Mouse Extra

Yesterday saw the release of Peter Pan onto a 2-disc “Platinum Edition” DVD.  For those wondering if it is worth buying a film you may already have on an old VHS tape, it is.  This DVD is terrific.

The film is restored wonderfully.  It looks great and it sounds great.  But you probably already know about the film, so there’s no need to go into that.  What makes this set worth owning is the extra disc that is loaded with better-than-expected bonus features. 

There is a 15 minute making-of documentary entitled “You Can Fly”.  This has appeal for any Disney fan.  It traces a history of Walt’s interest in the Peter Pan story all the way to his childhood, when he saw it on stage.  You learn that Walt and his animators actually began working on the film in the late 1930’s, going through a creatively exhaustive process of developing the story they wanted to tell.  Through it all you see some rare shots of the original storyboard drawings, and interview footage with the people involved in bringing it to life, like Margaret Kerry (model for Tinker Bell), Marc Davis (who animated Tink), and Frank Thomas (the animator for Captain Hook).  Their stories, combined with interviews from people like Leonard Maltin, leave you wishing it was longer.

But the real gem is a piece called “In Walt’s Words; Why I Made Peter Pan”.  It is a dramatic reading of an article he wrote for a magazine after the film’s release.  Walt admits that Peter Pan was his second favorite fairytale character growing up, next to Snow White.  He tells of how he saw it at a traveling stage show as a kid, and then talks about his attempt to play Peter as a boy in a school play.  The punch line comes when Walt explains how they tied him to a rope and hoisted him up over the stage to make him fly, only to have the rope break and Walt come crashing into the audience.  He also walks us through the entire process of making the film, and explains how the animated medium offered the filmmakers the ability to tell the story in ways that live action never could.

For Tinker Bell fans there is a segment called “Tinker Bell; A Fairy’s Tale”, which is a whimsical look at the life and times of the famous pixie.  It talks about Tink’s development through books, stage and screen and includes more footage of Marc Davis and Margaret Kerry.  This short documentary also discusses the lasting effect that Davis’ Tink has had on the Disney Company, and even shows how she inspired other great Disney characters like the Little Mermaid’s Aerial. 

The last bonus feature I’d like to point out is a piece called “The Peter Pan That Almost Was”.  This takes us through all the different story ideas the creators had during the long process of conceptualizing the film.  There are different endings, scenes that never made it, and how each character evolved into what they became on screen.  It’s all told with rare, and some never-before-seen, storyboard drawings.  It’s a fascinating peak into the creative process during Disney’s golden age.

There are other features as well, games, music, etc.  They all combine to make a truly terrific DVD that any Disney addict will be glued to.  Peter Pan is not my favorite film, so I was a bit skeptical to say the least, but this set delivers.