I'm so happy to find another Neverlander!!! What is the best adaptation of Peter Pan, in your opinion?
Hmmm…. that’s a hard question. I mean, obviously, as this blog is primarily dedicated to the Disney version, I’m partial to that particular retelling. But it does differ significantly from the book in places.
If by “best” you mean “closest to what Barrie was probably going for,” I think the 2003 film with Jason Isaacs as Hook and Jeremy Sumpter as Peter wins that one. It’s one of the few versions that seems to really hold onto the idea of Peter as innocent and Hook as sympathetic yet both characters as also dangerous at times—Peter because of his childish carelessness and Hook because of his jaded view of the world as an adult. That can be super hard to do well—especially when one of the actors is a child—but that film knocked it out of the park.
Also, I love that Rachel Hurdwood’s Wendy in the film is rebellious yet still maintains the sweetness and gentleness of the character. She’s not trying too hard to be all “girl power” like in Disney’s live-action Peter Pan & Wendy. She does sometimes need saving. But she also sometimes gets to be the one wielding a sword. Book Wendy is a bit more “proper Englishwoman” than this but she IS a force to be reckoned with who seems to be the only character who occasionally can call both Peter and Hook out on their nonsense and get away with it. Heck, she gives Hook such a withering look, he almost faints! And Rachel’s Wendy keeps that part of her and modernizes it just a little…but it also doesn’t take away anything from her softness and femininity. I like that.
