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Finding Neverland (Widescreen Edition)
Actors: Julie Christie, Johnny Depp, Ian Hart, Dustin Hoffman, and Kate Winslet
Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Retail Price (not our price): $14.99
Release Date: 2005-03-22
Theatrical Release Date: 2004-11-24
Studio: Miramax
Run Time: 101 minutes
Format: Array
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Discs: 1


Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):

1) Amazon.com
Sweetness that doesn't turn saccharine is hard to find these days; Finding Neverland hits the mark. Much credit is due to the actors: Johnny Depp applies his genius for sly whimsy in his portrayal of playwright J. M. Barrie, who finds inspiration for his greatest creation from four lively boys, the sons of widow Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet, who miraculously fuses romantic yearning with common sense). Though the friendship threatens his already dwindling marriage, Barrie spends endless hours with the boys, pretending to be pirates or Indians--and gradually the elements of Peter Pan take shape in his mind. The relationship between Barrie and the Llewelyn Davies family sparks both an imagined world and a quiet rebellion against the stuffy forces of respectability, given physical form by Barrie's resentful wife (Radha Mitchell, High Art) and Sylvia's mother (Julie Christie, McCabe and Mrs. Miller). This gentle silliness could have turned to treacle, but Depp and Winslet--along with newcomer Freddie Highmore as one of the boys--keep their feet on the earth while their eyes gaze into their dreams. Also featuring a comically crusty turn from Dustin Hoffman (who appeared in another Peter Pan-themed movie, Hook) as a long-suffering theater producer. --Bret Fetzer

2) Description
Award winners Johnny Depp (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL), Kate Winslet (ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND), Dustin Hoffman, and Julie Christie (TROY, HAMLET) star in this magical tale about one of the world's greatest storytellers and the people who inspired his masterwork "Peter Pan." Well-known playwright James M. Barrie (Depp) finds his career at a crossroads when his latest play flops and doubters question his future. Then by chance he meets a widow (Winslet) and her four adventurous boys. Together they form a friendship that ignites the imagination needed to produce Barrie's greatest work! An enchanting big-screen treat with an acclaimed cast of stars, FINDING NEVERLAND has been hailed as one of the year's best motion pictures!

Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5

1) Director Marc Forester and his genius work about childhood   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
If you recently saw the brilliant,now in theatres,The Kite Runner,you were treated to another Marc Forester directed gem that intimately explores the hopes,dreams,longings and sadness of young boys who have been faced with early on tragedy.Well turn back the clock three years and Forester was exploring the identical themes through FINDING NEVERLAND, a semi-factual look at John Barrie, the author of "Peter Pan" and the influential woman and children that were the muses for his famous book on never growing up.Forester, in his very young career, has also triumphed with his Stranger Than Fiction where a "boyish" Will Ferrell keeps hearing an author's voices in his head.Forester's style in his films is gentle,whimsical and playful,and FINDING NEVERLAND never becomes Splenda sweet.The film, though involving the magical world of Peter Pan as dreamed up by Barrie (Johnny Depp in ANOTHER Oscar nommed role...when will he win??!!) is fraught with real life drama and tragedy concerning the loss of parents and the disintegration of marriage.These elements serve to make the viewer long for the world where we "never grow old", and Forester knows how to get his viewers there.With supporting roles by Kate Winslet and the recently Oscar nommed Julie Christie (Away From Her [Special Edition],this film highlights the younger Freddie Highmore,as the young Peter, who has had quite a year with August Rush, The Golden Compass (Widescreen Edition) and The Spiderwick Chronicles [Theatrical Release].Turn back the clock.Stop being an adult and revisit a film that charmed us all in 2004 and was nominated as BEST PICTURE.

2) Finding Perfection....   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
I grew up loving Peter Pan. Learning more about the author, James M Barrie, only makes me more of an advocate for the novel, play, stage musical, animated feature, and film. Johnny Depp is one of my favorite actors and this venue is his best work to date. A great film for adults who can still remember being young.

3) Neverland   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
I grew up hearing Mary Martin sing the Neverland song on the soundtrack to Peter Pan, so this one is deep in my bones. When I was a child I saw the play Peter Pan when a touring production came to my town, and I later read Barrie's original play and a book version of the Peter Pan story, and then of course saw the Disney version. I was always touched by the fact that Barrie donated the royalties to a particular orphanage, and I love seeing how that comes about in this film. We viewed the film as a family after it came out on DVD, and I bought the DVD for my husband for Valentine's Day because he liked it so much! He always likes Johnny Depp. I was particularly pleased that my husband did not feel manipulated or tearjerked in any way by this film. The performances of the children, Depp, and Kate Winslet are all honest, sweet, quirky, and true, and what needs to remain mysterious does remain mysterious, and what needs to open up into the imagination does so seamlessly! Charming film!

4) Heartwarming   [Rating: 4 out of 5]
A superbly acted film, Finding Neverland never really fails at anything. It gets depressing and morose, but it has uplifting and tender moments as well. Freddie Highmore could not possibly be any sweeter than in this film. Utterly heartbreaking. Johhny and Kate together is somthing magical to behold. They compliment each other so well. I cannot recommend this enough.

5) great acting, great story   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
This is an autobiographical story about James M. Barrie andhow he came to write the play and novel "Peter Pan".It is also about death and orphans: the English, as Oliver Twist by Dickens points out, had trouble dealing with orphans.Barrie had a warm open heart and found a fantasy world for childrenthat appears to be timeless and universal.There is always a place in the heart of children for pirates, Indians and fairies. There is a real contrast in the emotional approach to death taken here and that in another recent movie:The Bucket ListI think that both have good acting by great actors,but one seems to be about the "me first" approach to lifeand this one is about living with death for both the livingands the survivors. I think that both are "sentimental", but this approach seems better.