Is It Woke?: ‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ 

I should know better than to read movie review aggregators, but I wanted to confirm my suspicion that some people hated the new movie Peter Pan and Wendy, Disney’s imaginative and melancholy live-action reinvention of the beloved Peter Pan story, and I was right.

These sites famously pit critics against “audiences,” usually a small and dedicated clique of conservative-leaning culture warriors. Usually, there is a chasm between the movie’s critics and the trolls, the latter being driven chiefly by political grievances. So it wasn’t surprising to learn that on one of those sites, 63% of critics gave Peter Pan and Wendy a thumbs up, and a whopping 87% of non-critics–mostly online rage junkies–flipped the flick a middle finger.

This dramatic gulf between reviewers and internet users existed on other aggregators, too. 

Why do these digital hordes despise this perfectly delightful, if moody, kid’s flick? The comments tell the story: endless anonymous bullies complaining about “wokeness.” The word “woke” is used so much in the comments sections I began to wonder how many of those negative posts were written by world famous moral crusader, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. I assume the man has dozens of fake usernames and burner accounts.

I knew the moment a mixed-race Pater Pan flew through the famous window of the Darling family’s nursery that the internet would get carpet bombed with the word “woke.” And it’s true, Peter Pan and Wendy is woke.

And it is woke by design. Peter Pan And Wendy is a respectful but not entirely faithful adaptation of JM Barrie’s classic 1904 children’s book and Disney’s timeless 1953 animated movie. 

(Good news for DeSantis: the famous, and wholesome, 1954 musical version of Peter Pan starred a grown woman as the title character, and that tradition continued for decades. Luckily, for anti-woke scolds, there isn’t any drag in 2023’s update.)

“Why do these digital hordes despise this perfectly delightful, if moody, kid’s flick? The comments tell the story: endless anonymous bullies complaining about ‘wokeness.’ The word ‘woke’ is used so much in the comments sections I began to wonder how many of those negative posts were written by world famous moral crusader, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida.”

But unlike other big-screen versions like Spielberg’s raucous, high-concept Hook from 1991 or 2015’s gritty train wreck Pan, Peter Pan and Wendy is more or less at peace with its source material, even though problematic Native American stereotype Tiger Lilly is reimagined as a serene and formidable hero who deserves her own spinoff. Alyssa Wapanatâhk is excellent as Peter Pan’s longtime ally. 

And yet, there are still cutthroat pirates, crocodile attacks, and, of course, Tinkerbell, played by Yara Shahidi, who manages to give the tiny character a big heart. Neither John’s top hat nor Michael’s Teddy Bear are forgotten, either. 

Peter Pan and Wendy is directed by David Lowery, a sensitive and sophisticated filmmaker whose best work are grounded fantasies, like 2021’s Green Knight, a lush and hallucinatory Arthurian potion that mixes John Boorman’s sexy Excalibur with Scorcese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. It was one of the best movies of that year, a trippy exploration of myth and masculinity that demands repeat viewings. 

He’s also no stranger to reinventing Disney properties: his 2016 adaptation of the 1977 movie Pete’s Dragon is a mellow, tender story about the unlikely friendship between an orphan and a dragon. And that movie was woke, too. A rare recent Hollywood flick about environmentalism that isn’t a disaster picture. 

Lowery tweaks Pan’s canon, first by aging Wendy up a bit and turning her into a girl with one foot in childhood and another in young adulthood and then by turning the volume up on Captain Hook’s PTSD. As Hook, Jude Law is greasy and needy and not nearly as much fun as the character can be, but this choice reflects Lowery’s overall toned-down interpretation. Law’s Hook is a study in resentments. His Hook would himself at home on Twitter.

Ever Ever Anderson’s Wendy is full of warmth and wisdom. The happy thought that sends her flying is a series of memories stretching from childhood to a distant future, where she is a happy and satisfied old woman. It’s a lovely moment. Alexander Molony’s Pan is sullen and serious, but you would be too if you were a twelve-year old leading a ragtag army of lost boys in an eternal battle with pirates. Jim Gaffigan is a sweet surprise as an especially mothering Smee, Hook’s trusted second in command.

Most significantly, Lowery and co-screenwriter Toby Halbrooks give Hook and Pan a backstory that I won’t spoil, but I thought their relationship was quite touching. 

The movie also isn’t as vibrantly colorful as either the cartoon or any subsequent reboot. Lowery chooses muted, Earthy tones, especially when the adventure moves to Neverland, a rocky, green island in the middle of a cold sea. If I didn’t know any better, the Oscar-nominated drama The Banshees of Inisherin was shot there, or vice versa. Lowery’s visual realism makes the more fantastical elements pop. 

This is my favorite of the Disney remakes, which is, on the whole, a tiresome genre that was midwife into existence by greedy Disney executives. As a rule, I avoid these movies, with their stunt celebrity casting and dreary, wall-to-wall CGI, but Peter Pan and Wendy is charming and inspired and, most surprisingly, original. 

Lowery understands the assignment. Like his Wendy, he has one foot in the past, and one in the moment. He knows Peter Pan has always been English, and I’m not talking about today’s sad post-Brexit island nation full of lads and bankers and Dr. Who fans. I’m talking about the mighty British Empire, a wildly successful and wholly racist enterprise that, when Barrie first wrote his book, was still chugging along. The United Kingdom has never what we would call woke, and it doesn’t have to be. I love Peter Pan, despite its late imperial vibes and embarrassing portrayal of Native Americans. 

But it’s also valuable IP that needs occasional renovations to make it attractive to modern children addicted to a constant supply of new, shiny things. Peter Pan and Wendy feels fresh and new but it’s still very much the story of a boy who wouldn’t grow up. 

Just, you know, woke. Which is to say, open-minded. 

Disney is a multinational entertainment conglomerate that wants to make unimaginable sums of money by appealing to new and growing audiences, which is one reason Peter Pan and Wendy stars all kinds of young, talented performers, including 15-year-old Noah Matthews Matofsky, the first actor with Down Syndrome to appear in a Disney movie. 

The movie wants to reach parents and kids from different backgrounds who want movies that reflect their pluralistic realities and values. But I want to be clear: Disney also wants to make a buck. These two ideas are not opposed to one another. In fact, they harmonize quite nicely. 

Unfortunately, there isn’t much money in making children’s movies for angry old men, and that is an economic reality that won’t change, no matter how anonymous reviews are written by creeps upset that the world is changing. 

So, Is Peter Pan and Wendy Woke? 

Evidence For: Like Steven Spielberg’s Hook, Peter Pan and Wendy is woke. After all, both movies featured characters from different racial backgrounds. Peter Pan and Wendy is also full of the stuff that infuriates YouTube buffoons like Wendy knowing how to sword fight or a pair of girls calling themselves Lost Boys. 

Evidence Against: Fussy conservatives should be pleased to learn Peter Pan and Wendy is still very much about traditional heterosexual relationships. It also retains its inherent mischievous boyishness, despite this movie’s openness toward Wendy’s journey. There is plenty of violence, too, including an execution, which should make a few Republicans happy.

Final Judgement: If wokeness was pixie dust, then Peter Pan and Wendy would be covered with it. Which is partly why the movie soars.

John DeVore is a sensitive and thoughtful writer living in New Woke City. His favorite movie is Fiddler On The Roof, followed by Hellraiser. Follow his politically-correct narcissism on Twitter.