Peter Pan 2003, The Majestic 2000, Anastasia 1997, A Little Princess 1994, The Vow 2012, and Hook 1991
One word to perfectly sum up these batch of movies is that it's quite simply moving. It reaches into your own soul and makes you think about how much you cherish your own memories and loved ones. The lineup also poses as a lightweight tearjerker given certain situations in movies such as A Little Princess and The Vow. The use of Peter Pan and Hook is to give everything a feeling of coming full circle with Pan shown as a young boy in love with Wendy and returning to Neverland at an older age when his children are kidnapped by Captain Hook seeking vengeance for his loss to Pan. Hook is the perfect finish for this marathon because it takes all the emotions of the previous movies to it's highest point and leaves a climax that is worth cheering for. The first movie of the night is the 2003 critically acclaimed live action adaptation of the Disney classic titled Peter Pan. Based on J.M Barrie's legendary play, the story centers around a young Windy Darling and her siblings receiving a visit from Peter Pan, who ends up taking the children on a trip to Neverland. When arriving at Never land, they are placed in an ongoing war between the lost boys and the evil Pirate Captain Hook played brilliantly by Jason Isaacs. Peter Pan as a live action film works nicely because it manages to capture the spirit and imagination of the cartoon, along with placing greater emphasis on the relationship between Peter Pan and Wendy which ends nicely and picks up with Hook.
The second movie of the lineup is the 1997 blockbuster animated classic titled Anastasia starring Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Christopher Lloyd, Kelsey Grammer, and Hank Azaria in a loosely historical tale of a young woman being used by two con men as a way of getting enriched by having her claim to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia, the last surviving member of the Romanov family executed in July 1918. The two con men voiced by Cusack and Grammer attempt to have the young woman be identified by Anastasia's grandmother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna in exchange for the millions of dollars being offered for the discovery of the real Anastasia last seen at a train station in the film when the Winter Palace in St. Petersberg went under siege. Anastasia is a remake of the 1956 classic starring Yul Brynner and Ingrid Bergman of the same storyline and winner of an academy award for best actress. Anastasia is a great addition to this marathon because it's essentially the story of a young girl finding a way back to her grandmother whose the only family she has left, while at the same time rediscovering her past and destiny. The film is loosely based off the real life story of Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed to be Anastasia until DNA tests proved otherwise in the 1990s. The film was nominated for two academy awards including best song and best music.
The third movie in the marathon is Alfonso Cuaron's outstanding remake in 1994 titled A Little Princess. Based on the Shirley Temple classic, the story centers around a young girl named Sarah Crew who is sent by her father to an all girls rich school while he goes off to fight during the first World War. When her father goes missing and is presumed dead, the schools harsh head mistress forces Sarah into servitude while her father is found with no memory of anything that happened in the past prior to his discovery. Through the help of a spiritual Indian man in Sarah's life, he uses his magic to draw a path where Sarah and her father find a way back to each other. A Little Princess is a fantastic remake of the 1939 classic which started Shirley Temple and centered around the same premise. The film makes the journey of Sarah Crew more personal and the visuals more stunning with two academy award nominations going toward Best Cinematography and Best Art-Set Decoration. The film flopped at the box office but received unanimous critical acclaim upon it's theatrical release and paved way for Cuaron to direct future projects such as Great Expectations 1998, Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, Yu Tu Mama Tambien, Children Of Men, and Gravity.
The fourth movie of the marathon is Frank Darabont's The Majestic starring Jim Carrey in his first dramatic performance as a blacklisted Hollywood writer in 1951 who gets into a car accident shortly after being accused of being a member of the communist party during the Paul McCarthy era. While recovering from the accident, he loses his memory and settles down in a small town where he is mistaken both as a long-lost son and long-lost lover. The Majestic didn't receive the critical acclaim that Darabont's earlier films such as Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile received but it retains much of the sentimentality and heart of those films in it's story. Jim Carrey's dramatic turn is totally believable and makes it a tragedy that he didn't continue to pursue more dramatic roles in his career besides Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. Nevertheless, the story remains inspiring as one man strives to fit in with the small town community while slowly trying to rediscover his past.
The fifth movie of the marathon is the Nicholas Sparks book turned movie titled The Vow starring Rachael McAdams, Channing Tatum, Jessica Lange, and Sam Neil. After a car accident, a young woman named Pahe is placed into a coma where she awakens with no memory of her past life nor her husband named Leo who fights to win back her heart as an ex lover moves back into the picture. As Leo fights to get his wife back, he has to contend with her overbearing and controlling parents who wants Page back so she can fulfill their wishes of her living a life of their standards. The Vow is perhaps the most intimate and personal movie of the lineup with a man fighting to save his marriage and start from scratch on why they fell in love in the first place. The scenes where the two go out on dates and do personal things together sink into the heart of tonight's theme.
The sixth and final movie of the marathon brings it all full circle with the epic finale directed by Steven Spielberg. Nominated for 5 academy awards and a box office smash in the winter of 1991, the film Hook starring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, and Bob Hoskins centers around a grown up Peter Pan whose overweight, a workaholic, and gives little attention to his children suddenly finding himself traveling back to Neverland to save his children from being kidnapped by the now vengeful Captain James Hook played by Dustin Hoffman. Hook brings it all full circle back to where the marathon began with Peter Pan and is a powerful story of a man remembering who he once was as a child, and why he quit being Pan in the first place. He quit because of his love for Wendy's daughter and his children who gave him a happy thought to fly again. Generally considered one of the worst films of Steven Spielbergs career, Hook is an underappreciated classic that deserves much better than the reputation that came long after it's release.
So what are all of these movies trying to say when you put them all together in a lineup? The theme is about people forgetting their past and slowly fighting to rediscover their pasts and who they are. The past is a very powerful part of a persons life for several reasons such as it molds a person into who they are in present times, and it reminds us of what life was like at one point for better or worse. No one can escape their past nor their destiny as it will always find it's way back to you sooner or later. Family and marriage should always come first before any job or hobby.
Our characters for this evening:
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