Disney is known for their fantastic classic animated films such as Bambi, Snow White, Pinocchio, and so on, but one of my all time favorites is Peter Pan. As a little boy I saw most of the films in the theater. We had a faux Mann’s Chinese Theater in San Bernardino for awhile that played all of the Disney films as they were released and re-released, and Peter Pan was one of the films I was able to see on the big screen as a child.

I recall as a little boy being fascinated with the idea that there was a place like Neverland where boys could go and live an infinite life of splendor where they could climb, fly, and run. They could be sword fighters and pranksters and enjoy a bonding of brotherhood with one another without parents telling you when to come inside because it was getting dark, or not to climb that knotty old tree in the front yard, in case you fell and got hurt. Peter Pan was the dream world myself, and most boys, longed for. Seeing it in its splendid Technicolor life was an amazing experience.

As time went by Peter saw releases on VHS, Beta, Laserdisc, DVD, and now Blu-Ray and digital. When I saw a copy of Peter on BD in my workload I was eager to watch it. Since I had reviewed both Pinocchio and Dumbo as they made their Blu-Ray debuts I knew Disney wasn’t going to let me down when it came to Picture Quality, and I was right. Peter has never looked more splendid.

PICTURE QUALITY:
The first thing you’ll notice about the picture quality is line definition. When we see Mr. and Mrs. Darling through separate windows with blinds half drawn, every thing is sectioned on an individual spectrum. The blinds are their own square, the windows on their own definition spectrum, even the contrast between the character shadows and their full color lower halves look magnificent. When we get characters in full picture they stand out 3D from the background with everything from small play blocks to the boys swords acutely detailed on their edges. Color is vibrant, but not overwhelming like some remastered pictures in animated cartoons sometimes tend to be. Grain is mostly absent aside from when characters are before overwhelmingly large backdrops, such as when the boys are flying in Neverland before the islands forest. Still, what little grain and lack of matching high quality definition on up close objects there is, it’s hardly noticeable in the grand scheme of things.

What also makes this release so fantastic is the sound quality. You have your standard 5.1 mix, your Disney Enhanced 5.1 mix, and then you have your high quality 7.1 DTS-HD MA. The film has never sounded better.

BONUS FEATURES:
~Disney Intermission: Press Pause and See What Happens.
~Intro by Diane Disney Miller
~Two Never Before Seen Deleted Scenes and Two Deleted Songs
~Growing Up With Nine Old Men: The tale of the 9 animators who worked with Walt Disney through the companies golden age, as told by their descendents.
~Commentary From Roy Disney
~Classic DVD Bonus Features: All the old bonus stuff from previous releases are located here.
~Sing Along Feature
~Artwork on sidebars: If you dislike the black bars on the sides of the film adjust your television to have the picture fit the screen (if your TV has that option) or use this feature to fill in the side bars with artwork.
~DVD/BD/Digital Copy
~Storybook App