'Come Away' Trailer: A Whimsical, Wondrous Fairy Tale Origin Story From The Director Of 'Brave'

Brenda Chapman, the filmmaker behind Prince of Egypt and Pixar's Brave, makes her live-action directing debut with Come Away, a delightful film which chronicles the adventures of Peter and Alice growing up as brother and sister, before they go off to experience the fairy tale worlds of Neverland and Wonderland. Angelina Jolie, David Oyelowo, Michael Caine, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Clarke Peters, Derek Jacobi, and more pop up as adults in this family-friendly saga, but the story really belongs to young actors Jordan A. Nash and Keira Chansa as Peter and Alice, respectively.

Dust off your imagination and watch the first Come Away trailer below.

I was lucky enough to catch a screening of this movie at this year's Sundance Film Festival, and found it to be such a charming, whimsical, and creative exploration of familiar fairy tale characters that I called it "a new children's classic." Marissa Kate Goodhill's screenplay weaves in references to recognizable attributes and touchstones of these characters that we've seen in their more traditional depictions, but the references never feel pandering or forced. They all feel completely organic to the story, which blazes a compelling trail of its own.

I especially love what happens at the :35 second mark, when Peter is play fighting out in the woods near his house. Chapman depicts an arrow reverting into its actual form – a stick – visualizing the imagination of the protagonists and how, even before they become the fairy tale heroes we know, they're inching into a fantasy world.

Here's the film's official description:

In this imaginative origin story of two of the most beloved characters in literature – Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland – eight-year-old Alice (Keira Chansa), her mischievous brother Peter (Jordan A. Nash) and their brilliant older sibling David (Reece Yates) let their imaginations run wild one blissful summer in the English countryside. Encouraged by their parents Jack and Rose (David Oyelowo and Angelina Jolie), the kids' make-believe tea parties, sword fights and pirate ship adventures come to an abrupt end when tragedy strikes. Peter, eager to prove himself a hero to his grief-stricken and financially-struggling parents, journeys with Alice to London, where they try to sell a treasured heirloom to the sinister pawnshop owner known as C.J. (David Gyasi). Returning home, Alice seeks temporary refuge in a wondrous rabbit hole while Peter permanently escapes reality by entering a magical realm as leader of the "Lost Boys."

Come Away arrives in theaters and will be accessible through On Demand platforms on November 13, 2020.