Metacritic reviews

With Peter Pan & Wendy, Lowery shows there’s nothing wrong with sticking close to the text, as long as you bring some new identity to the story and give the audience a reason to care about seeing this story once more. With both Pete’s Dragon and Peter Pan & Wendy, Lowery has shown the correct way to tell a time-honored story once more.

While Peter Pan & Wendy is clipped and uneven in a way that prevents it from reaching the same heights as the director’s previous Disney project, this spirited fairy tale is still able to take flight for one simple reason: It maintains the courage of its own convictions.

It’s not at all surprising that Peter Pan & Wendy, which Lowery co-wrote with Toby Halbrooks, feels effortless and joyful. The filmmaker clearly has an affinity for the material, and seeks to bring some of the depth of understanding that adulthood affords to the story. While the results are a little uneven narratively, the breathless action, stellar performances, and beautiful compositions carry the story to rousing heights.

On its own, Peter Pan & Wendy is enjoyable enough. But that too is a low bar, and considering that David Lowery has already made Disney's one truly great remake, it's perhaps logical that he wouldn't hit another home run. It's good that he tries, even if this isn't quite successful enough to clear the fence.

Infused with bounding energy but little meaningful invention, it climbs to only modest heights, weighed down by its inability to add much to the iconic legend.

Lowery’s film mostly plays it safe, only slightly remixing the beats we know a little too well, wrapping them up in a pretty enough package that will get tossed aside and forgotten about once opened. It’s by no means the rockiest trip we’ve taken to Neverland but let’s all pray it’s the last.

Sadly, you can make the case that this is one of the better “bedtime story” versions of this tale, as it’s perfunctory enough to be sleep-inducing.

These well-meaning choices struggle to cohere into a satisfying picture.

Where “Peter Pan” was a phenomenon, this straight-to-streaming version is but a shadow, scampering off and trying to have fun on its own.

Not unlike other studios’ Peter Pan interpretations, like Steven Spielberg’s Hook, P.J. Hogan’s Peter Pan, Joe Wright’s Pan, and Benh Zeitlin’s Wendy, Lowery’s version does just enough to make it his own. However, with no real laughs, no genuine thrills, and no memorable scenes, its legacy will soon be forgotten.