Peter Pan (1953)

Written by Milt Banta, et al.
Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, & Wilfred Jackson

There is a title card I’ve seen shown in front of cartoons and films from the 1940’s and 50’s, that are having a modern release. I’d like to take a moment to share. It reads:

“The cartoons you are about to see are products of their time. They may depict some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that were commonplace in American society. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. [...] these cartoons are being presented as they were originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed.”

This card actually comes from Warner Brothers, but I think it would be highly applicable to films in the Disney vault, as well. As I re-watched Peter Pan, for the first time in around 20 years, this quote came to mind very often, because there are a few depictions within the film that were wrong back when the film premiered, and still remain wrong.

Uhhh…

The sequences involving the “Indians” is so stereotypical, it’s painful to watch. From their language, to their design, it’s a portrayal that would never get approved today. I don’t generally find myself at a loss for words, but I do here. I know I am simply not the right person to attempt to discuss these decisions. I would welcome everyone’s thoughts on the topic.

Everyone Hates Wendy…

There’s another issue, in the portrayal of Wendy. Wendy is designed to be a sweet, smart, and trusting young girl (woman? The film starts to scratch the surface of that, but shies away without really tackling it). Unfortunately, every other character treats her like dirt, a detail I had no clue of way back when. Other versions of this story have delved into the relationship of Wendy and Peter (with the relationship being a symbolic metaphor of growing up), but the Peter in this version really couldn’t care less about her: he frequently ignores her, talks down to her, and only cares about what she thinks about him. Even the other females in the film down trod on her...Tinker Bell, of course, is extremely jealous of her, and even the mermaids are ruthless to her (at one point, one says, “We were only trying to drown her”...so much for female solidarity!).

You can fly! You can fly! You can flyyyyyyyy!

There are some good points about the film, too: musically, I’ve always liked the film (except for the Indians’ song), in particular “You Can Fly”, which I’ve always loved. And Captain Hook, as silly as he appears to be, actually can be quite chilling. His goofy side is played up (for the children), but there are definitely moments of malice that begin to reach Snow White’s Queen or Lady Tremaine levels of cruelty.

Peter Pan is a classic story, so it’s a no brainer that Disney would attempt to tackle it. Unfortunately, especially now, it struggles under the weight of the social changes that have occurred since its premiere, making this a somewhat uncomfortable entry into the Animated Classics canon.

FINAL GRADE: C+