Make believe

I recently took my five-year-old son to see Return to Neverland, the sequel to the classic 1953 Disney animated film Peter Pan. The story is similar to the original, except that this time around it is Wendy's daughter, Jane, who takes the magical journey to help Peter and Tinkerbell fight Captain Hook. (Not surprisingly, the war-painted Indians, led by Princess Tiger Lily, are missing from this version. My son wanted to know where they were, which led to our first discussion on political correctness.)  Afterwards I asked him why he thought that Jane had gone back to Neverland instead of Wendy. "Because Wendy's a grown-up," he replied. "So?" I asked, egging him on. "So, grown-ups don't believe," he responded.

Actually, in the film, Wendy does believe in Peter Pan--it is she who urges the overly serious Jane to get in touch with her childish side. But I understood what my son meant. Wendy believes only because she has seen Peter and the gang, albeit many years earlier. Most children would not need such tangible proof.

This issue of hard evidence versus blind faith is also at the heart of Stolen Summer, the first feature by writer-director Pete Jones. It's about the tricky issues of heaven and heavenly reward as seen through the eyes of two young boys.