Wendy (film)

Last updated

Wendy
Wendy poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Benh Zeitlin
Screenplay by
  • Benh Zeitlin
  • Eliza Zeitlin
Based on Peter Pan
by J. M. Barrie
Produced by
Starring
  • Devin France
  • Yashua Mack
  • Gage Naquin
  • Gavin Naquin
  • Ahmad Cage
  • Krzysztof Meyn
  • Romyri Ross
Cinematography Sturla Brandth Grøvlen
Edited byScott Cummings
Affonso Gonçalves
Music by Dan Romer
Benh Zeitlin
Production
companies
Distributed bySearchlight Pictures
Release dates
  • January 26, 2020 (2020-01-26)(Sundance)
  • February 28, 2020 (2020-02-28)(United States)
Running time
112 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6 million [2]
Box office$266,770 [3] [4]

Wendy is a 2020 American fantasy drama film directed by Benh Zeitlin, from a screenplay by Zeitlin and his sister Eliza Zeitlin. The film stars Devin France, Yashua Mack, Gage Naquin, Gavin Naquin, Ahmad Cage, Krzysztof Meyn, and Romyri Ross. It is intended to be a re-imagining of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan .

Contents

Wendy had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020 and was released on February 28, 2020 by Searchlight Pictures.

Plot

Wendy Darling lives in the rural South with her waitress mother Angela and twin brothers James and Douglas. Back when James and Douglas (Logan Jones and Luke Jones) were celebrating their seventh birthdays, their next-door neighbor and cousin Thomas Marshall storms outside (on discovering what his future will be) and disappears, with Wendy seeing him being lured into climbing aboard a passing train car by a hooded childlike figure. One night, when the children request a bedtime story, Angela tells them about her life and how she was forced to give up on her dreams in order to raise a family. Wendy wonders whether the same thing will happen to her.

The next night, as the train passes by their bedroom window, Wendy notices a boy riding on top of the train cars. The three children climb out of their window and join the boy, Peter, who takes them all to a tropical island with an active volcano, which Peter calls "Mother". The island is populated by other children, including their long-lost cousin Thomas, who has not aged a day in over seven years. Peter explains that Mother's spirit resides in the volcano and prevents the children from aging, so long as they believe in her. They later discover a large glowing fish, which is Mother's other form with Wendy then secretly coming across a dated photograph of a deceased family of islanders (in some sort of subterranean shrine decorated with paintings deep beneath a sea cave) that include Peter and concludes Mother must've saved him from a natural disaster (that killed the other islanders) and shared her powers with Peter making him ageless.

While exploring a capsized boat called the Mañana, Douglas injures his head and disappears from sight. The children search for him without success. Missing his twin brother, James withdraws emotionally and his right hand begins to show signs of age. James becomes afraid and asks Peter to cut the hand off lest he become old. Shocked and disgusted, Wendy pulls James away from the group and they explore the back of the island. They encounter a settlement of "Olds," children who lost faith in Mother and thus began to age normally. Among them is Buzzo, well known by the younger kids as being a former member of their group (who lost his faith in Mother when his best friend died). James, bitter at having to grow up without Douglas, rallies the group to kill and eat Mother's fish form in order to regain their youth. The Olds kidnap the children to use as bait for Mother and repurpose the Mañana as a fishing boat.

While evading the Olds, Wendy and Peter find Douglas alive. They swim to the Mañana, where they find the now elderly James, with a hook in place of his missing right hand. As Peter and Wendy rescue the children, James kills Mother with a harpoon. With Peter and the children mournful and the Olds disheartened, Wendy gets them to all start singing, which inspires Peter and revitalizes the volcano. Wendy and Douglas decide it is time for them to go home plus also bring Thomas back with them to give his family closure (along with two other tag along lost children). Knowing that he cannot go home, James stays to play with Peter as his new “enemy” Captain Hook, thereby allowing him to live out the rest of his days with the spirit of a child. Years later Wendy, now a mother herself, wakes to find her daughter Jane climbing aboard a passing train car with none other than Peter himself, still unchanged by time. Unable to keep up, Wendy comforts herself that Peter will look after her daughter and eventually return Jane back home to Wendy.

Cast

Production

In August 2015, it was announced Benh Zeitlin would write and direct the film. [5] Production began in March 2017, with filming taking place in Montserrat and Antigua. [6]

Release

In April 2018, Searchlight Pictures acquired the film’s rights. [7] It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020. [8] It was released on February 28, 2020. [9]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 42% based on 113 reviews, with an average rating of 5.70/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Wendy dares to do something different with its classic source material; unfortunately, the movie's breathtaking visuals are at odds with a flawed take on the story." [10] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Captain Hook</span> Fictional character

Captain James Hook is the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up and its various adaptations, in which he is Peter Pan's archenemy. The character is a pirate captain of the brig Jolly Roger. His two principal fears are the sight of his own blood and the crocodile who pursues him after having previously eaten Captain Hook's hand cut off by Pan. An iron hook that replaced his severed hand has given the pirate his name.

<i>Hook</i> (film) 1991 film by Steven Spielberg

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<i>Peter Pan</i> (2003 film) 2003 film directed by P. J. Hogan

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<i>Return to Never Land</i> 2002 American film

Return to Never Land is a 2002 animated adventure fantasy film produced by Disney MovieToons and Walt Disney Television Animation. A sequel to Walt Disney Feature Animation's 1953 film Peter Pan, the film follows Wendy's daughter, Jane, who is mistakenly abducted and brought to Neverland and must learn to believe in order to return home. The film stars the voices of Harriet Owen, Blayne Weaver, Corey Burton, Jeff Bennett, Kath Soucie, Spencer Breslin, and Bradley Pierce.

<i>Peter Pan</i> (1924 film) 1924 film by Herbert Brenon

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Lost Boys (<i>Peter Pan</i>) Fictional characters

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendy Darling</span> Character created by J.M. Barrie

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<i>Peter Pan in Scarlet</i> 2006 novel by Geraldine McCaughrea

Peter Pan in Scarlet is a 2006 novel by British author Geraldine McCaughrean. It is the official sequel to J. M. Barrie's Peter and Wendy (1911), as it was authorised by Great Ormond Street Hospital, which was granted all rights to the characters and original writings by Barrie in 1929. McCaughrean was selected in 2004 following a competition in which novelists were invited to submit a sample chapter and plot outline for a sequel. Set in 1926, the book continues the story of the Lost Boys, the Darling family, and Peter Pan, during the reign of George V and following World War I.

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<i>Peter and Wendy</i> Book and play by J. M. Barrie

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References

  1. ↑ "Wendy". Sundance Film Festival . Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  2. ↑ Kois, Dan (February 24, 2020). "Wendy Makes the Case for Studio Meddling". Slate . Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Wendy (2020)". The Numbers . Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Wendy (2020)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  5. ↑ Jagernauth, Kevin (August 6, 2015). "'Beasts Of The Southern Wild' Director Benh Zeitlin Gearing Up New Film 'Wendy'". IndieWire . Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  6. ↑ Sharf, Zack (March 2, 2017). "Benh Zeitlin May Finally Be Shooting His Follow-Up to 'Beasts of the Southern Wild' in the Caribbean". IndieWire . Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  7. ↑ Smythe, Rebecca (April 11, 2018). "FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES ANNOUNCES SEARCHLIGHT TELEVISION FOR BROADCAST, CABLE AND STREAMING". Fox Searchlight Pictures . Archived from the original on April 16, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ↑ Siegel, Tatiana (December 4, 2019). "Sundance Unveils Female-Powered Lineup Featuring Taylor Swift, Gloria Steinem, Abortion Road Trip Drama". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  9. ↑ Buchanan, Kyle (October 17, 2019). "Benh Zeitlin is back! It's been 84 years, etc". Twitter . Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Wendy (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Wendy Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
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