'Peter Pan and the Pirates' very quickly not only became one of my favourite animated shows but also one of my favourites ever. Of all the adaptations of 'Peter Pan', it's also my personal favourite.
All the characters are not only interesting but remarkably complex, especially Hook, even when not looking like Barrie's Hook all the character traits of the character are fully explored and expanded upon. The show is advantaged furthermore by good animation (with some exceptions here and there). Great music particularly the theme tune, one of the best of any animated 90s show. Remarkably good writing that had real maturity and a wide range of emotions rare in animated shows today. Gripping and imaginative stories that maintain the spirit of Barrie's source material while expanding on the themes, events and characterisation. And really excellent voice acting, for one of the most talented voice actors in the business and near-unequalled in villain roles Captain Hook contains some of the best work Tim Curry has ever done.
"Curly's Laugh" is one of the funniest 'Peter Pan and the Pirates' episodes to me and is also quite uplifting. It is hard not to feel joy and laughs are plenty. Not just because of the laughter, but for instance Mullins in a dress, wig and fake breasts is a hilarious sight as is Hook's frustration. Speaking of Hook, how good he would have been as an actor or playwright, he is so good at it.
Regarding the animation, it's bright and colourful with a lot of attention to detail in the backgrounds and the characters appeal visually.
Music is a great mix of lively, haunting and lush, the theme tune immediately sticks in one's head and never leaves it.
Writing is as mature, intelligent and emotionally complex as one would expect, never feeling dumbed down for adults or too complicated for children. The story is a lot of fun and makes the most of its idea.
Peter is both easy to like and flawed, like how Barrie wrote him. The pirates and lost boys are well rounded in characterisation and aren't one-note. Wendy and Michael avoid being too twee, Michael's whining goes slightly overboard but not unbearingly so. Hook is as ever my favourite, love the dialogue always he's given and the complexity of his characterisation.
Voice acting from especially Tim Curry is very good.
Altogether, so much fun to watch. 10/10 Bethany Cox