Disney just dropped a new trailer for the upcoming Peter Pan & Wendy, and it’s a close up of one of the story’s most famous characters: Tinker Bell. The clip gives us the closest glimpse we’ve had yet at the iconic fairy, played by Yara Shahidi.
We start on a close up of Tink blowing some fairy dust on Wendy (Ever Anderson) as she sleeps, giving her the ability to float. (Have to be honest here, children’s stories can sound a lot like drug stories). One of the boys snags Tinker Bell, then Wendy crashes to the ground, and we’re off.
For anyone wondering, this iteration of Tinker Bell, unlike Julia Roberts’ version from the 1991 classic Hook, does not speak. She communicates through gestures well enough that she gets the point across, though. Peter Pan himself also appears, played by Alexander Molony in his film debut. Take a look below.
This is the latest version of a classic story that Disney released in 1953 simply as Peter Pan. In case you were raised by wolves in a cave, here’s the forthcoming film’s synopsis:
“Disney’s Peter Pan & Wendy is a live-action reimagining of the J.M. Barrie novel and the 1953 animated classic. The film introduces Wendy Darling, a young girl afraid to leave her childhood home behind, who meets Peter Pan, a boy who refuses to grow up. Alongside her brothers and a tiny fairy, Tinker Bell, she travels with Peter to the magical world of Never Land. There, she encounters an evil pirate captain, Captain Hook, and embarks on a thrilling and dangerous adventure that will change her life forever.”
The film features some marquee actors; Jude Law steps into the Captain Hook role, and comedian Jim Gaffigan plays his trusty assistant Smee. Shahidi, a Black Iranian-American, has been the focus of some pushback because her version of the character is (gasp!) not white.
The casting diversity, she said, goes past only “swapping out ethnicities. It’s about telling a story that feels reflective of the times that we’re in. I think every change was extremely intentional.”
The show also cast the character of Tiger Lily with Alyssa Wapanatâhk, who “hails from the Bigstone Cree Nation,” although Disney has clarified that “Tiger Lily and the Neverland tribe are still intended to be the Indigenous people of Neverland, not an actual Cree community.”
The original 1953 clearly demonstrates how much society has changed in terms of what’s considered socially acceptable. For example, there was a song called “What Makes the Red Man Red.” It’s just as awful as you’re imagining.
Peter Pan & Wendy starts streaming on April 28 on Disney Plus.
Published: Apr 21, 2023 03:16 pm