Product Description
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Neverland reveals the never-before-told story of how Peter Pan
became the Boy Who Never Grew Up. It's an enthralling fantasy
adventure for all of the family, starring Rhys Ifans, Anna Friel,
Charles Dance, Bob Hoskins, with Charlie Rowe as Peter and Keira
Knightley as the voice of Tinker Bell.
It's 1906 and young ragamuffin Peter (Rowe) and his gang of
pickpockets earn their keep by committing robberies for crooked
fencing instructor Jimmy (Ifans). Hired by the enigmatic Richard
Fludd (Dance) to steal a mysterious orb from an antiques shop,
Jimmy involves Peter and his friends, little knowing that the
sphere acts as a gateway to another world. When the orb is
accidentally activated during the robbery, Peter looks on as
Jimmy and the boys are transported to the magical realm of
Neverland. Confronting Fludd, Peter finds his own way to
Neverland, but discovers that Jimmy and the boys have already
been captured by pirates, led by the beautiful but ruthless
Captain Elizabeth Bonny (Friel).
Meanwhile, Peter is saved from a swarm of angry 'Tree Spirits' by
a group of Kaw Indians who reveal that they've been in Neverland
for hundreds of years and have never aged a day. Onboard the
pirate ship Jolly Roger, Jimmy finds himself drawn to Bonny and
her maniacal plans for ruling Neverland. Desperate to get her
hands on the powerful 'mineral dust' that gives the Tree Spirits
their power, Bonny plots against the Kaws who protect the magical
creatures from harm. Peter sets out to save his friends and find
a way back to London, but discovers that his beloved mentor Jimmy
has been much changed by Bonny's malign influence. As Bonny's
cruel methods cut a swathe of destruction through Neverland,
Peter finds his loyalty to the increasingly unhinged Jimmy tested
as a remarkable series of events set him on the path to becoming
the Boy Who Never Grew Up.
This two-part Peter Pan prequel features thrilling action and a
superb A-list cast. Directed by Willing, the visionary film-maker
behind miniseries Alice and Tin Man, Neverland explores the
origins of classic characters like Peter Pan and Captain Hook and
the very nature of the world created by author JM Barrie. Also
featuring Knightley as the voice of Tinkerbell and Hoskins as
Smee, a character he first played in Steven Spielberg's Hook,
Neverland is a star-studded family spectacular brought to the
screen with imagination and verve.
.co.uk Review
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Back in 1991, Steven Spielberg came something of a cropper when
he dug into the story of Peter Pan, and tried to establish what
happened once everyone had grown up. Neverland has a lot more
luck going the other way, though. It sets its story before the
well known adventures of Peter Pan, and tries to find out just
how he became who he was.
To do this, it moves the story back to the start of the 20th
Century, and crucially, pulls in a really impressive cast. Writer
and director Nick Willing has brought together Charlie Rowe as
Peter, along with Bob Hoskins as Smee--reprising the role he
played in the aforementioned Hook. Then there's Anna Friel,
Charles Dance, Keira Knightley voicing Tinkerbell, and Rhys Ifans
stealing any scene he's let near as James Hook. It's Ifans who
you long to see as much of on the screen, and Neverland doesn't
disappoint. He does the role proud.
This release sees the original mini-series brought together in
one, and it's all the better for it. It's a rollicking adventure,
with its ambitions firmly in entertaining a family audience.
What's particularly impressive is that it finds interesting
things to do with a bunch of characters familiar to most, if not
all, of us to some extent. And, more than that, that familiarity
adds to the fun. An excellent family adventure, with good, broad
appeal. --Jon Foster