Movie audiences in St. John’s and Bonavista were treated to a special premiere of the latest Disney film Monday, part of which was shot in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Disney’s Peter Pan & Wendy, a live-action adaptation of the 1953 animated film Peter Pan, was shot on the Bonavista Peninsula and several other locations in August 2021.
Just under two years later, Disney organized a premiere screening in Bonavista and a red carpet event at the Cineplex Theatre in St. John’s.
And although rain and fog kept some of the film’s executives from landing in St. John’s, it didn’t dampen spirits at the Avalon Mall.
“It’s a monumental event for the province to have such an important player in the industry come and notice our locations. And actually come and film a project here,” said Mark Sexton, Chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation.
“Disney can go anywhere in the world for this project, but they saw some photos of Newfoundland, made a call…The entire crew were very, very happy with the results here. It’s an easy place to film.”
Peter Pan & Wendy Producer Jim Whitaker made the trip to St. John’s for the premiere, saying he wanted to see the film with an audience whose province is integral to the film.
“Our director was interested in a Neverland that looked like Newfoundland ended up looking like, and looks like…Amazing cliffs and pebbled beaches and ocean as far as you can see,” Whitaker said Monday.
WATCH | Peter Pan & Wendy Producer Jim Whitaker speaks with the CBC’s Jeremy Eaton:
Jim Whitaker, the producer of Peter Pan & Wendy, attended the red carpet premiere of the film in St. John’s. He spoke with the CBC’s Jeremy Eaton.
“I’m super grateful to the province…I just thought it’d be great to come here and be able to celebrate it with them.”
Whitaker credited the province and its people for making it a good experience, and hopes more large-scale films can be shot in the province in the future.
“That’s up to [Disney], but I hope so. I really do,” he said. “I mean this was certainly a great experience for us and for them, and so I can’t see why not.”
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey was also on the red carpet, and says the film may help grow the industry.
“Did anyone not have chills when they saw the trailer?” Furey said with a laugh.
“I mean you could shoot Game of Thrones here. Why not? We rival New Zealand and Scotland and Ireland. We can be many things with different parts of the island.”
It’s not clear what financial incentives the province gave to attract producers to shoot in Newfoundland. The NLFDC provides investments to the industry through two programs: the equity investment program and the Newfoundland and Labrador film and video tax credit.
Bonavista boy enjoyed time on set
Peter Pan & Wendy featured actors from around the world, including some children from the Avalon Peninsula and one seven-year-old boy representing his hometown of Bonavista.
Jax Ryder was only five when he made his acting debut as a stand-in for actor Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez, who plays the character of Nibs.
Ryder and his mother, Leanne Prince, said one of the boy’s daring scenes involved being attached to a harness.
“I would have to like, look down, and walk to my mom,” Jax told CBC Radio’s Weekend AM in a recent interview.
“He was standing on the edge of the sea arch for the scene. So I was really nervous, because they had some rope and stuff attached to the harness, and I was really scared so I made them stop the scene,” Prince added. “He was so upset. He kept saying ‘Mom, it’s OK.'”
Ryder said he was able to make friends on the set, including Billingsley-Rodriguez, the actors playing Peter Pan’s Lost Boys and other local children serving as stand-ins.
Ryder was able to secure another audition a couple of months after the shoot, he said, and his mother says she’ll support him fully if he ever decides to become an actor.
“It just feels fun and stuff,” Ryder said.
Peter Pan & Wendy streams on Disney Plus beginning Friday.
