of “flirting”, extended gazing and awkward sentence finishing. In this tale, Tiger Lily and Hook seem more inclined to be attracted to one another than the suggested Tiger Lily and Pan combo that we’ve always known.
Blackbeard’s addition to the story was the most interesting rewrite in this film and Hugh Jackman is brilliant as always. But I thought the integration of the two myths was a little overdone. It’s not that Jackman wasn’t great – and I’m always proud of our Aussie representatives – but I’m a bookworm, which means I like sticking to the story as much as possible. I felt like the addition of Blackbeard was just an excuse to make this a pirate movie rather than a Peter Pan movie. By adding Blackbeard, Fuchs gave much of the plot to a character that isn’t even in the original story, meaning original characters had to give way to a single character who had to be weaved into the story. Like I said, I love Hugh Jackman, but you can’t name a movie “PAN” if it’s not even about Peter Pan. The majority of this film was about keeping a boy who “might be or might not be” Pan away from Blackbeard.
Special Effects
Regardless of what I think about the rewrite, I thought the creation of Neverland was amazing. From the ships to the crocodiles, the mermaids to the fairies, but what I loved the most was the memory tree and Mermaid Lagoon’s mystical waters. I loved that the lines in the stump of the tree and the bubbles animated the flashbacks. The special effects team get two thumbs up from me!
Music and Soundtrack
This department also gets a special mention for their addition of Nirvana’s, Smells Like Teen Spirit as a play on words for our first introduction in Neverland. The integration of popular culture for the sake of making a point was top notch! Well-done team!
Overall…it’s a good film, not the one you’re used to or remember, but it’s one that you will laugh at and appreciate. If you like the original story, watch this film with an open mind. If you’re looking for a new adventure, this is for you. No age limits, like J.M. Barrie intended, this film is for anyone wanting to escape to Neverland.
Star Rating: ★★★
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