Peter Pan
Acceptable with guidance. Age: 7+. A Catholic review of this movie for parents.
Our review
Peter Pan is a boy who never grows up. He takes Wendy and her brothers flying to Neverland, where they meet pirates, mermaids and the mean Captain Hook. It is exciting, but Wendy sees that a place with no mothers is a lonely place. She chooses to go home and grow up. The flying and the pirate fights still delight, and Wendy's song about mothers is the truest thing in it. The film also draws its Native characters as crude stereotypes, uses slurs, and shows children smoking a pipe. Greydanus scores it morally neutral. Show it with a parent in the room and name what is wrong.
For parents
G, but Common Sense Media says seven and up and flags the film for its portrayals. Greydanus at Decent Films says Kids & Up and warns of mild swashbuckling action and exaggerated American Indian stereotypes. Things to know: Common Sense Media calls the violence very frequent. Hook shoots a pirate, threatens to slit throats, makes children walk the plank and tries to kill Peter with a bomb. The Native characters have red skin and exaggerated features, and Common Sense Media logs the words 'Red Man,' 'savages,' 'redskins,' 'Injuns' and 'squaw.' The Chief passes a pipe and the children smoke it. Pirates smoke cigars and drink from a jug. Lines include 'Girls talk too much!' Common Sense Media logs that one mermaid appears covered only by her hair, that Wendy offers to show Peter what a kiss is and he backs away, and that the girls all want Peter's attention and grow jealous of one another. Wikipedia says the jealous Tinker Bell tricks the Lost Boys into shooting Wendy down and later gives away Peter's hideout to Hook. Ask: why does Wendy want to go home? What is wrong with how the film shows the Indians? Is never growing up really a good thing?