Why it is still worthwhile
‘Star Wars’
My first thought after the movie was that it held a loose Star Wars parallel. This mostly existed in the character relationships. Peter, Princess Tiger Lily, and Hook stand in for Luke, Princess Leia, and Han respectively. Obviously some of their names are kind of similar. Additionally, Tiger Lily is a sisterly figure for Peter, as Peter’s mother trained her. Finally, Hook and Tiger Lily initially have a sort of love-hate relationship, with lines between them even poorly imitated from Star Wars.
Crazy theory and the main reason I want a sequel: Blackbeard is Peter’s father. I may be imagining this a little to complete the Star Wars parallel, but it actually makes some sense. Peter’s father was a fairy prince who turned into a human to be with Peter’s mother, but a fairy in human form can only survive for one day. Blackbeard smokes pixie dust to stay young. However, I think it is possible that he is Peter’s father and has to smoke the pixie dust to stay alive. It never establishes whether people actually age in Neverland. Additionally, there could have been some deception describing Blackbeard’s history, to maintain this plot twist.
It is still fun!
Pan sacrificed story and character for visual effects. The visuals are more than a little extreme but some are fairly beautiful. Despite the dissimilarities to the source, Peter is a fun protagonist and the world has potential. There is little to no depth, but Pan is still very enjoyable, much more so than many other modern action/adventure movies.
Many problems that Pan had could be solved in a sequel. Unfortunately this will likely never happen due to the criticism, leaving a lot of questions unanswered. It still bugs me that I will likely never know if Blackbeard is Peter’s father. Additionally the main promise of Pan’s existence of how did Peter and Hook become enemies in this specific mythology is not fulfilled.
What can Disney learn
Peter Pan‘s mythology very delicate. Many of Disney’s other fairytales are based on oral storytelling told and adapted through many cultures. In contrast, J.M. Barrie created Peter Pan. It has a specific origin and when it strays too far it can feel like something totally different. Additionally, even though Peter Pan’s main theme is childhood, the story should not feel simplified. Peter Pan should be able to work on separate levels for both children and adults, not just candy-coated for children.
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