Walt Disney's beloved 1953 classic, PETER PAN, one of three films featuring "The Nine Old Men" as directing animators, gets the full digital restoration treatment with this two-disc Platinum Edition that streets March 6, 2007 (Walt Disney Home Ent., $29.99). As with BAMBI and other subsequent Platinum editions, the original Technicolor negatives were scanned, registered and cleaned, providing unprecedented sharpness, clarity and vibrancy for home entertainment viewing.
Bonus features include "The PETER PAN That Almost Was," which takes a look at some of the ideas that never made it into the final cut, such as an alternate opening that starts in Never Land with Peter making his way to London to "kidnap" a mother for the Lost Boys. It's hosted by Ron Clements and John Musker and makes great use of original sketches and other images from the Disney Archives. There are also two abandoned songs: "Never Land" originally written as a lyric in 1940 and recently composed by Disney legend Richard M. Sherman and performed by Paige O'Hara; and "Pirates Song," a predecessor to "A Pirate's Life," presented for the first time using original artwork and the original demo recording from the '40s. Roy Disney hosts a commentary track that also includes audio clips from Leonard Maltin, John Canemaker and Walt himself. Speaking of Walt, there's a marvelous segment titled "In Walt's Words: Why I Made PETER PAN," based on an article written by Disney in April, 1953, for the magazine BRIEF, and read by a narrator.
Other highlights include:
* "Camp Never Land": Explore Never Land with all-new multi-level games* "The PETER PAN Story:" 1952 featurette* Sneak Peek of the all-new TINKER BELL movie* "You Can Fly: The Making of PETER PAN"* T-Squad music video: "The Second Star to the Right"* PETER PAN virtual flight
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
