Peter Pan

Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske, Peter Pan follows three siblings as they’re whisked away to a magical place called Never Land by the scrappy title creation. Filmmakers Geronimi, Jackson, and Luske offer up a somewhat erratic yet mostly engrossing adaptation that benefits from its impressively mesmerizing animation, as the movie, which runs an appropriately brisk 77 minutes, boasts eye-popping visuals that go a long way towards compensating for a narrative that’s perhaps not quite as consistent as one might’ve hoped. And while the various protagonists are well-developed, relatively, Peter Pan is generally at its best when focused on the exploits of Captain Hook – as the iconic villain remains a commanding, compelling presence from start to finish. (This is especially true of his dealings with certain periphery figures, including his dimwitted servant Smee and a tenacious, bloodthirsty crocodile.) By the time the satisfying closing stretch rolls around, Peter Pan has cemented its place as a solid piece of work that succeeds in spite of its poorly-conceived (read: racist) approach to its Native American characters.

*** out of ****