Return to Never Land DVD Review
Posted by Ryan Byers on 01.05.2008
If I bought this for my kids, it would quickly receive a return to the video store.
The Disney direct-to-DVD sequel phenomenon is an odd one. It began in 1994 and has produced no fewer than forty animated films, the vast majority of which have failed to make a lasting impact on audiences despite generally being popular with children. Apparently they're not popular with other folks, as Disney recently announced that the line will be discontinued in 2008 once two movies currently in production are completed and released. However, before the line died, it gave us 2002's Return to Never Land, which was originally intended to go straight to DVD before ultimately being granted a theatrical release. I have no clue why this movie of all movies was deemed fit for theaters, but we'll get to that in a minute.
The plot is based primarily on Disney's 1953 Peter Pan film and tangentially draws some inspiration from the later chapters of Peter and Wendy, the 1911 novel written by J.M. Barrie, the creator of the Pan mythos. We join Wendy Darling, the girl who flew off to Never Land in the original picture, in 1940. She is now an adult and married with two children, Daniel and Jane. World War II is ongoing, though unfortunately the German invasion of England is not made in to a larger plot point. I would've loved for this movie to actually be Peter Pan vs. The Nazis. Anyway, the most important result of the war for the purposes of this story is that it has made young Jane grow up too quickly, as she's forgotten what being a child actually means. All of this begins to change when a flying pirate ship abducts her and whisks her off to Never Land. Of course, the ship is pirated by none other than Captain James T. Hook, who has mistaken Jane for Wendy and wishes to use her as bait in a trap to catch Pan.
Naturally, Jane is rescued from the pirate's pointy, metallic clutches by Peter rather quickly, and thus begins her introduction to Never Land. She is less than impressed, though, and only concerned with returning home. The young lady is unfortunately prevented from doing this by the fact that she cannot fly, a problem which is caused by her lack of belief in all things magical. This lack of belief also leads to Tinker Bell teetering on the verge of death, as one "I don't believe in fairies!" from Jane is apparently enough to put the sprite in grave danger. This is the case despite the fact that there are at least six other people in the room who do believe in fairies, which I guess would help to explain why there are so few of the creatures flying around. Jane storms out of Pan's den not long after this incident, where she runs in to a scheming Captain Hook. He promises to return Jane to her home if she helps him to retrieve his treasure, which Pan has stolen. Jane agrees, although in the process of tracking down the loot she actually comes to enjoy her time with Peter and his band of Lost Boys. As such, she decides to not alert Hook to the location of his gold, but the Captain is inadvertently tipped off and soon captures the entire Lost Boy crew. Ultimately, Jane revives Tinker Bell and aids her in freeing Hook's captives. Slap on a reunion between Jane and her family, and you've got a fairly by-the-numbers Disney affair.
The main thing that struck me about this movie was the length. Minus the closing credits (which go on seemingly forever), the feature clocks in at a grand total of sixty-five minutes. Though I understand that kids these days have increasingly shorter attention spans, I have to say that the time allotted for the film was not nearly enough to effectively tell the stories that needed to be told. Between Jane's discovery of Never Land, her growth from an adult-like child to one who can appreciate fun and games, Tinker Bell's near death experience, and various battles with Captain Hook, there is simply far too much crammed in to the picture. Because so much is going on, very little leaves a lasting impression, which in turn makes the movie feel like something that was generated for the sake of making a quick buck as opposed to maintaining the standard of Disney's classics. Though members of the movie's intended audience will likely enjoy it, it's the sort of movie that will provide them with an hour's diversion, not the sort that will create cherished childhood memories.
Special Features
Pixie Previews: This is a series of three teaser trailers for Disney's upcoming direct-to-DVD movie Tinker Bell, which is scheduled to be released later this year. At ninety seconds apiece, there's not much to comment on. However, I will say that it appears the quality of the film's CGI animation is a far cry from that of other recent Disney movies.
Deleted Scenes: There are two deleted scenes on the disc, both of which are literally seconds long and serve more as an explanation of the animation process to the uninitiated than anything else. It was interesting to see just how close to finished some work on an animated feature gets before the decision is made to cut it.
Quest for the Light DVD Game: This is your standard children's DVD game, primarily based on matching and trivia questions.
All in all, I was surprised by the lack of bonus features on the disc compared to other Disney DVDs that I have reviewed here on 411. It was doubly surprising given the length of the movie, as a feature this short would leave plenty of room on the disc for extra material.
The 411: Many adult fans of Disney movies have been critical of the sequels to classic films released in recent years, claiming that they cheapen their fond memories of the originals. I initially thought that these individuals were getting too worked up about what are essentially kids' movies, but, after watching Return to Never Land, I see their point. Absolutely nothing about this movie stuck out as being on the level of the classic children's entertainment from the studio's golden period. If your own young ones have seen the original Peter Pan and are absolutely fanatical about the movie, then you may want to consider purchasing Return to Neverland so that they can continue to enjoy the franchise. Outside of that scenario, I see no reason to pick up this DVD. There are numerous Disney releases which provide greater content, both in terms of quality and quantity.
