J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan” turns 100 in 2004, but this new live-action version of the fantasy is anything but old-fashioned. Yes, the storyline is set in Edwardian London, but this movie explores new territory for the boy who refuses to grow up.

For the first time, Peter Pan is played by a real boy (Jeremy Sumpter). He portrays the character as the more self-absorbed and melancholy boy in Barrie’s original story. And because of that, director-writer P.J. Hogan (“My Best Friend’s Wedding”) has created an unusual romantic tension between the young Pan and Wendy Darling (Rachel Hurd-Wood), a young beauty who challenges Pan’s resolve to stay forever young.

Wendy first meets Peter when she catches him crying on her nursery floor, attempting to re-attach his shadow. He has often visited her window to listen to the stories she loves to tell her younger brothers John (Harry Newell) and Michael (Freddie Popplewell). They are mixed up stories of Cinderella and pirates and Wendy is somewhat entranced with the idea of becoming a pirate herself. She finds herself on the brink of adulthood when her Aunt Millicent (Lynn Redgrave) determines it’s time to teach the tomboy to be a lady.

When Peter learns that Wendy is about to grow up, he whisks them away to Neverland, with the help of fairy dust from a jealous Tinkerbell (Ludivine Sagnier). They are thrilled to learn that the island is inhabited by “real Indians,” mermaids (who will drown anyone who gets too close to the water), pirates and their leader, the nefarious Captain Hook.

The movie successfully creates a world of fantasy, with moments like watching a gathering of fairies and dancing in the sky. Colors are bright and locations are lush. There are fun, fanciful touches, like an assortment of hooks for Hook, a creepy castle and a Neverland-to-London “I believe in fairies” sweep to keep Tinkerbell alive.

Two of the movie’s chief assets are Sumpter and Isaacs. It is interesting to watch a kid acting like a kid, instead of a woman acting like a kid. Sumpter comes across as cocky, immature, funny, sad and annoying. And Isaacs, who also doubles as Wendy’s bumbling father, Mr. Darling, portrays this Hook as a darker, more desperate man than in any other movie version.

But while the special effects needed to create this fantasy are wonderful, at times it feels like the director jerks from deep thoughts to unreal flying sequences. Flow is sometimes a problem, and those who are used to lighter versions of the story may find the overtones of the Pan-Wendy (and sometimes Hook) love story hard to overcome.

I enjoyed this version because it created delightful moments of fancy and yet made me think about Barrie’s ideas of grown-ups.

The movie sparkles like Tinkerbell’s fairy dust and has many moments that soar.

“Peter Pan” is rated PG for action adventure sequences and some peril that may scare the very young.