Peter Pan 2: Return to Never Land

Story

Many years have passed since Wendy (voiced by Kath Soucie) first met Peter Pan (voiced by Blayne Weaver), a boy who can fly and never grows up. As a young girl, Wendy had an amazing adventure with Peter. She travelled to Never Land, where she met Peter’s fairy friend, Tinker Bell; his companions, the Lost Boys; and his vindictive archenemy, Captain Hook. Since then, Wendy has grown up and got married. She now has 2 children of her own – Jane (voiced by Harriet Owen) and little Daniel (voiced by Andrew McDonough).

Wendy still believes in Peter Pan and often tells Jane and Daniel about his adventures. The stories of ‘faith, trust, and pixie dust’ distract Daniel from the terrors of World War II raging over London. Jane, however, feels that she’s too old for silly stories like this.

One night, Jane gets angry with her mother and upsets Daniel, telling him that Peter Pan isn’t real and their mother’s stories are ‘childish nonsense’. Jane gets a very big shock that night when Captain Hook (voiced by Corey Burton) flies his ship to London and kidnaps her. Hook believes Jane is Wendy and wants to use her to lure Peter Pan into a trap in Never Land.

Peter can outsmart Hook and get Jane to safety. But even seeing Peter, Tinker Bell and the Lost Boys in the flesh can’t convince Jane that they’re real. Instead, Jane thinks she must be dreaming. Little does she know that her grown-up rationality and doubts are having a fatal effect on Tinker Bell, whose light will go out forever unless Jane starts believing in fairies.

Without Tinker Bell’s pixie dust, Peter can’t fly and becomes an easy target for Hook. Will Jane be able to make things right, save Tinker Bell and Peter, and make it back home to apologise to Daniel and her mother?

Themes

Disney classic; musical; fantasy and imagination; growing up versus embracing childhood magic

Violence

Peter Pan 2: Return to Never Land has some mild violence. For example:

Equipped with swords and knives, Captain Hook and his crew kidnap Jane from her bedroom. They gag her and stuff her in a bag.
To provoke Peter, Captain Hook throws Jane overboard to drown or get eaten by a massive, kraken-like beast. He also fires gunshots and cannonballs at Peter and Jane.
Captain Hook knocks his assistant, Smee, unconscious because Smee annoys him.
Captain Hook captures Peter and the Lost Boys. He wants to kill them by getting them to walk the plank.
In the final showdown scene in Never Land, Peter, Jane and Hook all have several narrow escapes from serious harm or death.

Sexual references

There are no sexual references in Peter Pan 2: Return to Never Land.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

There’s no use of substances in Peter Pan 2: Return to Never Land.

Nudity and sexual activity

There’s no nudity and sexual activity in Peter Pan 2: Return to Never Land.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in Peter Pan 2: Return to Never Land.

Coarse language

There’s no coarse language in Peter Pan 2: Return to Never Land.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Peter Pan 2: Return to Never Land is the 2002 sequel to the 1953 Disney classic, Peter Pan, and stays true to the original Disney animation. The story is set several years after the original, focusing on Wendy’s sincere and practical daughter, Jane. Unlike her mother, Jane has serious doubts about whether Peter Pan and all the fantastic stories about him are real. Like the original, this movie offers families imaginative entertainment and the opportunity to discuss the central themes of faith, trust and belief in magic.

Although Peter Pan 2: Return to Never Land is less intense than the original movie, it does have some scary and violent themes. This is why we recommend parental guidance for a young audience.

The main message from this movie is that children should be allowed – and allow themselves – to be children and to live out their vivid fantasy and imaginative lives.

Values in Peter Pan 2: Return to Never Land that you could reinforce with your own children include fantasy, imagination, bravery, family and friendship.

Peter Pan 2: Return to Never Land could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the real-life consequences of the following behaviour:

Vindictiveness: Captain Hook is notorious for never winning. This is because he’s so blinded by his thirst for revenge that he’s always outsmarted.
Greed: Captain Hook’s crew are so driven by greed that they happily risk their lives to get their hands on the pirate treasure.