Following the release of its first trailer on Tuesday, Disney’s “Peter Pan and Wendy” was heavily criticized on social media for its inclusion of female Lost Boy characters.
The initial teaser for Disney’s latest live-action adaptation seemed to follow the familiar plotline of J.M. Barrie’s classic tale until the characters arrived at Neverland. Upon encountering the Lost Boys, Wendy (portrayed by Ever Anderson) observed that they weren’t solely boys, deviating from the source material, according to Fox News.
“But you’re not all boys,” Wendy noted. “So?!” one of the girls replied.
Peter Pan is a beloved classic story from the early 20th century, written by the Scottish author. The story follows the adventures of the boy who would not grow up and his friends, the Lost Boys, as they explore the magical world of Neverland. Along the way, they encounter the villainous Captain Hook, a pirate bent on revenge, and the magical fairy Tinker Bell. The story is renowned for its themes of friendship, loyalty, and the power of imagination. It has been adapted into a number of different media, including multiple films, stage plays, and musicals.
The alteration to the original, century-old storyline captured the attention of numerous social media users, who criticized it as yet another effort by Disney to promote woke politics.
The first trailer for ‘PETER PAN & WENDY’ has been released.
The film releases on April 28 on Disney+ pic.twitter.com/ijkNrJ2304
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) February 28, 2023
“idc i WILL be streaming. just need them to take the girls out of the lost boys though i’m so sorry i’m all for girl power but the whole point of the lost boys is that they’ve never seen a girl before,” Twitter user stomprry wrote.
Another Twitter user kwaylewis commented, “Looks terrible. Hook looks bad, Tinkerbell isn’t Tink and the Lost Boys became girls now?”
The Forces of Light Entertainment channel noted, “The whole point of Wendy and Tinker Bell was to include girls in the appeal of Peter Pan. Lost ‘boys’ being girls is just stupid…Girls were already included in this world.”
YouTuber Jayne Theory observed: “The Lost BOYS are girls now, smh… And considering the rest, I’m genuinely surprised they didn’t just name the film ‘Wendy,’ at this point.”
“The diversity nonsense at Disney continues. Peter Pan is now Indian. Tinkerbell is black. The Lost Boys now have girls among them. Truly a reflection of the UK in 1911, exactly as JM Barrie envisioned,” writer Noble Brown tweeted.
The movie is set to premiere on the streaming platform Disney+ on April 28, according to Fox News.
The revision made to the 1953 animated film “Peter Pan” seems to be the most recent instance of a trend in which classic films, often from Disney, are being updated with “woke” themes in reboots and sequels. Fox News Digital reported that this was a contributing factor to Disney’s difficult financial month.
In February, Disney disclosed that it would be implementing a significant layoff, affecting over 7,000 workers, and reported a loss of 2.4 million subscribers to its streaming service. The company had previously encountered a slew of box office failures, such as “Lightyear” and “Strange World,” both of which integrated LGBTQ themes into their storylines.
