James barrie a playwright whose latest play was a total flop. Determined to find a new subject for his next play he meets by chance a widow and her 4 boys. His friendship with the family shows james the love and passion for life he has been missing and is the inspiration for his most successful play - peter pan. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 08/08/2006 Starring: Johnny Depp Dustin Hoffman Run time: 101 minutes Rating: Pg

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

Version: U.S.A / Region Free
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
MPEG-2 BD-50
Running time: 1:41:05
Movie size: 23,59 GB
Disc size: 26,83 GB
Average video bit rate: 20.85 Mbps
LPCM 5.1 6912Kbps English
DD AC3 5.1 640Kbps English / Spanish

Subtitles: English SDH / Spanish / Traditional Chinese / Korean

#Audio commentary
#The Magic of Finding Neverland
#Movie showcase
#Creating Neverland
#Deleted Scenes With Optional Audio Commentary
#Outtakes
#On The Red Carpet

Finding Neverland is a very emotional and inspiring movie that resonates the soul. I thoroughly enjoyed the story of the author who wrote Peter Pan and the imagination and artistic fortitude that existed in those times. I also enjoyed the underlying love story that focused on caring for people unconditionally. The cinemotagraphy, to the acting is all first class. Sorry, no violence in this one bro.

Clarity of speech needs to be improved say our guests who viewed the DVD with us. I agree. Volume had to be boosted significantly.

My sons insist that blu-ray is the way to go, so I did. After watching 'Happy Feet' with them I was sold. The detail is amazing. Finding Neverland is one of my favorite story-within-a-story movies. I don't buy all movies on blu-ray (meaning some of the ones I already own), but this one had to be. It's wonderfully done. Kate Winslet is so ethereally beautiful that I love her in anything, and Johnny Depp is perfect in the part. Her boys, befriended by Depp at a time when their mother was dying, were made more thoughtful and appreciative of the magic of the story of Peter Pan and its first debut on the London stage. I love watching the face of a little boy seeing his first 'magical' performance without the blase' expression which kids now would show to anything not graphically enhanced.

As much as I wanted to like it, I found this movie bland and boring. Winslet is wasted, Depp mumbles along, and Dustin Hoffman phones his performance in. The boys didn't convince me either. The direction was flat-footed and had none of the wonder I was hoping for, given the subject matter. The music score is soppy and cliched, and the whole thing is shot like a Hallmark holiday TV special. A good idea for a movie that telegraphs its eventual resolutions about 20 minutes into the film; after that there's little point in watching. I kept waiting for some twist, some insight into their conditions, some surprise, but got none. I have no problem with "slow," quiet movies a la Horton Foote, but they have to have some inner life that makes them special. This is very straight-forward, obvious drama, told with a lot of self-importance.