Peter Pan is a better Disney cartoon than I remember

* * * (out of 5)

Peter Pan was playing on the Wonderful World of Disney a few weeks ago so I Tivo'ed it to see how it matches my memories. I saw it when i was a kid and about 15 years ago on video and remember that time falling asleep on it several times before getting through it. Well, this time it only took two viewings to get through it, but boy were the sleep bugs crawling in my eyes tonight. So-called "classic" Disney animation was made for a different time, I guess. All the old cartoons, like Cinderella, The Aristocats and Snow White are set at a tempo that puts me to sleep. And the music is just one notch above lullabies.

However, this one had more action than I remember and a quicker pace. Peter's skirmishes with Captain Hook are exciting and funny, but you never really doubt that Peter will emerge victorious. He can fly and Hook has one hand, that is a major advantage. I didn't remember Tinkerbell being such a jealous, spiteful thing. She almost has Wendy killed by the Lost Boys. And I loved the alligator waiting patiently for Hook to come near him in the water, tapping his front foot, one two three fingers at a time.

How many stages of Disney animation have there been now?

1--The Classic Era, that starts around 1937 with Snow White and runs through 1971 with The Jungle Book and Robin Hood. Walt knew how to entertain.

2--Is the Lesser Era, after Walt's death when the company tried to follow the same old formulas, but came up short. 1971-1987: Sometimes there'd be a good Oliver and Co., but then there was a Tron or The Fox and the Hound, which were poor substitutes. This era ended in 1987 with "The Great Mouse Detective", which was a fun story about a mouse who lived in Sherlock Holmes's house. The following year Who Framed Roger Rabbit came out and Disney animation was reborn.

3--The New Classics-- a short period, but what a fruitful one. 1989-1994: Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King. A Murderer's Row of animation. This era ended when Jeffery Katzenberg was forced out by a jealous Michael Eisner and Katz helped start Dreamworks. While Eisner greenlighted crap like Pocahontas and Mulan, Katz was making Shrek.

4--The Dog Era--From 1994 until 2006, Disney gamely tried to keep hand-drawn animation alive, but many of their new products were dreary (Hunchback of Notre Dame) or unmemorable (Atlantis), and even when they had a good one like Hercules, it didn't catch on with the movie going public.

5--Pixar Era---1995 until Infinity and Beyond. Starting with Toy Story, Disney formed an alliance with one of the greatest motion picture companies in history. Pixar has produced 9 movies over the years and each one has been a commercial and critical smash, collecting oodles of awards including Oscars and selling billions of Happy Meals. This year's WALL-E has an excellent shot at being nominated for Best Picture and gives tremendous hope to all us Disney fans that the future looks very bright indeed. As they sing in Peter Pan, we know "You Can Fly, You Can Fly, You Can Fly."

The Freditor