Toon Talk: Return to Neverland
Page 3 of 3

Unlike other such recent animated progeny as Mermaid II's Melody and Lion King II's Kiara, Jane is not just a simple reversal of her parent's personality, although it may appear so on the surface. A child forced to mature beyond their years by outside circumstances is a relatively untried path for Disney animation, and they successfully tackle it with sensitivity and a wise lack of shrillness. Jane is her own character, well-rounded and fully realized. And, like recent heroines Mulan and Atlantis: The Lost Empire's Princess Kida, she gets some action in as well, kicking some major pirate butt.

(c) Disney

Unlike the soaring tunes of the first film, Return to Neverland falters in the music department. Joel McNeely's score effectively evokes melodies from the original, but the songs can't escape their direct-to-video origins. Vocalist Jonatha Brooke provides a thin cover of "The Second Star to the Right" over the opening scene, as well as an "inner ballad" for Jane titled "I'll Try". This song tries vainly to be the next "When She Loved Me" (Toy Story 2), but it's message has already been established by the time the it's overly-contemporary sound plays over the soundtrack. And the less said about the strictly presentational Lost Boy song "So To Be One of Us" and the "where did this come from?" BBMak version of rock standard "Do You Believe in Magic" over the end credits, the better.

While it's low budget and "second generation" status cannot hope to achieve the pure wonder of the original's, the television-based animation is generally passable, even on the big screen. Extensive computer animation is used (most notably in the thrilling scene depicting Hook's escape from London), although less successfully integrated alongside the traditional animation, as would be expected.

From Mary Martin musicals to peanut butter, Peter Pan is a pop culture icon for the ages. A step above it's video sequel siblings, Return to Neverland is just the latest chapter in his flight.

Toon Talk Rating: B-

•  •  •

Toon Talk Trivia:

• Among the many working titles for this film were Peter Pan II and Peter and Jane.
• Blayne Weaver's Peter Pan can also be heard in House of Mouse.
• Corey Burton, Captain Hook here and in House of Mouse, is a Disney voice favorite, most recently as Moliere in Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Gus in the upcoming Cinderella II: Dreams Come True.
• Jeff Bennett, the voice of Smee, Starkey and Wibbles, includes in his credits Tramp, Jock and Trusty in Lady & the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure, Professor Porter in The Legend of Tarzan and Mr. Toad and Figment in House of Mouse.
• Kath Soucie (Wendy) voices two other Disney mothers, Perdita and Kanga in House of Mouse, the latter also in The Book of Pooh and The Tigger Movie.
• Spencer Breslin, voice of Lost Boy Cubby, made his film debut as the younger Bruce Willis in Disney's The Kid.
• The voice cast also includes such Disney veterans as Dan Castellaneta (Mullins), Jim Cummings (Turk) and Frank Welker (Nana II).

Toon In To The NEXT Toon Talk For...
You've seen the sequel, now revisit the original with the Special Edition DVD of Peter Pan.

Discuss It

• Discuss this review and the film on the LaughingPlace.com Discussion Boards

Related Links

• Return to Neverland official site
• Return to Neverland showtimes from IMDB.com
• Return to Neverland on IMDB.com
• List of all Toon Talk articles

-- Kirby C. Holt

-- Posted February 19, 2002