by J. M. Barrie
Advertisement for Steven Spielberg’s Hook, with Robin Williams as a grown-up Peter Pan who must find his childhood mojo and rescue his children from Captain Hook, played by Dustin Hoffman. (By permission of Tristar Pictures, Photofest)
Although the film came under some critical fire for its theme-park-world sets and its failure to explore more fully the relationship between parents and children, many scenes stand out for their power to reimagine the tale for a twentieth-century audience. The recognition scene, in particular—Peter Banning’s recollection of who he once was—reminds viewers of what it takes to relate to children. Banning kneels down, bringing himself to the level of the child, removes his glasses, pulls in his stomach, and breaks into a smile, exhibiting a magical joie de vivre that is often lost in adulthood. This is “When Peter Grew Up,” but presented with the compensatory joys of raising and protecting children, becoming a father rather than remaining a child.
Peter Pan, 2003, dir. P. J. Hogan
The screenplay for this Peter Pan, written by Michael Goldenberg and P. J. Hogan, adheres closely to Barrie’s play and novel, borrowing much of its language from the two. The film was licensed by Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, which found it “in keeping with the original work whilst communicating to an audience with modern sensibilities.” P. J. Hogan emphasized Peter’s noble qualities: “This is Peter Pan as J. M. Barrie originally intended—a heroic, magical, real boy who fights pirates, saves children and never grows up.” This Peter Pan is also a love story, a coming-of-age tale that begins with plans to ban Wendy from the nursery and ends with a romantic kiss from Wendy that brings Peter back to life. The sleeping Wendy first encounters Peter when he is hovering over her bed (drawing that scene at school gets her in hot water), and she wakens a sleeping Peter from Hook’s deathblow with her “thimble.” Still, Peter chooses not to grow up, and Wendy returns home with her brothers and with the lost boys.
Felled by an arrow shot by Tootles, Wendy appears to be dead, and an anxious Peter Pan fears for her life. (By permission of Universal Pictures, Photofest)
The lost boys are picture perfect in the tropical setting. Their costumes of skins and furs have been carefully designed for maximum aesthetic effect. (By permission of Universal Pictures, Photofest)
Played by a boy, Peter Pan is less spritely youngster than teenage heartthrob who flirts with Wendy in the bedroom and who shares a romantic “fairy dance” with her while Hook looks on. Wendy’s infatuation with Peter and Peter’s seductive charms are emphasized in ways that are unusual for cinematic, musical, and theatrical adaptations, most of which move briskly along rather than lingering on enraptured facial features. Jeremy Sumpter was thirteen when he was cast as Peter Pan, and, since he—like other members of the cast—grew several inches during the filming, the height of the nursery window had to be increased twice. Both he and Wendy are presented as children on the brink of adulthood, fascinated by the discovery of unfamiliar desires and hesitatingly eager to explore them.
Roger Ebert’s review of the film shrewdly notes that the movie is not “overtly sexual,” but emphasizes that the “sensuality is there and the other versions have pretended that it was not.” The scenes in the nursery introduce a new character, Aunt Millicent, who starts all the trouble by insisting that Wendy must grow up and have her own room. Wendy’s main mission is to turn Peter into a grown-up, to move him toward an adulthood that allows the expression of romance. The two clasp hands and gaze into each other’s eyes during a protracted fairy dance reminiscent of a moonlit prom night. “There’s so much more,” Wendy tells Peter, after urging him to return home and grow up.
Hogan had planned to film Peter Pan in London, Tahiti, and New Zealand but ended up shooting the film on sound stages in Australia. The lavish special effects aimed to create scenes that Scott Farrar, supervisor of visual effects, called “painterly, like something from a storybook, with gorgeous saturated colors.” The children soar through the air with extraordinary ease, fight brilliantly choreographed battles, and are touched by pixie dust particles animated to look like sunlight coming through a window.
Finding Neverland, 2004, dir. Marc Forster
Based on Allan Knee’s play The Man Who Was Peter Pan, Finding Neverland dramatizes Barrie’s relationship with Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and her sons. Although Sylvia’s husband, Arthur, was still alive when Barrie met the boys, he is deceased when the film begins and conveniently out of the way for the chaste romantic relationship that develops between Barrie and Sylvia. The five boys are reduced to four in the film, and many other liberties are taken with Barrie’s life and with the theatrical history of Peter Pan. The production of Peter Pan staged at the Llewelyn Davies home was actually put on for the five-year-old Michael (illness prevented him from attending the performance at the Duke of York’s Theatre), not for Sylvia, who did not become ill until several years later.
Finding Neverland focuses on how Sylvia and the boys inspired Barrie’s literary creation, weaving in and out between adventures with the boys, scenes of inspiration and composition, and flashes of Barrie’s own desire to hold on to his youth and imagination. We grow to admire Barrie, the man who dances with dogs in the park and balances spoons on his nose; we cheer for Peter Pan when he urges us to clap our hands and demonstrate our faith in fairies; and we weep with Peter Llewelyn Davies, who is struggling to cope with the death of his parents. Forster demonstrates real ingenuity by placing Peter Pan as a spectral presence in the London inhabited by Barrie and the boys. At night, after a romp on the beds, the tired boys are observed from outside, through the bars of their bedroom window. The camera gives us the point of view of Peter Pan, ready to “break through.” In a later scene, the boys fly a kite, and the camera is positioned up in the air, with the kite, along with the same beams and bells that customarily announce Tinker Bell’s presence.
George, Michael, Jack, and Peter play pirate games with J. M. Barrie in Finding Neverland. Their mother, Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, clad in a simple, cream-colored dress, forms a contrast to the motley crew, with their brightly colored, outlandish costumes. (By permission of Miramax Films, Film Colony, Photofest)
Jeremy Sumpter plays a seductively beautiful Peter Pan opposite an illuminated Tinker Bell. This Peter Pan is no woman, and, although still very much a child, he has the facial hair of an adolescent. P. J. Hogan’s Peter Pan takes a more romantic turn than most versions of the work. (By permission of ILM and Photofest)
The Llewelyn Davies boys are dressed like their mother, in white with a touch of scarlet, as they escort her to Neverland, toward the production of Peter Pan staged at their home and to the Land of the Dead. Julie Christie plays Sylvia’s mother, Emma du Maurier, and Johnny Depp plays James Barrie at the height of his theatrical success and at a nadir in his personal life. (By permission of Miramax Films, Film Colony, Photofest)
Johnny Depp as James Barrie dances with Porthos in Kensington Gardens. (By permission of Miramax Films, Film Colony, Photofest)
Peter Pan: Adaptations, Prequels, Sequels, and Spin-Offs
Adair, G. Peter Pan and the Only Children. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan Children’s Books, 1987.
Barry, Dave, and Ridley Pearson. Peter and the Starcatchers. New York: Puffin, 1994.
———. Escape from the Carnivale. New York: Disney Editions / Hyperion Books, 2006.
———. Cave of the Dark Wind. New York: Disney Editions / Hyperion Books, 2007.
———. Peter and the Secret of Rundoon. New York: Disney Editions / Hyperion Books, 2007.
———. Peter and the Shadow Thieves. New York: Disney Editions / Hyperion Books, 2007.
———. Blood Tide. New York: Disney Editions / Hyperion Books, 2008.
———. Peter and the Sword of Mercy. New York: Disney Editions / Hyperion Books, 2009.
Brady, Joan. Death Comes for Peter Pan. London: Secker & Warburg, 1996.
Brooks, Terry. Hook. New York: Ballantine, 1991.
Byron, May. J. M. Ba
rrie’s Peter Pan & Wendy, Retold by May Byron for Boys and Girls, with the Approval of the Author. Illus. Mabel Lucie Attwell. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1926.
———. J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan & Wendy, Retold by May Bryon for Little People with the Approval of the Author. Illus. Mabel Lucie Attwell. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1926.
———. J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, Retold by May Byron for Little People with the Permission of the Author. Illus. Arthur Rackham. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1929.
David, Peter. Tigerheart. New York: Del Rey, 2009.
Drennan, G. D. Peter Pan, His Book, His Pictures, His Career, His Friends. London: Mills and Boon, 1909.
Dubowski, Cathy East, adapt. Peter Pan. New York: Random House, 1994.
Egan, Kate. Welcome to Neverland. New York: HarperFestival, 2003.
Fox, Laurie. The Lost Girls. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.
Fresán, Rodrigo. Kensington Gardens: A Novel. Trans. Natasha Wimmer. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006.
Frye, Charles. The Peter Pan Chronicles. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1989.
Herford, Oliver. The Peter Pan Alphabet. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1907.
McCaughrean, Geraldine. Peter Pan in Scarlet. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006.
Moore, Bob, adapt. Walt Disney’s Peter Pan and the Pirates. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1952.
O’Connor, D. S., ed. Peter Pan Keepsake, the Story of Peter Pan Retold from Mr. Barrie’s Dramatic Fantasy. London: Chatto & Windus, 1907.
———. The Story of Peter Pan. London: Bell, 1912.
O’Connor, D. S., and Alice B. Woodward. The Peter Pan Picture Book. London: G. Bell, 1907.
O’Roarke, Jocelyn. Who Dropped Peter Pan? New York: Penguin, 1996.
Perkins, Frederick Orville. Peter Pan: The Boy Who Would Never Grow Up to Be a Man. Boston: Silver, Burdett, 1916.
Press, Jenny. Peter Pan: A Storyteller Book. New York: Smithmark, 1995.
Shalant, Phyllis. When Pirates Came to Brooklyn. New York: Dutton, 2002.
Somma, Emily. After the Rain: A New Adventure for Peter Pan. West Hamilton, Ontario: Daisy, 2004.
Yolen, Jane. “Lost Girls.” Sister Emily’s Lightship and Other Stories. New York: Tor, 2000.
FILMOGRAPHY
Peter Pan. Dir. Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske. Disney Studios, 1953.
The Lost Boys. Dir. Joel Schumacher. Warner Bros., 1987.
Hook. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Columbia/Tristar, 1991.
Return to Never Land. Dir. Donovan Cook and Robin Budd. Walt Disney, 2002.
Peter Pan. Dir. P. J. Hogan. Universal Studios, 2003.
The Lost Boys of Sudan. Dir. Jon Shenk and Megan Mylan. New Video Group, 2004.
Finding Neverland. Dir. Marc Forster. Miramax, 2004.
Tinker Bell. Walt Disney Studios, 2008.
TELEVISION PRODUCTIONS
Peter Pan. NBC. With Mary Martin. 1955.
Peter Pan. NBC. With Mia Farrow. 1976.
Peter Pan. A&E. With Cathy Rigby. 2000.
VIDEO GAMES
Disney Junior Games: Peter Pan Neverland Treasure Quest. PC. Disney Interactive. San Mateo, CA: Sony, 2002.
Fox’s Peter Pan and the Pirates. Nintendo Entertainment System. THQ. Redmond, WA: Nintendo of America, 1991.
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. Game Boy Advance Prod. Square Enix. Los Angeles: Square Enix, 2002.
Peter Pan. Game Boy Advance. Prod. Atari. New York: Atari, 2003.
Peter Pan: Return to Neverland. Game Boy Advance. Prod. Disney Interactive. Burbank, CA: Disney Interactive, 2002.
A Montage of Friends, Fans, and Foes: J. M. Barrie and Peter Pan in the World
The boy and the man who would not grow up have touched the lives of many readers, spectators, and onlookers. In the course of writing this book, I encountered a range of lively reactions and eloquent responses to the play and novel as well as to Peter Pan and his author. Rather than paraphrasing those views and incorporating them into the annotations (on a few occasions I succumbed to the temptation to place them there, too), I decided to let enthusiasts and skeptics speak for themselves. Their voices will sound full chords for those who have lost themselves in the pages of Peter Pan or in performances of the play. This section begins with Charlie Chaplin’s reminiscence of meeting the distinguished playwright in London and ends with fellow dramatist George Bernard Shaw’s recollections of his Adelphi Terrace neighbor James Barrie. In between, the voices of renowned theater critics like Alexander Woollcott mingle with the words of the very young, and we hear from actresses who have played Peter Pan as well as those who aspired to fly when they were young. Following those responses comes the reaction of adults (many of them writers) to their encounters with Peter Pan. Even in an era of stubborn cynicism, it is not easy to find naysayers when it comes to Peter Pan, but the few I did locate were given an opportunity to speak in these pages as well.
Charlie Chaplin. “I Meet the Immortals.” My Trip Abroad. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1922. Pp. 85–89.
There is Barrie. He is pointed out to me just about the time I recognize him myself. This is my primary reason for coming. To meet Barrie. He is a small man, with a dark mustache and a deeply marked, sad face, with heavily shadowed eyes. But I detect lines of humor lurking around his mouth. Cynical? Not exactly.
I catch his eye and make motions for us to sit together, and then find that the party has been planned that way anyhow. . . .
But everyone seems jovial except Barrie. His eyes look sad and tired. But he brightens as though all along there had been that hidden smile behind the mask. I wonder if they are all friendly toward me, or if I am just the curiosity of the moment. . . .
What should I say to Barrie? Why hadn’t I given it some thought? . . .
Barrie tells me that he is looking for someone to play Peter Pan and says he wants me to play it. He bowls me over completely. To think that I was avoiding and afraid to meet such a man! But I am afraid to discuss it with him seriously, am on my guard because he may decide that I know nothing about it and change his mind.
Just imagine, Barrie has asked me to play Peter Pan. It is too big and grand to risk spoiling it by some witless observation, so I change the subject and let this golden opportunity pass. I have failed completely in my first skirmish with Barrie. . . .
Barrie is speaking again about moving pictures. I must understand. I summon all of my scattered faculties to bear upon what he is saying. What a peculiarly shaped head he has.
He is speaking of The Kid, and I feel that he is trying to flatter me. But how he does it! He is criticizing the picture.
He is very severe. He declares that the “heaven” scene was entirely unnecessary, and why did I give it so much attention? . . . All of these things he is discussing analytically and profoundly, so much so that I find my feeling of self-consciousness is rapidly leaving me. . . .
I am thrilled at his interest and appreciation and it is borne in upon me that by discussing dramatic construction with me he is paying a very gracious and subtle compliment. It is sweet of him. It relieves me of the last vestige of my embarrassment.
“But, Sir James,” I am saying. “I cannot agree with you—.” Imagine the metamorphosis. And our discussion continues easily and pleasantly. I am aware of his age as he talks and I get more of his spirit of whimsicality. . . . I am wondering if Barrie resents age, he who is so youthful in spirit.
Barrie is whispering, “Let’s go to my apartment for a drink and a quiet talk.” And I begin to feel that things are most worth while. Knobloch and I walk with him to Adelphia [sic] Terrace, where his apartment overlooks the Thames Embankment.
Somehow this apartment seems just like him, but I cannot convey the resemblance in a description of it. The first thing you see is a writing desk in a huge room beautifully furnished, and with dark-wood paneling. Simplicity and comfort are written everywhere. There is a large Dutch fireplace in the right side
of the room, but the outstanding piece of furniture is a tiny kitchen stove in one corner. It is polished to such a point that it takes the aspect of the ornamental rather than the useful. He explains that on this he makes his tea when servants are away. Such a touch, perhaps, just the touch to suggest Barrie.
Our talk drifts to the movies and Barrie tells me of the plans for filming Peter Pan. We are on very friendly ground in this discussion and I find myself giving Barrie ideas for plays while he is giving me ideas for movies, many of them suggestions that I can use in comedies. It is a great chatfest.
There is a knock at the door. Gerald du Maurier is calling. He is one of England’s greatest actors and the son of the man who wrote Trilby. Our party lasts far into the night, until about three in the morning. I notice that Barrie looks rather tired and worn, so we leave, walking with Du Maurier up the Strand. He tells us that Barrie is not himself since his nephew was drowned, and that he has aged considerably.
Alexander Woollcott. Shouts and Murmurs: Echoes of a Thousand and One First Nights. New York: Century Co., 1922. Pp. 190–91.
“Barrie has gone out of his mind, Frohman,” Tree said. “I am sorry to say it; but you ought to know it. He’s just read me a play. He is going to read it to you, so I am warning you. I know I have not gone woozy in my mind, because I have tested myself since hearing the play; but Barrie must be mad. He has written four acts all about fairies, children, and Indians running through the most incoherent story you ever listened to; and what do you suppose? The last act is to be set on top of trees.”
Rupert Brooke. Friends and Apostles: The Correspondence of Rupert Brooke and James Strachey, 1905–1914. Ed. Keith Hale. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press, 1998. P. 25.
