Synopsis
It is World War II, and Wendy’s daughter Jane, living in a constantly bombed London, has given up on childhood dreams. Her disillusion ends when she is kidnapped by Captain Hook and brought to Never Land. The animation is in no way up to Disney’s current theatrical standard, but is leaps and bounds beyond other direct-to-video fare. The problem is, this WAS released theatrically. Anyway, the London sequences are nicely atmospheric, but things go rather flat and ordinary once we reach Never L…nd.
Audio
The 5.1 mix is crystalline in its clarity, with an absolutely terrific job done on the music. The sound effects are very strong too. The voices, though, are a bit of a disappointment. While not drowned out, exactly, they sound very weak and overwhelmed in the mix. Captain Hook especially suffers for this.
Video
Bright, vibrant colours are the order of the day here. Transfer-wise, the disc is flawless, except for one thing: the picture is presented in something called “family-friendly widescreen.” This means that the 1.85:1 theatrical ratio has been cropped to a compromise 1.66:1. How pointless.
Special Features
The menu’s main page is animated and scored, as are the transitions. The secondary pages are scored. The extras themselves are largely aimed at younger viewers: there’s a read-along story and an adventure game (that is much more involved and impressive than most DVD games). Even the introduction to the two deleted scenes takes this audience into account. The Jonatha Brooke featurette has her comments about the song “I’ll Try” followed by a performance. There are also trailers for 8 other Disney features, and a DVD-ROM sample of a computer game.
Closing Thoughts
Adults will likely be put off (as I was) by the mere concept of a sequel to Peter Pan, but the kids should like it. The “Rescue the Lost Boys” game should keep them busy for a while too.
Special Features List
- “Rescue the Lost Boys” Adventure Game
- Trailers
- Deleted Scenes
- Disney StoryTime
- DVD-ROM Features
