‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ trailer sparks Disney nostalgia with live-action update of animated classic
By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN
The trailer for Disney’s “Peter Pan & Wendy” — based on the Mouse House’s 1953 animated classic “Peter Pan” — dropped on Tuesday, and it certainly presents a movie that looks far more inclusive than past retellings of the original J.M. Barrie tale.
“But you’re not all boys,” Ever Anderson’s Wendy Darling says to a group of kids in Neverland who tell her they’re the “Lost Boys” in the clip.
Those kids are, in fact, not all boys. Two girls then appear on screen to respond to Wendy’s observation with a simple and spirited, “So!?”
“Blackish” star Yara Shahidi is also seen in the trailer as Tinker Bell, Peter’s fairy friend who accompanies him and the Darlings through Neverland. Shahidi is the first Black woman to portray the tiny fairy on screen.
The movie also stars Alexander Molony in his feature film debut as Peter Pan, and Jude Law as a very creepy-looking Captain Hook, who is seen in the trailer sporting his signature hook, red coat and twisted mustache as he asks Wendy, “Where is Peter Pan?”
The trailer shows all of the classic figures from the ’53 film, including the Darlings’ beloved dog Nana and a faithful representation of John Darling (Joshua Pickering) in his top hat and rounded spectacles.
An aerial view of the mermaids shimmering and splashing in the sea beneath Wendy and her brothers, who are soaring the skies above, is shown in the trailer. And Tiger Lily, played by Alyssa Wapanatâhk, is seen telling Wendy, “Hold the past in your heart, but where you go from here is up to you.”
From the 1991 cult classic “Hook” starring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman and Julia Roberts to NBC’s 2014 “Peter Pan Live” telecast starring Allison Williams and the 2015 “Pan” film, Peter Pan and Wendy’s adventure is a story that’s been previously visualized on screen in countless ways.
The new “Peter Pan & Wendy” presents an inclusive version of the classic tale, one that blends Pan’s fantasy world into a landscape for today.
“Peter Pan & Wendy” will begin streaming on Disney+ on April 28.
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