Peter Pan

The latest animated jewel in the Disney crown to be re-released in a DVD "special edition," this 1953 adaptation of J. M. Barrie's classic tale of a boy who refused to grow up was actually the first film to cast Peter Pan as a boy. Featuring striking aerial animation as Wendy, John, and Michael Darling wend their way over the city with Peter Pan and Tinker Bell enroute to Never Never Land, where they become involved with Peter's longstanding battle with the infamous Captain Hook, Peter Pan's musical soundtrack is not as strong as some of the other Disney classics, but does sport one well-known standout: "You Can Fly, You Can Fly, You Can Fly." While the DVD transfer is virtually identical to the 1999 "limited issue" release, the sound has been upgraded to Dolby Digital 5.1, and a number of extras have been added. A non-scene-specific audio commentary hosted by Roy Disney includes comments from critics (Disney buff Leonard Maltin), original cast members (Kathryn Beaumont, voice of Wendy), and animators (including Ward Kimball and Ollie Johnston), some of whom also appear on the two featurettes, "You Can Fly! The Making of Peter Pan" and "The Peter Pan Story." For children, there's also a DVD storybook--"Peter's Playful Prank"--and a pirate treasure hunt game. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman) [DVD Review—Mar. 6, 2007—Walt Disney, 2 discs 77 min., G, $29.99—Making its third appearance on DVD, 1953's Peter Pan (2-Disc Platinum Edition) boasts a great transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1sound. DVD extras include an audio commentary hosted by Roy Disney (featuring audio clips from critic Leonard Maltin, animator John Canemaker, and Walt Disney), a 21-minute featurette on 'The Peter Pan That Almost Was,' a 16-minute 'You Can Fly' making-of featurette, the 12-minute 1952 featurette 'The Peter Pan Story,' 'Tinker Bell: A Fairy's Tale' (9 min.), 'In Walt's Words: ‘Why I Made Peter Pan'' (8 min.), a featurette on 'Never Land: The Long Song' along with the music video performed by Paige O'Hara (6 min.), the three-minute deleted 'The Pirate Song,' a music video for 'The Second Star to the Right' performed by T-Squad (3 min.), 'Peter Pan's Virtual Flight' tour above the London skyline (2 min.), nine art galleries, three DVD games ('Smee's Sudoku Challenge,' 'Tarrrget Practice,' and 'Tink's Fantasy Flight'), a song selection feature, the DVD storybook 'Peter's Playful Prank,' and trailers. Bottom line: an excellent extras package for this Disney classic.] [Blu-ray/DVD Combo Review—June 12, 2018—Disney, 77 min., G, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $39.99—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1953’s Peter Pan features a fine transfer with DTS-HD 7.1 audio. Extras new to this release include the behind-the-scenes featurettes 'A Darling Conversation with Wendy & John: Kathryn Beaumont and Paul Collins' (8 min.), 'Stories from Walt's Office: Walt & Flight' (4 min.), a 'You Can Fly-Oke' sing-along (2 min.), a 'Never Smile at a Crocodile-Oke' sing-along (2 min.), and a bonus digital copy of the film. Extras carried over from previous releases include audio commentary hosted by Roy Disney (and featuring audio clips from critic Leonard Maltin, animator John Canemaker, and Walt Disney), a 'Growing Up with Nine Old Men' featurette on the legendary animator collective (41 min.), the behind-the-scenes featurette 'The Peter Pan That Almost Was' (21 min.), a 'You Can Fly' making-of featurette (16 min.), the 1952 featurette 'The Peter Pan Story' (12 min.), 'Tinker Bell: A Fairy’s Tale' (9 min.), 'In Walt’s Words: ‘Why I Made Peter Pan’' (8 min.), a featurette on 'Never Land: The Long Song' along with the music video performed by Paige O’Hara (6 min. total), the music video for 'Never Land' by O’Hara, deleted scenes (11 min.), three deleted songs ('Never Smile at a Crocodile,' 'The Boatswain Song,' and 'The Pirate Song'), and a song selection feature. Bottom line: if you don’t already own the Diamond edition of this Disney classic, this is the one to buy.]