A few months ago we shared a trailer for a new film inspired by J. M. Barrie’s classic novel Peter Pan titled Wendy. What I saw in that trailer intrigued me, and I was lucky enough to catch a screening of it at the Sundance Film Festival.
Wendy is hands down, the best film that I’ve seen at the festival this year so far. It absolutely floored me with its incredible and unique take on the classic story. The film was wonderfully adventurous, and it was filled with so much heart and emotion. The last 20 minutes of the movie completely had my eyes welling up with tears.
While I was excited to see the film and had high hopes that it would be good, I wasn’t expecting what I got. It exceeded my expectations, and it tore into my heart and soul and filled them with pure joy and happiness. I was overwhelmingly wowed by what this movie delivered.
This film takes the best themes of the classic Peter Pan story and magnifies them. The themes of wanting to stay young, escaping your life, and also what it means to grow up. It’s was actually quite powerful and moving, especially with how they handled the consequences of giving in to grief, anger, and sadness and letting it consume you.
I loved that the story explores what happens to the lost boys when they actually start to lose themselves. I don’t wait to spoil anything for you, but the way it was handled was intriguing and added so much more weight to the story.
The movie is also a love letter to mothers. I won’t say how that all comes into play. But damn, if you love your mom, this movie is going to have you bawling by the end of the film. Family and love ends up being such a huge theme in this story.
I was completely engulfed by this film. I loved the deep south setting and vibe that the movie had. It was beautifully shot, and all of the young actors gave incredible and moving performances. I also loved how the characters they played were brought to life. Director Benh Zeitlin’s (Beast of the Southern Wild) vision and concept for the story was amazing and he managed to effectively pull it off.
This might be a bold statement for some, but in all seriousness, I think Wendy is the best imagining of Peter Pan that I’ve seen. I really hope that you all go see this movie when it’s released.
Here’s the synopsis that was shared for the film:
Wendy and her brothers come from a warm working family. Raised amongst dinner plates and diner patrons, the children have an itch for the adventurous and slightly mischievous. After long nights watching trains rattle by their bedroom window, the kids are whisked away by a mysterious boy named Peter. A long journey taken on faith lands them on Peter’s island. There they discover a wild new world, one without grown-ups and suspended in time. Reveling in their youthfulness and sprawling freedom satisfies the kids at first, but nostalgia for their lives left behind seeps in. When threats to their eternal childhood develop, Wendy is tasked with saving herself, her brothers, and the other island children with the most powerful tool she has: love for her family.
This adaptation of J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan is a reimagining of the classic tale in a scrappy, breathtaking new setting. Benh Zeitlin returns to directing for the first time since Beasts of the Southern Wild, which won the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.
