Return to Neverland

LA Weekly F. X. Feeney

Cleverly structured, fast-paced, funny, even moving.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

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.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

It's certainly a lot more charming than the last attempt at a Peter Pan sequel, Steven Spielberg's star-laden, ham-fisted "Hook."

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

A Saturday afternoon stop for the kiddies -- harmless, skillful and aimed at grade schoolers.

Boston Globe Loren King

Reliable, standard Disney animated fare, with enough creative energy and wit to entertain all ages.

Washington Post Sarah Kaufman

A soon-to-be-5-year-old who accompanied me hated the scary parts but loved the mischievous Lost Boys and the big orange octopus that takes over from the ticking crocodile in menacing Hook.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Even if you tap only a little of the magic of "Peter Pan," you'll come away with some pixie dust.

Village Voice Ed Park

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.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

If Return to Never Land -- doesn't have a story to match the original's in breadth and imagination, it does a smooth job of recycling its characters and themes.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

There's always something to look at (an octopus holding his eyeballs aloft, the petulant Jane assaulted by pixie dust), but the story is weak tea.

Miami Herald Christine Dolen

As handsome and playful as the movie often is, it's another example of the let's-further-exploit-a-hit genre.

Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder

Takes us to familiar lands but without any of the original's magic.

USA Today Claudia Puig

This follow-up seems so similar to the 1953 Disney classic that it makes one long for a geriatric Peter.

San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann

This is pleasant, safe entertainment that ought to appeal to kids younger than 10, especially to girls, with its female-empowerment fantasy.

Los Angeles Times Gene Seymour

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.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Ragged and frenetic.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak

Not only did it not engage the adults, its lackluster story line didn't spread much illusion or magic over the kids in the audience either.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

It's neither the fulfillment of our worst fears nor the surprise of the week.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Represents a passable follow-up to the venerable Peter Pan story and mercifully, at 72 minutes, is exactly half the length of the last attempt at same, Steven Spielberg's lamentable "Hook."

New Times (L.A.) Robert Wilonsky

Little more than direct-to-vid nonsense offered by Disney at dollars on the penny to parents looking to waste time and money keeping kids occupied away from the TV screen.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

The story itself is uninteresting, and the songs are painfully undistinguished.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jason Anderson

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.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

You may want to wait and watch "Never Land" the way it was meant to be seen -- as a straight-to-video baby-sitter.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

The film crawls to a halt, its pace further marred by anemic, time-wasting pop songs. Even at 72 minutes, Never Land feels padded, while the animators make Never Land so unmagical that war-torn London seems preferable by comparison.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

Grossly unimaginative.

Film Threat Michael Dequina

More criminal than the lack of inspiration in Return to Never Land is the absence of a sense of magic.