The History and Evolution of Peter Pan
Peter Pan, the eternally young boy who adventures through Neverland has an appealingly neverending history and legacy in books, theatre, film, and television. Making his debut in The Little White Bird by J. M. Barrie and soon appearing in Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up or Peter and Wendy. Peter Pan soon took to film and television appearing in classics like 1953’s Peter Pan as well as 2003’s adaptation with Jeremy Sumpter. Films like Hook with Robin Williams and Return to Neverland continued the legacy of the original story in interesting and unique ways. Peter pan has been on our screens in some form or another for almost 100 years now and with a few new announcements, it seems that we will be watching Peter Pan for the next 100 years to come!
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The History and Evolution of Peter Pan in Television and Film
The History and Evolution of Peter Pan
So one of my early childhood memories revolves around me playing Peter Pan and fighting pirates with my friends. I think this is something many people did when they were younger, but after a few years the movies faded from memory and I moved on with life…. That was until I recently rewatched Peter Pan from 2003 and even though I am a 23-year-old young adult moving into the big bad world – I once again found myself being transported to Neverland and falling in love with the world of Peter Pan all over again. My Fiance and I then watched Hook, followed by Return to Neverland which was her favorite Peter Pan movie growing up. After this we attempted watching pan… I’ll get to that later… But after our Peter Pan marathon, I couldn’t get the lost boy out of my head and dove into his history and evolution… And trust me when I say it is a weird one!
But that is what I will be discussing in this article today! The History & Evolution of Peter Pan in film and Television!
Peter Pan’s Origins
So Peter Pan originally debuted as an infant in The Little White Bird, a novel written by J.M. Barrie for adults in 1902. Though he’s only prominent in a few chapters, the book’s popularity — due, in part, to readers’ attachment to Pan — led Barrie to write the 1904 play Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up. When Peter Pan first appeared in “The Little White Bird” he was only a seven-day-old baby and birds taught him how to fly. He was also described as “betwixt-and-between” a boy and a bird. This is of course a far cry from his typical depiction in film.
Peter Pan (1924)
Peter Pan’s first film adaptation was Peter Pan, a silent film released in 1924. The film starred Betty Bronson as the titular figure. While it might seem out of place to cast a woman as peter pan nowadays, in the early 1900s it was a common occurrence to cast an actress to play Peter instead of a man who would be deemed too large and lacked the innocence and of a young boy.
The film’s plot involves a group of kids who meet Peter Pan and travel to the island of Never Land to stay young, where Peter also attempts to evade Captain Hook. The film was received incredibly well and was praised for its use of special effects. In 2000, this film was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Peter Pan (1953)
It would be 29 more years until we received another Peter Pan film… But with the long await came arguably his most iconic portrayal in Peter Pan 1953. This animated Disney classic captured the hearts of millions through the generations and is still the most popular portrayal of the character to this date.
The use of animation allowed the filmmakers to truly capture the magic and wonder of Neverland and its magical elements. The film was received incredibly well by the public but did have its fair share of critics. Bosley Crowther claimed that the movie had the story but not the spirit of Peter Pan.
Despite its critics, the film is loved to this day, however, recently, it has become shrouded in controversy because of its depiction of Native Americans. As for Peter Pan himself, he was a courageous young boy but could also be hot-headed, short-tempered, and mean. Despite this, he eagerly leads the lost boys who look up to and respect him.
The film adapted the classic and most well-known peter pan story. Losing his shadow at the Darlings and meeting wendy while trying to acquire it before taking Wendy and her siblings to Neverland. This simple story has become the definitive go-to peter pan story in no small part to the success of this film. This rendition of Peter Pan has definitely stood the test of time.
Peter Pan (1960)
The next time we saw Peter Pan on screen was in 1960 in the form of a television musical which has a rather interesting record attached to it. The musical was actually a broadcast of a 1954 play and was the first Broadway musical adapted to TV with the entire cast and crew intact.
The musical was again lead by a female performer in the role of Peter Pan – Mary Martin captured the hearts of many with her incredibly charismatic performance.
Again the musical followed the traditional story of Peter Pan chasing his shadow, meeting the Darlings, and taking them on adventures to Never Land!
Peter Pan (1976 – 1989)
There were several other portrayals of Peter Pan over the decades such as Mia Farrow in 1976s Peter Pan Another live-action musical version of the play, with all-new songs, rather than the ones used in the Mary Martin production. Peter Pan in an Australian direct-to video release in 1988 simply titled Peter Pan and what amounts to little more than a cameo in an incredibly sweet animated short comedy about Disney animation starring the late great Robin Williams and Walter Cronkite in 1989. But that wouldn’t be the last time Robin Williams would be associated with a peter pan project.
Hook (1991)
Because just two years later we would get the release of the cult classic film Hook starring Robin Williams as Peter Banning – a grown-up version of Peter Pan who has grown up and forgotten who he was. This film was the first big-budget production to really try something new with the Peter Pan mythos, but it still treated the past and legacy of the peter pan story with respect.
The film was directed by Steven Spielberg and also cast Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook and Julia Roberts as tinker bell. The film acted as a direct sequel to J. M. Barrie‘s 1911 novel Peter and Wendy. The film focuses on the adult Peter Pan having to save his children from his nemesis while regaining his memory and once again learning to fly.
The film was a massive success at the box office, while fans loved the movie, critics were incredibly harsh and you can continue to see this discrepancy in the ratings to this day.
At the turn of the century, we got an astronomical growth in the amount of Peter Pan releases.
Peter Pan (2000)
Starting with the 2000 television musical Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby who gives a once-in-a-lifetime performance as the legendary lost boy and easily stands side by side with Mary Martin as one of the most iconic one stage performances of the character.
Return to Neverland (2002)
Followed closely by 2002’s Return to Neverland which was Disney’s sequel to their original 1953 feature-length film. This film saw the return of the most famous depiction of Peter Pan as he traveled to Neverland with Jane, the daughter of a grown-up Wendy. There were a few changes made to this movie including the complete removal of the Native Americans to avoid controversy and the mermaids were given tops to avoid being sexualized. All in all the movie was rated favorably but The critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes says it has “forgettable songs and lackluster story”.
Peter Pan (2003)
The following year we had – in my opinion – the greatest Peter Pan movie to ever be released! Starring Jeremy Sumpter as Peter Pan and Jason Isaacs as Captain Hook, this film followed much of the traditional Peter Pan story, but with additional time spent on the more romantic side of Peter and Wendy’s relationship. The film also had a noticeably darker tone than previous adaptations of the same tale. The casting in the film also has a few interesting points such as the fact that this was in fact the first time Peter Pan was portrayed by a boy. The casting of a single actor to play both George Darling and Captain Hook follows a tradition that was started during the stage productions.
Jake and the Neverland Pirates (2003)
In 2003 we also had Neverland 2003 and Jake and the Neverland pirates! Neverland is one of the first theatrical releases that makes a drastic change to the typical Peter Pan tale. In this adaptation, Neverland is a burnt-out suburban amusement park filled with self-styled fairies, lost punks and beautiful performers. This independent film attempted to take the fantastical story and adapt it to the real world with those that watched the film giving it rather favorable reviews.
Jake and The Neverland Pirates features the return of Disney’s adaptation of Peter Pan, but with a few stylistic differences. Peter Pan is also not the star of this series, but rather the shows titled Jake along with his pirates. Despite the series lasting 4 seasons, Peter Pan only appeared in a handful of episodes. The series was also aimed at a much younger audience and as a result, the stories and themes are of a much more light-hearted nature.
Peter Pan (2004)
The following year, 2004 we got another Peter Pan property in the form of Finding Neverland. The film follows the life and story of J. M. Barrie and reveals real events that inspired Peter Pan. While the film follows the author of Peter Pan and tells the story of his life – Peter Pan is seen in a few scenes being performed by Kelly Macdonald. These scenes are simply depictions of the stage play and are not a true depiction of a magical peter pan from neverland.
Tinker Bell (2008 – 2015)
The next Peter Pan property we get is the Tinker Bell film series. In total there were 6 movies being released from 2008 to 2015. These films were prequels and as a result, Peter Pan is not included or mentioned in any of the films – So we won’t waste any time here.
Neverland (2011)
2011 brought us Neverland. A mini-series that aired on the Syfy channel. With only two episodes of this series this adaptation is another retelling of the Peter Pan mythos with Peter being transported to Neverland by a mystical orb. This series made a wide variety of changes to the more mainstream narrative. Juvenile street thieves, giant 10 legged crocodiles, mystical orbs, tree spirits, and Captain Bonnie are all changes to the classic tale. These updates keep much of the spirit of Peter Pan intact but create enough change to warrant a new story being told.
Once upon a time (2013)
In 2013 we got one of the most unique portrayals of Peter Pan… This time as a villain… In the series, Once upon a time Peter Pan, also known as Malcolm is the father of Rumpelstiltskin. He gives himself the name Peter Pan after the doll owned by his son after he abandoned him. This version of Peter Pan was evil, performed witchcraft, and had a wide variety of magic at his disposal. This version of Peter Pan, much like the rest loved his eternal youth, but separate this depiction of Pan is the sadistic levels he will go to to keep his youth.
And finally, in 2015 we get our last 2 depictions of Peter Pan – for now at least…
Pan (2015)
Starting off we have… uhhh. Pan. Honestly… what the hell. This is my personal least favorite depiction of Peter Pan – and as you have seen, not all of these are brilliant. This depiction rips away everything you thought you knew about Peter Pan and throws it into a big block-buster mess. Pan is an orphan who is traded to pirates by an orphanage. Pan then becomes a slave to Blackbeard where he has to mine for Pixum. Already you can see why I just can’t stand this movie. Peter escapes from the mines with Hook and meets Tiger Lily… How does this look like a Native American Girl! You know what… I’m just gonna ignore this one. Please explain how Tiger Lily and Captain Hook can form a romantic relationship and that captain hook remains friends with Peter Pan… I understand twisting the source material but this is so far removed from Peter Pan that it just should’ve been a completely new story…
Peter and Wendy (2015)
Then to end off our list we Have Peter and Wendy. In this TV Movie, the story of Peter Pan is told through the imagination of a girl named Lucy who receives hospital treatment for a serious heart condition. Lucy dreams this version of Peter Pan into existence after reading the novel late on the night before her operation when her weakened heart is already beginning to fail. There is some great symbolism in this movie, with Lucy’s condition meaning, that like Peter, she may also never grow old – But for a very different reason. In my opinion, this is a much better way to adapt a story to an audience who are craving something different but still want the heart of the original story to remain – Unlike whatever the hell Pan tried to do…