How Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland merge in Come Away
Two of the most beloved characters in literature, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan, meet in a new imaginative origin story: Come Away.
The film starring Angelina Jolie (Rose) and David Oyelowo (Jack Littleton) has generated a lot of buzz, opinions being divided. However, this fantasy, directed by Brenda Chapman, remains a unique, modern adaptation of the stories that marked everyone’s childhood. The cultural inkblot that little Alice became is Peter Pan’s sister, the two being part of a biracial family facing all kinds of adult issues. Addiction, grief, and financial problems are just a few topics addressed in this movie, where reality and fantasy jarringly cross-pollinate to blow away the viewer.
Nevertheless, the main characters in Come Away are not the Alice and Peter you expect, and this should be specified from the beginning. It is about a broken family struggling to keep a credible balance between despair and sparkle; thus, Peter and his sister Alice are two children forced to adapt to the reality of their environment.
You have probably got a lot of questions about this modern version of Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland, wondering whether it is worth watching or not. So, we have gathered some helpful information that we hope will elucidate the mystery around Come Away:
How fans welcomed the production
Some people compare the movie to a rabbit hole no one would follow Alice down, while others were blown away by the cast, action, and theory behind it. As previously stated, opinions are divided, and it is only normal to be so since no movie on Earth can be liked by everyone. Come Away’s fantasy world combines whimsical elements with real-world struggles, which can make it hard to digest, but the movie was overall welcomed with applause. Though, we would like to add that, unlike the original Lewis Carroll and J.M. Barrie stories, Come Away is not really a children’s movie, as the little ones could perceive it as a shockingly tragic representation of family life these days, which it is, but it is not the case to disappoint kids still thinking of Alice and Peter as the heroes of their childhood.
There are two sides: those preferring the original stories and those amazed by this modern version of them. Well, three, if we are to mention the fans of both classical Alice in Wonderland and Come Away. Whatever your fandom side, wear it with pride. If Alice’s adventures in Wonderland fascinate you or one of your closest ones, you can wear a crossbody bag, purse, or backpack conveying Alice singing with the flowers and take it with you on your journeys. For example, Loungefly backpacks available online are an excellent choice for every Disney fan out there.
What is the story reminiscent of Into the Woods all about?
Come Away’s story revolves around the plight of a grief-stricken family, so for those hoping the movie to be all fine and dandy, we are sorry – the world revealed in Come Away is a mystical environment with fairies and other fantastical characters, but it defines a cruel reality, similar to the one more and more modern families nowadays experience.
To better understand the message behind this drama, let us dig deeper into the subject and summarize the action. It all starts with the young Alice, Peter, and their brilliant sibling David running through an eye-catching landscape. While making up pirate games, tragedy hits upon, changing everything forever – David drowns in a lake nearby. The incident threatens the whole family, so the children’s mother turns to drinking and their father falls off the gambling addiction wagon. Peter wants to explore new lands and, at the same time, find ways to help his parents, so he travels with Alice to London. There, they want to sell a treasured heirloom in the hope they will help their deeply-in-debt father. Coming back home to their house in the woods of Victorian England (this is where the comparison with Into the Woods derives from), Alice finds refuge in a miraculous rabbit hole while Peter will enduringly escape the harsh reality by adventuring into a fairy-tale realm where he becomes the ruler of the Lost Boys. This is where the fantastic begins, but we say no more. If you have not watched the movie yet, receiving spoilers would be a pity.
However, the theory and morals of Come Away are that imagination utterly surpasses reality, and we sometimes want not to grow up since adult life is filled with horrific problems. Imagination plays a crucial role in this fantasy drama, as Peter and Alice are constantly making use of it to escape the world around them. Why do you think Alice and Peter run away from their daily life? To forget about their parents’ issues. The film tells us that with age, individuals lose their ability to create magic in their minds, thus emphasizing the positive power of imagination. If we are to analyze the plot and themes approached meticulously, we come to realize that it is, in fact, a very sad aspect that, unfortunately, shapes a significant part of modern people’s lives.
Who plays in this modern version of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan?
The two children, Alice and Peter, are played by Keira Chansa and Jordan A. Nash, while Angelina Jolie and David Oyelowo star as their parents, Rose and Jack. One of the most prolific Hollywood figures, Angelina Jolie, has an outstanding performance, but is it any surprise? After all, she is the representation of Maleficent; she flashes charisma and professionalism in any television appearance. Oyelowo, on the other hand, conveys a fatherly warmth.
The villain of the story is Eleanor (Anna Chancellor), a rich aunt who aims to make this family’s life a nightmare. And there is also an adult Alice (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who narrates the story of her childhood, an aspect also followed in the original book.
Come Away comes as a modern, revisionist fictional Victorian England drama, telling the story of a family shaken up by misfortune. And let us not forget about its incredible diversity – it is just a joy to watch how Afro-American and American actors join forces to deliver such an inspiring fantasy drama movie.
