Lost on a mysterious island where aging and time have come unglued, Wendy must fight to save her family, her freedom, and the joyous spirit of youth from the deadly peril of growing up.
Fans of Peter Pan and Captain Hook will appreciate this castoff of youthful nomads seeking a lifetime of freedom through a ride on the only train that passes through youth and old age. Little Wendy (Devin France), who seems to have learned to crawl and walk on the tables of the restaurant that her mother co-owned and also lived in with her twin brothers James (Gavin Naquin) and Thomas (Krzysztof Meyn), always had wonderment in her eyes during the daily grind of adults that patronized the restaurant and seemed to have nowhere else to go in life. Her curiosity of what happened on the other side of the tracks was heightened by the disappearance of family friend Douglas (Gage Naquin), a little boy who jumped onto a moving train when his birthday celebration turned into the predetermined fate of his becoming a mop & broom man as opposed to his personal dream of becoming a pirate.
To fill the uneventful days, Wendy’s mother would gather the kids together and read them stories, yet she never had any real answers to their questions of what she really wanted out of life other than to make them good people. Wendy’s own determination to live a life of purpose was finally realized one day when she heard a small voice from the train and decided to challenge her brothers to follow it. Although she was much younger, the daredevil and her brothers jumped on the train where they would meet “Peter,” a young boy who had deemed himself nature’s child and who made himself appear joyfully optimistic about a future of unknown possibilities.
As their journey begins, they pick up other orphans along the way, and while Peter is always calling the shots, at times when they seem to operate out of fear, Peter encourages them by telling them that “Mother” will always take care of them. While the term mostly seems to be a figment of Peter’s imagination that comforts him in situations of uncertainty, over a period of time, the sea conjures up an enormously colorful, powerful and tentacled matriarch that appears to alleviate fear and coddle them through frustrating circumstances. Peter’s leadership, which is undeniably self-proclaimed, charters the kids through several adventures amongst fantasy islands where trust in one another becomes a necessity for survival. As Peter seeks to separate his emotions from his natural duty, he becomes conflicted, and Wendy’s own maternal nature and offer of friendship take a major role in the unbridled success of the wild adventurers. At a point, when the kids get in over their heads and sustain physical losses and emotional damage, they are determined that their youthfulness is their only hope. Near the end of their journey, they face a battle with an aged group of island misfits who have lost their sense of purpose and direction and have made the best of their dire straits with one another. A battle for power ensues and amongst the struggle, they realize that their fixation with “Mother” and youthfulness has become a threat to them all. In the end, Peter’s team suffers one huge gain, yet insurmountable losses that redirect the majority of the freedom seekers back to the original life they abandoned.
Director Behn Zeitlin, who also directed “Beasts of the Southern Wild” in 2012, does an excellent job of developing this film based on “Peter Pan” by J.M. Barrie. While there is excellent imagery that plays a major role in the telling of the story, there are a few disconnects through language and logic, that perhaps an older crowd would not be able to ignore. For children though, the sense of adventure and the element of the appeal of youthful innocence far outweigh any misgivings about its ability to entertain and connect with those who believe their youth and a mother’s love, in any form, is paramount to their existence.
Now available on Digital HD and VOD
