Peter Pan & Wendy debuted on Disney+ today and it is already dividing critics and audiences. The film, which is the latest live-action remake from Disney, is a retelling of the classic J.M. Barrie story that was originally adapted into the animated feature Peter Pan in 1953. This outing – which was directed by Pete’s Dragon 2016’s David Lowery – stars Jude Law as Captain Hook, Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell, Alexander Molony as Peter Pan, and Ever Anderson as Wendy Darling.
Rotten Tomatoes is currently aggregating critic reviews, which dropped at the same time as the Peter Pan & Wendy release today. While the score has fluctuated as more reviews are added, it currently stands at 70 percent. It seems more than likely that the film will end up with a fresh rating on the service, but audiences sharply disagree with critics, giving it a consistently rotten score that has currently has a 34 percent.
Why Audiences Aren’t Liking Peter Pan & Wendy
There are quite a few reasons that various audience members have cited for their dislike of the new live-action film. Firstly, like any modern remake with a commitment to diversity, the Peter Pan & Wendy cast has drawn the ire of some individuals who want the characters not to change along race and gender lines. Some are spamming the film with negative reviews either because the cast includes non-white actors such as Peter Pan and Tinker Bell or because there are some girls included in The Lost Boys.
However, the bulk of the negative reviews are coming from people who simply didn’t like the film for one reason or another. Some are arguing that there are too many adaptations of Peter Pan on the screen, the stage, and the page for this rather straightforward remake to stand out. It has also been less than a decade since the notorious flop Pan in 2015, and the property has yet to be truly redeemed in the public eye since then as far as live-action film goes.
Peter Pan & Wendy may very well grow in audience esteem as more reviews come in during its first week of streaming. However, these early reviews are likely coming from those who were the most excited to see it and thus committed to watching it the morning that it debuted. It seems unlikely that those who don’t feel the need to rush and check out the film will like it any better, despite what critics are saying.
