I know what you’re thinking, Finding Neverland?” Isn’t that a Johnny Depp movie? Is that the chick from Titanic?

Yes, yes and yes. But I will stand by this movie and here’s why. I liked it.

Because I’m a dork and a movie nut, I frequently check movie trailers online. I saw this one months ago and wanted to see it. I never saw anything on TV about it and only saw a brief summary about in the paper. I honestly didn’t think it would even come to Joplin.

But, as luck would have it, Finding Neverland came to Joplin this winter, and it was great.

The story is about James M. Barrie, an accomplished playwright who can’t seem to find recent success.

The film begins with one of Barrie’s disastrous plays, leaving him with one last chance to re-discover success. His married and professional lives aren’t looking too good.

During a writing session in the park, Barrie meets four children and their recently widowed mother, Sylvia Davies.

Disheartened by the fact a single widowed mother is left all alone to raise four boys, Barrie exerts his creativity and playfulness on the family. Throughout the playful crusades with his befriended family, Barrie’s reputation becomes splotched in town. Through the ups and downs of his relationship with the Davies family, Barrie finds the inspiration to pen one of the most popular children’s stories of all time.

This film was touching, but also highly entertaining. The role of J.M. Barrie is a perfect role for Depp and Kate Winslet is touching as an ill-widow struggling to maintain her health and a family.

The real surprise was young actor Freddie Highmore who played Peter Davies (the inspirational character for Peter Pan). This young actor stole the show. In fact, Highmore’s performance impressed his co-stars to such an extent, Depp requested he play the part of Charlie Bucket in Tim Burton’s upcoming adaptation of Roland Dahl’s classic, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Directed by Marc Forester of Monster’s Ball fame, the cinematography boasts bright colors and vibrant sets, making it feel as if it were made years ago, which is something I wish we would see more of today.

My only complaint was the film didn’t delve more into the mind of Barrie. These were the scenes I loved the most. One scene in particular gave Barrie’s inspiration for Captain Hook (I won’t spoil it; you’ll have to see the movie.) Scenes like that reminded me of how I looked at things when I was younger.

This is a must for film fans and a great date movie.Who knows? It may take you to Neverland.