Peter Pan
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Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie (1860–1937). A mischievous boy who flies and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with fairies and pirates, and from time to time meeting ordinary children from the world outside.
The character first appeared in a section of The Little White Bird, a 1902 novel for adults, which was reprinted separately in 1906 as the children's book Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. The character's best-known adventure debuted on 27 December 1904, in the stage play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up. This story was adapted and expanded somewhat as a novel, published in 1911 as Peter and Wendy, and later as Peter Pan and Wendy.
Peter Pan has appeared in numerous adaptations, sequels, and prequels since then, including the widely known 1953 animated feature film Walt Disney's Peter Pan, the perennial Broadway stage musical Peter Pan, live-action feature films Hook (1991) and Peter Pan (2003), and the authorized sequel novel Peter Pan in Scarlet (2006). He has also appeared in works not authorized by the holders of the character's copyright, which has lapsed in at least some parts of the world.
There are seven statues of Peter Pan playing a set of pipes, cast from a mould by sculptor George Frampton, following an original commission by Barney. The statues are in Kensington Gardens in London, England; Liverpool, England; Brussels, Belgium; Camden, New Jersey, United States; Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Toronto, Canada; and Bowring Park in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.
A new statue of Peter Pan was commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital to celebrate J.M. Barrie's generous gift of the copyright. Unveiled by former Prime Minister James Callaghan in 2000, the bronze by Diarmuid Byron O'Connor shows Peter blowing fairy dust over the passing children. The original design included Tinker Bell stealing Wendy's kiss from his finger. The Countess of Wessex unveiled this addition in 2005. A limited edition of this statue has been created to raise money for the children's charity.
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[edit] Peter Pan in official media
[edit] Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
In the novel Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, Peter is a seven-day-old infant who, like "all" infants, used to be part bird. Peter has complete faith in his flying abilities, so, upon hearing a discussion of his adult life, he is able to escape out of the window of his London home and return to the Kensington Gardens. Upon returning to the Gardens, Peter is shocked to learn from the crow Solomon Caw that he is not still a bird, but more like a human - Solomon says he is crossed between them as a "Betwixt-and-Between". Unfortunately, Peter now knows he cannot fly, so he is stranded in the Kensington Gardens. At first, Peter can only get around on foot, but he commissions the building of a child-sized thrush's nest that he can use as a boat which he uses to navigate the Gardens by way of the Serpentine River.
Although he terrified the fairies when he first arrived, Peter quickly gains favor with them. He amuses them with his human ways, and agrees to play the panpipes at the fairy dances. Eventually, Queen Mab grants him the wish of his heart. He decides to return home to his mother. The fairies reluctantly help him to fly home, where his mother is asleep in his old bedroom.
Peter feels rather guilty for leaving his mother, but this is mostly due to the fact that he believes she misses him terribly. He considers returning to live with her, but decides to go back to the Gardens to say his last good-byes. Unfortunately, Peter stays too long in the Gardens; when he uses his second wish to go home permanently, he is devastated to learn that, in his absence, his mother has given birth to another boy she can love. Peter returns, heartbroken, to the Kensington Gardens.
Peter later meets a little girl named Maimie Mannering who is lost in the Gardens. He and Maimie become fast friends, and little Peter asks her to marry him. Maimie nearly stays with him, but realizes that her mother must be missing her dreadfully. So she leaves Peter to return home. Maimie does not forget Peter, however; when she is older she makes presents and letters for him, and she even gives him an imaginary goat which he rides around every night.
Throughout the novel, Peter misunderstands simple things like children's games. He does not know what a pram is, mistaking it for an animal and he becomes extremely attached to a boy's lost kite. It is only when Maimie tells him that he knows he plays all his games wrong. When Peter is not playing, he likes to make graves for the children who get lost at night, burying them with little headstones in the Gardens.
[edit] Peter Pan: stage play and novel
Peter and Wendy sees the return of a slightly older Peter Pan; in this novel, Peter makes night-time calls on the city of London, listening in on Mrs Mary Darling's bedtime stories by the open window. One night, Mrs Darling finds leaves from Peter's tunic on the bedroom floor. The next night, Peter shows up at the Darling house. He terrifies Mrs Darling and is nearly captured by the nurse-dog Nana. Peter escapes, but he ends up leaving his shadow in the nursery.
Peter soon returns to reclaim his shadow. When he is not able to attach it, Wendy Darling kindly agrees to sew it on. Peter is not romantically fond of Wendy, but he learns that she knows lots of bedtime stories, and he tries to lure her to Neverland to be mother to his band of Lost Boys. He agrees to take her brothers, Michael and John, teaches them all to fly, and brings them all to his island.
Once on the island, Peter welcomes Wendy to his underground home, and she immediately assumes the role of mother figure. Peter takes the Darlings on several adventures, the first truly dangerous one occurring at Mermaids' Lagoon. At Mermaids' Lagoon, Peter and the Lost Boys save the princess Tiger Lily and become involved in a battle with the pirates, including the evil Captain Hook. Peter is wounded when Hook claws him. He believes he will die, stranded on a rock that is sinking in water, but he views death as "an awfully big adventure". Luckily, a bird allows him to use her nest as a boat (a reference to the thrush's nest, see above), and Peter sails home.
Because he has saved Tiger Lily, the Indians are devoted to him, guarding his home from the next imminent pirate attack. Meanwhile, Wendy begins to fall in love with Peter. Peter is confused and disturbed by this turn of events; when he voices his concern, he hurts Wendy's feelings, and she decides to take John and Michael and return to England. Unfortunately, and unbeknownest to Peter, Wendy and the boys are captured by Captain Hook, who also tries to poison Peter's medicine while the boy is asleep. When Peter awakes, he learns from the fairy Tinker Bell that Wendy has been kidnapped — in an effort to please Wendy, he goes to drink his medicine. Tink does not have time to warn him of the poison, and instead drinks it herself, causing her near death. Peter invokes the sympathy of children who might be dreaming of him, and Tinker Bell is saved.
Peter heads to the ship. On the way, he encounters the ticking crocodile; Peter decides to copy the tick, so any animals will recognize it and leave him unharmed. He does not realize that he is still ticking as he boards the ship, where Hook cowers, mistaking him for the crocodile. While the pirates are searching for the croc, Peter sneaks into the cabin to steal the keys and free the Lost Boys. When the pirates investigate a noise in the cabin, Peter kills them. When he finally reveals himself, he and Hook fall to in the climactic battle, which Peter easily wins. He kicks Hook into the jaws of the waiting crocodile. Then Peter takes control of the ship, and sails the seas back to London.
Before Wendy and her brothers arrive at their house, Peter flies ahead, to try and bar the window so Wendy will think her mother has forgotten her. But when he learns of Mrs Darling's distress, he bitterly leaves the door unlocked and flies away. Peter returns briefly, and he meets Mrs Darling, who has agreed to adopt the Lost Boys. She offers to adopt Peter as well, but Peter refuses, afraid they will "catch him and make him a man". It is hinted that Mary Darling knew Peter when she was a girl, because she is left slightly changed when Peter leaves.
Peter promises to return for Wendy every spring, but he remembers only twice — Peter is usually very forgetful, however; after the passing of only one year, he has already forgotten Captain Hook and Tinker Bell. He returns for Wendy years later, but Wendy is now grown, with a daughter of her own. When Peter learns that Wendy has betrayed him by growing up, he is angry and heartbroken. But Wendy's daughter Jane agrees to come to Neverland as Peter's new mother. By the end of the novel, even Jane has grown up, and Peter takes her daughter Margaret to Neverland. Barrie says this cycle will go on forever as long as children are "gay and innocent and heartless".
The theatrical version, titled Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up is very similar to the novel, with the exclusion and addition of some minor scenes. A major difference is the play's ending, which features Peter's return for Wendy. Wendy has grown a bit older, and, like all adults, it is becoming harder for her to see Peter. Her flying is rickety, and she has to use a broomstick. Peter and Jane's meeting is completely left out, but was still created in play format; this mini-play was called "An Afterthought", and was performed only once. In the stage play version, Peter is more mysterious — he cannot be touched, and indeed is not touched, by anyone throughout the performance.
[edit] Peter Pan in Scarlet
In Peter Pan in Scarlet, Peter has been dreaming of the Darlings a lot lately, and to his consternation they were much too big. When they and their dog finally return to Neverland, claiming to be dreaming of him too, he is indifferent. He does not even notice that Nibs is absent, nor that Michael is dead. He is concerned only with having the best adventure in the world. When the Neverwood catches on fire, Peter and company escape the island by way of the Jolly Roger, renamed the Jolly Peter. While on board, Captain Pan discovers the late Hook's second-best coat. In the pocket, he finds a treasure map of Neverland. Finally noticing the beginnings of an adventure, he immediately plans to head to the mountain of Neverpeak to claim Captain Hook's treasure. Peter makes a fatal mistake in allowing an adult, the circus master Ravello, to join his crew as butler. Ravello seems very urgent when asking Peter to wear the red coat; he is sure the boy will catch cold without it.
But along the journey, Peter grows more and more irritable. He develops a harsh cough, and it seems that whenever he wears the coat he is grouchiest - he banishes the fairy Fireflyer for depleting the food supply, and when he learns Slightly is growing older, he banishes him as well - to the awful Nowhereland, home of all the Long Lost Boys Peter has banished in times past. The band of Explorers is shocked when Peter's speaking becomes littered with sailor terms, and especially when he replaces his customary crow with the word "AVAST"!
The hike up Neverpeak is particularly arduous; Ravello offers to detach the children's shadows, so they won't get tangled on the way up. When the band finally reaches the summit of Neverpeak, Peter is impatient to get at the treasure, because he has a feeling that he wants whatever is inside so much. He digs through ice with his bare hands, flaying them raw, only to get at the treasure Peter has grown to want all along - Eton treasures. Wendy asks why Peter wants them so; he barely hears her as he admires a silver trophy, when he again catches his reflection. He looks exactly like a young version of Captain Hook, complete with long black hair and Eton tie. Peter is horrified that he is not himself, when Ravello suddenly reveals himself — he is none other than James Hook, who has survived the crocodile.
Hook is still extremely resentful of Peter, and reveals that he served as his valet so he could train him; he wanted Peter to have his own exact feelings, which were passed on to the boy through the old pirate coat. Hook explains that since he is grown he can no longer wish, and he knows Peter is the only one who could wish strong enough for the treasures Hook has wanted all his life. So he cut off Peter's shadow so the boy could not fly, combed the imagination out of his hair, and choked him with the white Eton tie. Peter refuses to believe he has become Hook, even though he knows he has been wishing Hook's wishes and even dreaming Hook's dreams.
The band is shocked, and Peter is horrified. Hook nearly steals the boy's childhood by asking him what he wants to be when he grows up, when Slightly suddenly appears. Slightly, who has been dogging the band's trail all along, warns Peter not to answer, because if you answer, you have betrayed childhood and "Looked Ahead" to adulthood. Peter feebly banishes Hook to Nowhereland, but to no avail. The league is stuck on the mountain in a blizzard, with no fire and no way to get down. Then the other outcast appears — Fireflyer, who, to impress the newly revived Tinker Bell, plunges into the brush and starts a fire, surviving the process.
But Peter, who has cast off the hated coat, has become cold and ill in his flimsy tunic. He falls to the ground in a coughing fit, and is soon taken up dead. Tootles insists they need a doctor, so Curly Looks Ahead, growing up and becoming a doctor. He makes an incision over Peter's chest, and draws out a long dusty strand. It is soon learned the Ravello and Hook's coat have not been the cause of Peter's demise, but a strand of common London fog brought in on the children's clothes.
Warmed by the fire and gladdened by Peter's newfound health, the band finds spirit enough to descend the mountain. But the danger is not yet over - Peter is accosted by the banished Long Lost Boys at the foot of the mountain, where he, John, and Wendy are thrown in the quicksand to sink. Luckily, they manage to pull themselves out, but during the interval, Ravello has arrived, with his returned circus animals. The animals are about to devour Peter and the Explorers, when a band of warring fairies descend and smother the animals. Hook is enraged, and vows to fight the weaponless Peter, but Peter is again saved, this time by the dog the children brought along. Hook is attacked by the Newfoundland, and is at the verge of death, when Wendy says all he needs to heal is a bit of sleep. She gives him a goodnight kiss, and tucks the dying man under his tattered red coat.
The children manage to escape without harm, and even find a way home with help from Mr. Smee, but Peter remains on the island. He cannot fly anywhere, because his shadow has not yet grown back. Wendy's good-bye words to Peter are, "I think your mother only shut the window to keep out the FOG!"
[edit] Hook
In the 1991 film Hook, it shows how Peter decided to not go back to Neverland after he fell in love with Wendy's granddaughter, Moira (though in the book, her name is Margaret, but he didn't stay afterwards). He is adopted and grows up to become a successful businessman and has two children, Jack and Maggie. However, because he is so into being successful, he neglects his children and wife a lot. After visiting an elderly Wendy, Peter's children are kidnapped by Hook, and Peter is taken back to Neverland by Tink, who, with the help of the remaining Lost Boys, helps Peter reawaken his lost past.
Hook, meanwhile, attempts to turn Peter's own children against him. He is successful with Jack, who felt his father neglected him the most. However, when Peter becomes the Pan again and gives Hook the war he wanted, he tells Jack he was his happy thought to get him to fly again. Peter spares the captain after their duel, but when Hook tries to kill him, the crocodile, who was killed and stuffed and made into a clock tower, temporarily comes back to life and eats Hook finally. Peter leaves Neverland with his children and lives a full, happier life with his family.
Peter is portrayed by Robin Williams.
[edit] Abilities
[edit] Flight
This is Peter Pan's most notable magical ability. He first flew when he was seven days old. He is the only character able to fly without fairy dust. Peter is a rather remarkable boy who is able to fly by the force of powerful happiness within which as he says can lift you into the air.
[edit] Fencing
Peter is an amazing swordsman, he has the skill to rival even Captain Hook, who is said to be the bosun of Blackbeard. He also claims to have killed Barbecue with his sword. Peter is also the one who cut off Hooks right hand while mid-duel with him.
[edit] Mimicry
Peter Pan has displayed skill in mimicry by copying the voice of Hook, and the tick tock of the Crocodile, perfectly.
[edit] The power of imagination
In Peter Pan in Scarlet, there are various mentioning of Peter's ability to imagine things into existence, such as food. He also creates various windows/doors to place people in Nowhereland. He even creates an imaginary sword to draw the imaginary windows/doors. There are also many parts in the novel Peter Pan where J.M. Barrie writes that make-believe is real in Neverland. He was able to transform the Wendy House into a train. The train eventually wrecks and Peter gets angry.
[edit] Special senses
Peter is known to be able to see in the dark of night. This is shown when he is able to scan the ground of Neverland while flying high in the air. He is also able to hear the Pirates approaching the Mermaid Lagoon while they are still a distance away. Peter has the ability to sense life in others when they are unconscious.
[edit] Other magical abilities
Peter Pan is said to be able to do almost anything by J.M.Barrie in the chapter "the Mermaid Lagoon" in the novel Peter Pan and Wendy. He also is said to be able to feel danger when it's near. He is the only known person on the island who is able to speak the Fairy language of Bells, this is because of having lived with them for so long. In Peter Pan in Scarlet, it says that when Curly's puppy licks Peter, it licks off a lot of Fairy Dust, leading you to conclude that Peter Pan also can generate Fairy Dust.
[edit] Peter Pan in Disney media
Peter Pan's most famous appearance in Disney media is in the 1953 film Peter Pan. Peter's role in this story resembles closely that in the novel, although his fighting habits are much less violent. In recent years however, Disney has published many more adventures revolving around Peter Pan. Peter also appears at the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts as a meetable character.
[edit] Peter and the Starcatchers
The story begins on the ragged ship The Never Land. A young orphan boy, Peter, and four of his friends have been sent from St. Norbert's Home for Wayward Boys to board the ship, and soon find out they are going to serve as slaves to ruthless King Zarboff III of Rundoon. Living in terrible conditions, Peter and his friends plot for a way to escape. However, while on the ship, Peter (who is actually Peter Pan and the novel's hero) meets a young girl named Molly Aster. Cocky Peter is thrown off his guard by the spirited Molly - he also develops an affection for her, drawn to her by her striking green eyes. Peter encounters Molly several times while wandering the ship, and finds her somewhat mysterious.
Soon, strange things begin happening on The Never Land. While foraging for food, Peter has discovered an old, battered chest on board, and finds that both Molly and the crewmen Slank and Alf know things about it that he does not. Peter soon confronts Molly, and learns that she is an apprentice to a group of strange people - Starcatchers. Molly explains that the job of Starcatchers is to gather the magical "starstuff" that falls from shooting stars and protect it from people called "Others" who will misuse the magic. Molly attributes the magic of starstuff to the cause of much of the violence that goes on in the earth. She tells Peter that people like Attila the Hun became evil dictators because they were greedy over starstuff, and she says that fairies, mermaids, and centaurs were all originally animals mutated by starstuff's magical powers. She also says that the genius of artists like Leonardo da Vinci was due to starstuff. Molly explains that starstuff has wonderful healing powers as well. Peter doesn't believe her at first, but Molly goes on to prove starstuff's power by showing Peter that she has the ability to fly. She says he must help her protect the starstuff on board.
When "The Never Land" is attacked by the pirate Black Stache during a massive thunderstorm, the decrepit ship wrecks on the rocks surrounding a small island. The few survivors - including Molly, Peter, and the orphans, are separated, but they individually take shelter on the island. The sailor Alf helps to guide the orphans, but they are soon captured by the Mollusk Tribe native to the island, and nearly fed to the crocodile, Mr. Grin. Soon Molly and Peter realize that the trunk of starstuff has disappeared, and together they embark on a search for it. At the same time, the seaman Slank, who is actually an "Other", is trying to get control of the starstuff, and even Black Stache has caught wind of its magic powers. Molly and Peter try to find the magic trunk, but break away when they have an argument. Many adventures ensue while the two are apart - Peter is nearly fed to the Crocodile, Molly is captured by Slank and Stache, Peter is repeatedly wounded but saved by mermaids. After a climactic battle with the villains, Peter cuts off Stache's left hand, which is eaten by Mr. Grin. Slank and his cohort Little Richard are defeated as well, but during the battle, Peter accidentally wounds the tribe leader, Fighting Prawn. Luckily, Peter has a small amount of remaining starstuff, which he uses to heal the Indian chief.
Thanks to Molly and Peter's efforts, the trunk of starstuff is saved, returned to the Starcatchers and Molly's surviving father. Peter however, in his surviving exposure to the starstuff, has gained the permanent ability to fly. It is also uncertain as to whether or not he will ever age. Peter learns he will be an outcast, and even though Molly will return to London, he decides to stay on the island, so he can be the person he really is and not "a freakshow". The orphan boys decide to remain with him, and Leonard Aster creates a fairy, which they name Tinker Bell, to protect Peter. Peter is soon taught by the natives how to build a house, and he learns to survive on the island, which he names "Neverland" after the ship that wrecked on its rocks.
[edit] Importance
Peter is the most important creature in Neverland. He has an effect on the whole island when he is there. Barrie states that the island wakes up when he returns from his trip to London. There is no explanation of why Peter has such power over the island. He also has some power over those who live in the island. That's demonstrated by the fact that everyone gets into action when he arrives on the island. He also was able to create the law that no one was to harm the Never bird that fell into the water and now rides in her nest.
[edit] The Riddle
Peter Pan's existence is purposely shrouded with mystery. He has nightmares that may answer what J.M.Barrie calls "the Riddle of His Existence". We know that he was once a regular baby who decided he didn't want to grow up, then went on to live with the Fairies in Kensington Gardens and Neverland, only to come back years later and find his own window shut on him. When Captain Hook asks "what art thou?" in the novel Peter Pan, he replies by saying "I am Youth, I am Joy" meaning, maybe, that Peter Pan is the Spirit of Youth. It should be noted, however, that the narrator of the novel deems Peter's self-identification as "Youth" as "nonsense", and that his response is indicative that Peter, in fact, did not know what he was. That Peter is the Spirit of Youth is, however, endorsed by the Disney movie Peter Pan when the narrator introduces Mrs. Darling, stating that she saw Pan as the Spirit of Youth. It was also mentioned in Barrie's novel that, when Mrs Darling was a child, she heard that Peter Pan would travel with dead children halfway to their destination so that they wouldn't be scared; this would imply a similar role to Charon, the boatman of the dead in Greek mythology. Peter and the Starcatchers portrays Peter Pan as an ordinary boy who grew up in an orphanage. In a later version of Peter Pan, Peter is seen as a seventeen year old teen who was born in a garden and was abandoned by his mother at birth. He was fed and cared for by the fairies of the garden until he grew up and flew to his home. Here he found the window barred and his mother holding a new baby boy. This angered Peter, and he flew to Neverland where he lived and had his adventures. This story states that he ages one year every 100 years.
[edit] Enemies
[edit] Captain Hook/Captain Black Stache
Captain Hook is Peter Pan's most well known nemesis. He is Captain of the Jolly Roger and judges his men with an iron claw. He has a real name that is James Hook, maybe being portrayed as Wendy's father. He hates Pan for cutting off his hand and throwing it to the Crocodile. He claims he would've forgiven Peter by now if he wasn't so cocky. That is the quality that Hook cannot forgive him for.
[edit] Starkey
Starkey doesn't do much against Peter in the novel Peter Pan and Wendy. But in Peter Pan in Scarlet, he leads the young Redskins into the sea to gain the onions he left on board the Jolly Roger. They capture the League of Pan, but leave Peter alone. He swears to make Starkey pay, but doesn't do a thing. He and his League escape when Mr. Ravello and his animals attack Starkey and his Redskins.
[edit] Lord Ombra
In Peter and the Shadow Thieves, a shadow creature named Lord Ombra is the main villain of Peter. He has amazing powers of control. He is able to use his powers by control over shadows. He is called the Shadow Master. He is named after umbra, or the dark part of a shadow.
[edit] Slank
Another villain created in the Peter and the Starcatchers Trilogy is Slank. He is a member of the Others and tries to keep the chest of starstuff in his hands. He has to fight the Mermaids, and Peter to get it. He ends up getting it taken by Peter, who delivers it to the Starcatchers.
[edit] Appearance
Barrie never described Peter's appearance in detail, even in the novel Peter and Wendy, leaving much of it to the imagination of the reader and the interpretation of anyone adapting the character. He describes him as a beautiful boy with a beautiful smile, "clad in skeleton leaves and the juices that flow from trees". In the play, Peter's outfit is made of autumn leaves and cobwebs.
Traditionally the character has been played on stage by an adult woman (a decision driven primarily by the difficulty of casting actors even younger than the one playing Peter for the other children) so the presentation of the character on stage has never been implied to be how he "really" looks.
In Peter Pan in Scarlet, Geraldine McCaughrean adds to the description of his appearance, mentioning his blue eyes, and saying that his hair is light (or at least any color lighter than black). In this novel, Neverland has moved on to autumn, so Peter wears a tunic of jay feathers and maple leaves, rather than his summertime garb. In the "Starcatcher" stories written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, Peter has carrot-orange hair and bright blue eyes.
In the animated Disney films, Peter wears an outfit that's easier to animate, consisting of a short-sleeved green tunic and leggings apparently made of cloth, and a cap with a feather in it. He has pointed elf-like ears, and his hair is orangish brown. In the live-action 2003 film, he is portrayed by Jeremy Sumpter, who has brownish blond hair and green eyes, and his outfit is made of leaves and vines. In Hook, he appears as an adult as Robin Williams with dark brown hair, but in flashbacks to his youth his hair is more orangish. His ears appear pointed only when he is "Peter Pan", not "Peter Banning"; his Pan clothing resembles the Disney outfit.
[edit] Age
Ironically, the "boy who wouldn't grow up" has appeared at a variety of ages, maxing out at early adolescence. In his original appearance in The Little White Bird he was only seven days old. His characterization is older than that in the novel, which says that he has all of his baby teeth, suggesting a physical age of perhaps 6 years. Barrie's intended model for the statue of Peter that was erected in Kensington Gardens was a set of photos of Michael Llewelyn Davies taken at the age of 6. Early illustrations of the character generally appeared to be that age or perhaps a few years older. In the 1953 Disney adaptation and its sequel, Peter appears to be in late childhood, between 10 and 13 years old. (The actor who provided the voice was 15-year-old Bobby Driscoll.) In the 2003 film, Jeremy Sumpter was 13 at the time filming started (though by the end of filming he had grown several inches taller).
[edit] Personality
Peter is mainly an exaggerated stereotype of a boastful and careless boy. He is quick to point out how great he is, even when such claims are questionable (such as when he congratulates himself for Wendy successfully reattaching his shadow).
Peter has a nonchalant attitude that makes him say things such as "I forget 'em after I kill 'em". He is also known to be fearlessly cocky when it comes to putting himself in danger. It is said by Barrie that when Peter thought he was going to die on Marooner's Rock, he felt scared, yet he felt only one shudder run through him when any other person would've felt scared up until death. With his blissful unawareness of the tragedy of death, he says, "To die will be an awfully big adventure".
In some variations of the story and even some spin-offs, Peter can also be quite nasty and selfish. In the Disney adaptation of the tale, Peter appears very judgmental and pompous (for example, he called the Lost Boys "blockheads" and when the Darling children say that they should leave for home at once, he gets the wrong message and angrily assumes that they want to grow up).
In the 2003 live-action film, Peter Pan is fairly sensitive about the subject of "growing up". When confronted by Hook about Wendy growing up, marrying and eventually "shutting the window" on Peter. He becomes very depressed and finally refuses to fight.
[edit] References in popular culture
Peter Pan appears in Shrek and Shrek the Third.
The Disney version of Peter Pan appears in House of Mouse, The Lion King 1 1/2, Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse and the Kingdom Hearts videogames.
Peter Pan | ||
|---|---|---|
| Major Characters | Peter Pan · Wendy Darling · Captain Hook · Tinker Bell · John Darling · Michael Darling · The Lost Boys · Smee · Tiger Lily · George Darling · Mary Darling | Image:Peter Pan by nk.svg |
| Official Books and Stage Plays | The Little White Bird · Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up · Peter and Wendy · Peter Pan in Scarlet | |
| Feature Films | Peter Pan (1924) · Peter Pan (1953) · Peter Pan (2003) · Hook · Return to Never Land · Tinker Bell | |
bg:Питър Пан ca:Peter Pan da:Peter Pan de:Peter Pan es:Peter Pan eu:Peter Pan fr:Peter Pan gl:Peter Pan ko:피터 팬 it:Peter Pan he:פיטר פן ms:Peter Pan nl:Peter Pan (verhaal) ja:ピーター・パン no:Peter Pan nds:Peter Pan pl:Piotruś Pan (powieść) pt:Peter Pan ru:Питер Пэн fi:Peter Pan sv:Peter Pan tr:Peter Pan (kitap) zh:彼得潘
Categories: Articles lacking sources from January 2008 | All articles lacking sources | Cleanup from December 2006 | All pages needing cleanup | Peter Pan | Fictional characters in children's literature | Disney's Peter Pan characters | Fictional immortals | Kingdom Hearts characters | Characters in written fiction | Fictional characters who can fly
