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Well, it's been done - a version of Peter Pan has been made that will set the standard for a generation. This is to the book what Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies are to the book that inspired them...a living film tribute to a story that transcends time and place. Enough good things cannot be said - seldom have I seen a film that had me fighting back tears virtually from the beginning. For starters, the physical look of the film is like an N.C. Wyeth painting - the sky is incredibly blue, the clouds lit by a sunrise you won't believe, etc. etc. It's one of the most artistically gorgeous films ever. The casting is absolutely flawless. Perfect Hook, Tink, Wendy, etc. etc. And Peter is great, just great. He lights up the screen. How lucky we are that they didn't just choose popular kid actors for the roles, instead of carefully casting it with types that are perfect for their characters. The script is the real winner, though. It's written in the same grand, formal prose of the book, and has not been dumbed down at all (a'la Disney, where no matter where you are in time, everyone speaks as though they're from 20th century LA). The characters speak with a literary force and gravity that pulls your mind out of the 20th century and puts it right into Neverland, where it should be. And best of all, there is a moral undergirding in the tale that is brought to the screen with real clarity. This is a profound movie on many levels, and is about a lot more than just growing up. It's about duty, courage, loyalty, love, family, but mostly I think it's about living life to its fullest, which means that when you get the chance to go to Neverland, you DON'T take it. You stay the course and become an adult. Sad in some ways, but in the end very happy for all concerned. Bravo.

Well, they've done it again. In the grand tradition of modern animated classics, they take wonderful stories from antiquity and staff them with people from suburban Los Angeles. This is a fun enough movie, my children enjoyed it, but it centers around a gaping plot hole (the "book of peace" - what is it? why does it have power?) that is never explained. We're just supposed to accept it and go on. The original Sinbad stories were at least relatively orthodox fantasy adventure tales. This is the product of the post modern mind, where magic books suffuse cities with some sort of magic nuclear radiation that not only powers their ecosystem, but imbues it with moral good as well. Okay. We'll grant them that one. The action is fast paced and fun, and every opportunity is taken to go (basically) surfing and snowboarding, just so the kids won't have to get too far outside their comfort zones. What saves the film, what makes it really worth the effort, is that evil is conquered not by good alone, but by the main character's dedication to what is right. In other words, they are saved not by faith alone, but also by works, which is an important lesson for children. Wealth and power are forsaken so that right can prevail. So with that in mind, it's worth a rental.

What makes this fun animated romp stand out is the humor. That may sound redundant, but it's one of the funniest animated films ever. The comedy is just top drawer. The evil protagonist is a hilarious Phyllis Diller type, with a hunky brainless boy toy, and the duo are hysterical. The supremely vain and uncaring emperor Cuzco is wonderful, personifying the phrase "let them eat cake." John Goodman is a great everyman in Pacha, the simple villager who is a tool of forces way beyond his comprehension, and while the assumption that someone like Cuzco could have been de-Grinchified by an adventure like this is a real stretch, it finally doesn't matter. The movie is so much fun that you just go with it, like a roller coaster. My complaint is that everyone speaks as though they are from 20th century Los Angeles. Nowhere do we get the impression that these are people from another time and place. If it weren't for the costumes, we would have no idea when or where it is. Turn your back and listen to the dialogue without watching the screen, and see very dramatically what I mean. I know, "it's just a movie!!", but this sort of thing matters whether we want to admit it or not.