More Embarrassment For Disney As Peter Pan & Wendy Fail

Peter Pan & Wendy is officially out on Disney Plus. To say that the movie’s reception has been underwhelming would be an understatement. While critics received the film slightly better, most agree that Peter Pan & Wendy failed to impress. While everyone knows that critic scores are not the most accurate, it still gives a fascinating insight into what people think. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has a critical score of 67%. The Audience score, on the other hand, is much worse.

With a score of only 20% among fans, it paints a dark picture of what most people think. I reviewed the critic and audience scores to understand why this movie failed. In most cases, the reasons for not liking the movie are vastly different. One thing that did surprise me was the honesty of the so-called professional reviewers. Usually, they would gobble up a film like this. However, this time, many mainstream outlets were a lot more ruthless.

It was more refreshing to see. However, as I dug deeper into why some critics disliked the movie, it became clear that the reasons behind the criticism were a bit more sinister.

Why Reviewers Hate Peter Pan & Wendy

No matter what, Peter Pan & Wendy was doomed to fail from the start. Most critics slamming the movie agree on one thing. The main plot of the film needed to change more. Most expected David Lowery to significantly alter the movie’s plot. Right now, we are living in an age of remakes. Every classic and not-so-classic is getting a reboot, not wanting to be outdone. Disney has been at the forefront of this new trend.

Regarding remakes, there has always been a rigorous debate about respecting the source material. By this point, you have heard of the term reimagining or updating for a modern audience. When you hear those terms, it is usually a good idea to turn around and run as far away as possible. Those terms typically mean we will use the name of the IP while changing everything about what made the original great.

For some reason, critics seem to gobble this type of thing up. The more they deviate from the source material, the more they fall in love with a movie or Series. Now, there is a debate about adding to the existing source material. However, the changes that critics demand are usually more of a social and political nature. For this movie, critics acknowledge that some significant changes were made to the film—however, more than those changes were needed. Most were expecting an even bigger spin to the movie. Since they did not deviate far enough, critics are unhappy with the film.

Why Fans Hate Peter Pan & Wendy

While critics did not like Peter Pan & Wendy, fans felt even more strongly. As always, though, there is a massive gap in terms of how the critics think and how the audience thinks. Most of the fan critique for this movie revolved around the changes that were made. While critics believe they did not make enough changes to the movie, fans think they went too far. From the beginning, most did not like that the film was called Peter Pan & Wendy. Since 1953, it has always been a Peter Pan story. Wendy, on the other hand, is more of a side character.

In all fairness, plenty of Peter Pan characters have received their shine over the last few decades. Tinkerbell, to her credit, has received plenty of standalone movies. Captain Hook himself shines without Peter. Giving Wendy that same opportunity is a good idea. How you execute it, though, is a whole different story. In addition, there are other changes that fans did not like. The lost boys are no longer boys; they are now a much more diverse group that portrays much more inclusivity.

While critics loved this change, fans thought it was an empty pandering gesture designed to cater only to the woke. The difference did not bother me. The movie is guilty of far worse sins in terms of storytelling. This movie could have captured Disney’s magic. The time sad and depressing was used a lot to describe the film. Peter Pan & Wendy has a slow pace, and the story’s main plot feels like something other than a Disney child story.

Peter Pan & Wendy Was Always Going To Fail

In all fairness, Peter Pan & Wendy never stood a chance. No matter what direction they chose to go in, the movie was always going to fail. In the eyes of many, the movie deviated too far away from the original work. For others, the film needed to go farther. Unfortunately, Disney was in a very unwinnable position. Books, movies, Series, nothing is safe anymore. For many, classic IPs should stay in the past. For others, there is always room to improve past work.

Adding to a classic story’s lore can lead to great things. However, it only works for stories with extensive plots. You must also have enough respect for the original work to add your spin. Theoretically, it can work for novels such as Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter. Sometimes, the execution will be excellent, and people will love the new spin on things. Other times, the changes will make no sense, and people will hate it. Based on my observation, things usually work out when the original cast or writers are involved.

People love shows like Cobra Kai on Netflix. They do a great job telling a new story while staying true to the original. People also enjoyed the Chucky Series. However, shows like Rings of Power and even The Witcher have been blasted. Shows like The Mandalorian, at least in the first few seasons, did a great job telling an all-new Star Wars story. If executed properly, there is room for retellings, extensions, and new stories to existing lore.

Conclusion

The problem right now is that these remakes are happening too often. Twilight is getting a remake. Harry Potter is getting a remake. Hollywood no longer wants to take chances on new IPs. Disney is particularly guilty of this. Almost all of their future projects are remakes. While there can be a certain level of excitement in seeing a classic from the ’70s or 80s getting modernized, all of that excitement is now dead. I was incredibly excited about a new Gremlins movie a few years ago and equally enthusiastic about the news of a fresh Beatle Juice.

The word remake terrifies me. Unfortunately, this is a trend that will be going nowhere.