Thursday’s Tale: Pan (2015)

I know I said I was going with Irish tales, but we just saw Pan over the weekend. I had this ready to go yesterday, but apparently never got around to actually posting it.

Released October 9, 2015 by Warner Bros Pictures
Rating: PG
Directed by Joe Wright
Written by Jason Fuchs

During the London Blitz, a flying pirate ship from Neverland swoops out of the sky and snatches an orphanage full of boys, including 12-year-old Pan. The pirates, led by a maniacal Blackbeard, toss Pan in a pixie dust mine where he meets the future Captain Hook, now with two hands. They escape Blackbeard with the help of Indian princess Tiger Lily, who informs them of a prophecy in which Pan becomes a sort of superhero.

Alright, I’m going to be in the minority. I enjoyed Pan. It was a cute movie and I liked how it looked. It was kind of Cirque du Soleil/pirate fairy tale. I’m not saying it was necessarily a good movie, but it was fun. Of course, I’m not a fan of Barrie’s Peter Pan; I find it a bit creepy.

It’s not surprising that Pan, who of course does fulfill the prophecy defeats Blackbeard, along with Tiger Lily and Hook, who is his friend here, but there were some surprising moments in the film. When Pan arrives in Neverland, all the miners and pirates break into a chorus of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and when the natives are killed they burst into colors, like the kind at those color runs. Odd.

Honestly, I liked all the colors in the scenery and costumes and the ropes and jumping around and trampolines. I like the flying ships and the giant crocs. I like the new take on an old tale that I wasn’t actually fond of, even if the story-telling wasn’t all that great.

Thursday’s Tales is a weekly event here at Carol’s Notebook. Fairy tales, folktales, tall tales, even re-tellings, I love them all. Feel free to join in and leave your link the comments.