Product Details

• Actors: Harriet Owen, Blayne Weaver, Corey Burton, Jeff Bennett, Kath Soucie
• Directors: Robin Budd, Donovan Cook
• Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: August 20, 2002
• Run Time: 72 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (107 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JKX3
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,790 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Unlike Disney's other sequels to their classic films, this follow-up to the 1953 version of Peter Pan debuted in theaters. World War II has turned Wendy's preteen daughter, Jane, into a realist, a girl who insists there's no need for stories and fun while London is crumbling. Hook kidnaps Jane (thinking she's Wendy) and returns to "the second star to the right" to foil Pan. Alas, the film doesn't build on this new story line (the London scenes have the most emotional impact), and what follows is a thin reworking of the original. On the plus side, a clever octopus takes over from that old crocodile, and Jane turns out to be a solid--and modern--role model. Those from ages 4 to 9 who have been brought up on the original should enjoy these adventures, even if the story, like Peter himself, "hasn't grown up." The 72-minute film is shown with the delightful 1948 short "Pluto's Fledgling." --Doug Thomas

Product Description

The magical enchantment of Peter Pan is back in RETURN TO NEVER LAND, "a charming successor to the classic" (Julie Washington, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland). Moviegoers of all ages were dazzled by this all-new adventure full of as much fun, fantasy, and flight as the original! Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, Captain Hook, and Smee return -- and you'll meet Jane, Wendy's skeptical daughter, who has outgrown her mother's childhood tales of Peter Pan. Jane no longer believes in magic or fairy tales. But when Captain Hook's pirate ship swoops down upon London and carries Jane off to Never Land, her imagination is set free by Peter Pan himself! The crafty pirate sets a trap for Peter Pan and Tink and only Jane can help. It is up to her to call upon "faith, trust, and pixie dust" to take flight to save Peter and all of Never Land. Featuring marvelous animation, all-new music, and high-flying adventure from start to finish, RETURN TO NEVER LAND is fantastic Disney fun for the young and young at heart. You'll want to return to Never Land again and again!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great kids movie - was it really made by Disney?, February 24, 2003

By	R. Sheffield "rsheffield" (Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Return to Never Land (DVD)

I have three children - ages 6, 4 and 2. I will be reviewing this movie from their perspective, not that of an adults. They really enjoyed the movie. Since they are not professional cartoonist, they did not care about the quality of the drawings. If anything, the 'old style' cartoon movie (similar to the first Peter Pan) kept the feel of the first movie. If they had used too many computer graphics, it would not have flowed well from the first movie. My children also liked the story. It was exciting, but not scary - even for the youngest. Each of the characters was reasonably developed, although Jane is the focus of the movie. She is Wendy's daughter, and Peter gets a supporting role in the plot. Hook is back and is mean without being frightening. Even the octopus, Hook's tormentor, is pretty tame. As for the quality of the music, my kids liked it and even asked for the soundtrack. (It is OK, but mostly instrumental takes from the movie. There are three good songs on it though...) Finally, some reviewers have critiqued the voices and complained they are not exact matches for the first Peter Pan. If you know him personally, then you might have a complaint. You have also grown-up way too much to ever enjoy this movie. (Go see the Exorcist or something!) Unless you have gone to bed every night since the 50's listening to Peter, you will not notice anything different on the voices. From a child's perspective, you won't be thinking of such things anyway. The story deals with typical Neverland topics: growing up, the pressures of being a kid, and the battle between carefree youth and grumpy people. By the way, this is all done without making adults or parents out to be the bad guys. The pace of the movie is great, keeping the kid's interest and being long enough to take them on a meaningful adventure without exhausting their attention span.

The best part of the movie is the end when Peter takes the kids home and is reunited with Wendy. It is a great scene and one that brings back memories of the first movie's magic to both young and old. I know my kids loved it. I thought this movie did not strike me as a lot of Disney movies do these days - shallow, trashy and money driven. This is a 1950's style Disney film, not the crud they also release these days with cussing, stupid adults and not too subtle adult themes.

My kids thought this movie was great and a real clean story. Appreciate a kid's movie through their eyes, not an adult's, and you will escape to Neverland with your children enjoying the trip along the way!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Content not included, June 17, 2002

By	Andrew Dobson "AKA 'Tom Preston" (Bloomington, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Return to Never Land (DVD)

There have been numerous Peter Pan movies, several of which take place AFTER the original story ("Hook" being the best rendition so far). However, Disney, with it's Direct to video roll, for some odd reason, decided to put this one on the big screen!

As an animator myself i can honestly say that this is far below disney's usual standard. The animaton is stiff and akward. The voices of the characters are not even remotely close to the original (especially the lost boys) and Peter Pan himself comes across as nothing more than a brat without his charm that has made him such a beloved icon.

Disney is also 'getting with the times' and instead of confrunting and trying to debunk the horrible stereotyped "injuns," the indian camp looks more like they were wiped out and aren't even mentioned in the movie, just to be safe.

As for the story, it had a lot going for it. The material was all there, it's just a shame the writers just took whatever came by first. Jane is non-empathetic, and her transition from wanting to grow up to being a kid is very downplayed.

This film is much more lighter than the original Peter Pan which was rather dark in places. The worse that happens in this is Peter Pan is thrown 5 feet to the deck of a ship. ow.

I must give them credit though for the ending. Peter and Wendy's reuniting was something i thought they wouldn't even bother with because it was too dissapointing, but they were somehow able to put a light spin on it. good job disney! at least you're not completely out of ideas yet!

Granted kids will enjoy it for there is enough potty humor to keep them entertained, but parents might suffer seeing their beloved childhood memories dashed into bits.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I thought this would be junky..., August 13, 2003

By	CBug (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Return to Never Land (DVD)

...but it is actually very nice! I usually hate Disney sequels because they are cheesy and ruin the first film. We usually stay away from movies that say on the cover, "All new feature-length adventure", because that's a sure sign of a cheapo sequel. That's what I was expecting when we got this movie, but I was impressed with the computer animation, the soundtrack and with the way Disney tried hard to get actors that sounded very much like the ones in the first movie. The one thing I didn't like though was the lack of indians! They didn't even mention the word "indian". Sure, they showed the camp, but it was as empty as a ghost town. Oh well.
This is a good movie for the younger group, although the adults will probably enjoy it as well.