It's refreshing to see a cartoon that looks like a cartoon -- and a lovingly drawn one -- rather than a conglomeration of computer-generated bits and bytes.
This is surprisingly well done. I watched this when I was a kid back when I was watching the 1953 Peter Pan movie multiple times with my family, and it entertained me just as much as the original entertained me. It's just fun entertainment for people who loved the first movie, I sure loved both of them.
The low-key animation, featuring little that could not have appeared in its '50s predecessor, is all the more affecting for being so pristinely preserved.
It's no use expecting Return to Never Land to match, much less exceed, Disney's 1953 version of "Peter Pan," which by itself isn't quite in the uppermost tier of the studio's full-length cartoons.
All would be forgiven if Peter were worth believing in. Instead, the boy who wouldn't grow up comes off like a shrill, obnoxious little drip. Shrek should give him a right pounding.
Return to Never Land is a cheaply made, underachieving sequel, and is nowhere close to the original in any way. But, I suppose it'll make the little ones happy.
Despite having some charming moments, this sequel to the Disney classic just can't live up to what made the original such a great animated film to watch.
Return To Neverland isn't terrible, but it does fail on many levels, so can't be classed as a good sequel. The animation and the story were the redeeming qualities, but unfortunately the songs and the characters fall flat.
The animation is mostly bright and colourful, but falls flat in the dark backgrounds. The story wasn't bad either, trying to keep Hook from getting the treasure and everything. I also liked the war scene, because that was quite interesting on an animation perspective, and brought some intrigue on a contextual level. I was unimpressed by the trailer, but the film itself wasn't bad, but loses the charm about 15 minutes in. I will say it has a great message about cherishing your childhood.
The first problem was that the kidnapping scene took far too long, despite the breathtaking animation of Hook's ship, and I hated the change to Hook. In the original and the criminally underrated TV series Peter Pan and the Pirates, which are both classics, he is complex and vindictive, but here he was manipulative in a negative way, and lacked menace. The best character was Jane, but that isn't saying much, and Peter's new voice was horrible, too bolshy. The songs were terrible and forgettable immediately after you've finished watching the movie, likewise with the dialogue. The main problem was that it isn't a true sequel at all, compared to the first film and the book. And the octopus, why replace the crocodile may I ask?
I'm sorry that this is mostly negative, but Return To Neverland was very disappointing. Though better than the trailer suggested, it is still a pretty charmless film, with a 3/10(Adequate) Bethany Cox
This movie is made for children and is not well done for general audiences. The magic from the 1953 original is lost. The story is what I find to be most troublesome. If this is a continuation of the first one, shouldn't Peter Pan have Captain Hook's ship as he did steal it from him in the previous movie. Also, the little girl does not believe in fairies although she is staring one right in the face, kind of odd. Also the fact that I like Captain Hook's character a lot more than Peter Pan is not a good thing. In the end the poor animation, poor voices, and poor story all resulted in a terrible movie and a 27.6 out of 100.
Production Company
Walt Disney Pictures,
Disney Television Animation,
Disneytoon Studios,
Walt Disney Animation Australia,
Walt Disney Animation Canada