Peter Pan (1953 film)

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Peter Pan is a 1953 American animated adventure film produced by Walt Disney and based on the play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by J. M. Barrie. It is the 14th Disney animated feature film and was originally released on February 5, 1953, by RKO Radio Pictures. Peter Pan is the final Disney animated feature released through RKO before Walt Disney's founding of his own distribution company, Buena Vista Distribution, later in 1953 after the film was released. Peter Pan is also the final Disney film in which all nine members of Disney's Nine Old Men worked together as directing animators. It is also the second Disney animated film starring Kathryn Beaumont, Heather Angel, and Bill Thompson after their roles in the animated feature Alice in Wonderland.

The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival. A sequel titled Return to Never Land was released in 2002, and a series of direct-to-DVD prequels produced by DisneyToon Studios focusing on Tinker Bell began in 2008.

Plot

Set in London, circa 1900, George and Mary Darling's preparations to attend a party are disrupted by the antics of their boys, John and Michael, acting out a story about Peter Pan and the pirates, told to them by their older sister, Wendy. Their father, who is fed up with the stories that have made his children less practical, angrily declares that Wendy has gotten too old to continue staying in the nursery with them. That night, they are visited in the nursery by Peter Pan himself, who teaches them to fly with the help of his pixie friend, Tinker Bell, and takes them with him to the island of Never Land.

A ship of pirates is anchored off Never Land, commanded by Captain Hook with his sidekick, Mr. Smee. Hook boldly plots to take revenge upon Peter Pan for cutting off his hand, but trembles at the presence of a crocodile, which consumed Hook’s hand and is eager to taste the rest of him. The crew's restlessness is interrupted by the arrival of Peter and the Darlings. Tinker Bell, who is very jealous of Pan’s attention to Wendy, persuades the Lost Boys that Pan has ordered them to shoot down Wendy, which Tink refers to as a “Wendy bird”. Tinker Bell's treachery is soon found out, and Peter banishes her. John and Michael set off with the Lost Boys to find the island's Indians, who instead capture them, believing them to be the ones responsible for taking the chief's daughter, Tiger Lily.

Meanwhile, Peter takes Wendy to see the mermaids. The mischievous mermaids delight in tormenting Wendy but flee in terror at the sight of Hook. Peter and Wendy see that Hook and Smee have captured Tiger Lily so that they might persuade her to disclose Peter's hideout. Peter and Wendy free her, and Peter is honored by the tribe. Hook then plots to take advantage of Tinker Bell's jealousy of Wendy, tricking her into revealing the location of Peter's lair. Wendy and her brothers eventually grow homesick and plan to return home. They invite Peter and the Lost Boys to return to London and be adopted by the Darling parents. The Lost Boys agree, but Peter is so set against growing up that he refuses, presumptuously thinking that they will all return shortly. The pirates lie in wait and capture the Lost Boys and the Darlings as they exit, leaving behind a time bomb to kill Peter. Tinker Bell learns of the plot just in time to snatch the bomb from Peter as it explodes.

Peter rescues Tinker Bell from the rubble and together they confront the pirates, releasing the children before they can walk the plank. Peter engages Hook in single combat as the children fight off the crew, and finally succeeds in humiliating the captain. Hook and his crew flee, with the crocodile in hot pursuit. Peter gallantly commandeers the deserted ship, and assisted by Tinker Bell's pixie dust, flies it to London with the children aboard. However, the Lost Boys decide to return to Never Land rather than be adopted in London. Mr. and Mrs. Darling return home from the party to find Wendy not in her bed, but sleeping at the open window. Wendy awakens and excitedly tells about their adventures. The parents look out the window and see what appears to be a pirate ship in the clouds. Mr. Darling, who has softened his position about Wendy staying in the nursery, recognizes it from his own childhood.

Cast and characters

Bobby Driscoll as Peter Pan: The boy who never grows up. Like Tinker Bell, Peter can be very hot-headed. He is also commanding, but very brave. Peter can be quite mean at times (for instance, laughing at Wendy as the mermaids nastily tease her). Despite this, he is caring, especially when it comes to Tinker Bell's safety. He finds enjoyment in fighting Captain Hook, and was responsible for the loss of his left hand. He was modeled by Roland Dupree.

Margaret Kerry as the live-action model for silent character Tinker Bell: A hot-headed pixie and Peter Pan's closest friend. She is very envious of the relationship formed between Wendy and Peter. Her jealousy causes her to have Wendy nearly stoned to death, and eventually even tell Captain Hook Pan's hideout, tricked into thinking his intention is to capture Wendy, not Peter. When she realizes what she has done, she tries her best to warn Peter of a bomb Hook has left for him addressed as if from Wendy in the form of a present. Unfortunately, Peter will not hear of it, and she manages to push the bomb away from him the very moment it explodes, thus saving Peter's life, almost at the cost of her own life. When Peter searches for her desperately in the ashes, she reflects a change of attitude towards Wendy and the boys, telling him he must rescue them first from Captain Hook's ship. Peter, however, says that he cannot leave her and tells her how much he loves her. Towards the end, Tink helps the Darling children return home by sprinkling pixie dust all across the pirate ship Peter Pan has just inherited, which was renamed Captain Pan. Although she never speaks, the animators used Kerry as a model to help them draw her movements.

Kathryn Beaumont as Wendy Darling: The eldest of the Darling children; she adores Peter Pan. She is twelve years old turning thirteen, which is what drives her moody father to move her out of the nursery, so she may mature. She is a very feminine character, with somewhat motherly care for others. She reminds the lost boys of their own mothers. She was the first one of the Darling children to ask to return home. She has a soft spot for Peter and envies the attention he pays Tiger Lily; she has reason to dislike Tinker Bell, but thinks her lovely anyway (namely after the latter calls her a "big ugly girl"). She has a very tame personality, wanting the best for everyone and grudging no one: even when the mermaids tease her nastily, she worries about the danger of their teasing more than their nastiness itself. She is naive, wise, and mature, and very trusting and faithful to her standards of conscience.

Paul Collins as John Darling: One of Wendy's two younger siblings, the older Darling son. He is eight years old, and acts very mature for his age, in a sophisticated way unnatural to his age group. He is an analyzing thinker and good at strategy, for instance when he takes lead over the Lost Boys in capturing Indians and in fighting the pirates on board the ship. He wears large, black glasses, and is tall and slim. It is interesting to note that all the Darling children wore their nightgowns to Neverland, but he added a black top-hat and an umbrella, showing exaggerated maturity.

Tommy Luske as Michael Darling: The youngest of the three Darling children, who is about four years old; he carries a teddy bear with him and is very sensitive. He is also a little clumsy, yet very playful.

Hans Conried as George Darling: The Darling children's father. He is a very moody and dramatic figure. In the beginning of the film he is called "a practical man". He has had enough of the boys listening to Wendy's imaginary tales about Peter Pan, and in a moment of frustration he demands that Wendy's room be parted from the boy's room, saying she "has to grow up". He is easily irritated at the mere mention of Peter Pan, and expresses his dislike in a rage of temper. However, when cooled down in the end of the film, he changes his mind about Wendy's "crazy stories". He later remarks having seen a pirate ship such as Peter Pan's when he was very young himself. In contrast to his moody outbursts, he is gentle at heart; when he punishes the children by taking Nana the dog outside, he feels sorry for her and soothes her to comfort her.

Hans Conried as Captain Hook: He is a pirate captain who seeks revenge on Pan for having his left hand chopped off and fed to the Crocodile in fair battle. He is a dangerous villain, with no conscience to recommend him, yet he is completely dependent on his personal assistant, Mr. Smee. He also turns out to be very childish in his fear of the crocodile, which wants to devour him (having had a taste of him long ago). As in the stage play, the same actor voiced both Captain Hook and George Darling.

Heather Angel as Mary Darling: The Darling children's mother. She is much calmer and more understanding of her daughter's stories than her husband is, even though she takes them with a pinch of salt; saying Peter Pan is "the spirit of youth". When her husband is overwhelmed with frustration at the children, she tries to soothe him, and later on assures the children that their father does not really mean what he says when he is angry, and that he truly loves them very much, which is true. She is a wise, lovely woman, and kind at heart.

Nana: The Darlings' nursemaid, a (St. Bernard) dog (originally a Newfoundland dog). She is an unnatural dog, taking care of the Darling children and cleaning up after their continuous messes. She is very efficient at her work, and possesses much tolerance to the messes she must cope with. She is the family's darling pet, a general favourite; so much that separating her from the children for one night was considered a great punishment.

Bill Thompson as Mr. Smee: Hook's first mate and personal assistant and the comic relief in the story, Mr. Smee is always being bossed around by Hook. The frustrated and bored crew men tease him by belly jabbing, locking him up in a treasure box tied, hooking his shirt on the wall and throwing darts at (almost) his belly.

The Crocodile: A crocodile who swallowed an alarm clock and is after the remains of Hook; Pan had cut off Hook's hand and threw it to the Crocodile. That little appetizer was so successful that he has been following Hook ever since. In comics published later on, his character was known as Tick-Tock the Croc.

The Lost Boys: Pan's right-hand boys, dressed as various animals. Their names are Slightly (fox costume), Cubby (bear costume), Nibs (rabbit costume), Tootles (skunk costume) and the Twins (raccoon costumes). Their origin remains a mystery in the movie, especially since they claim to have once had mothers of their own. They are very savage-like boys, who get into fights easily with each other, but when they have a common goal to strive for, they act as one. Tootles never speaks.

Robert Ellis as Cubby

Jeffrey Silver as Nibs

Johnny McGovern as Twins

Stuffy Singer as Slightly

Tony Butala as singing voices

June Foray, Connie Hilton, Margaret Kerry, and Karen Kester as the mermaids: These mermaids are friends of Peter and are very interested in his heroic stories of himself. They are resentful of Wendy and try to drown her although Peter insists they "are only having fun". They are frightened away when Captain Hook is rowing nearby. The mermaids appear to be in their mid-teens, with very womanly exposed bodies, resembling women in two-part bathing suits or something of the kind.

June Foray as Squaw, the wife of the Indian chief and Tiger Lily's mother. She only appears twice in one scene, where she orders Wendy to get firewood, while everyone else celebrates Peter Pan's honor from the tribe.

Bill Thompson as the other pirates: Several pirates are seen only in one scene in the movie. Afterwards, they are never seen again.

Candy Candido as the Indian Chief/Big Chief: The leader of the Indians. Despite his fierce look, he is a kind and well-meaning leader. Apparently, he has fought the Lost Boys before, having noted that both his people and the Lost Boys have won and lost several times in combat.

Tom Conway as the Narrator: The narrator's voice is heard only at the beginning of the film.

The Mellomen (Thurl Ravenscroft, Bill Lee, Bob Stevens and Max Smith) as the Pirate Chorus and Indians.

Production

In 1935, Walt Disney expressed interest in doing an adaptation of Peter Pan as his second film following Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. However, the live-action film rights were held by Paramount Pictures, in which the copyright owner, the Hospital for Sick Children in London, offered to have Disney make an agreement with Paramount that proved to be unsuccessful. However, in January 1939, Disney obtained the animation rights to the play outbidding the Fleischer Studios who were also developing of animated feature films. By early 1939, a storyreel had been completed, and by the following May, Disney had several animators in mind for the characters. Vladimir Tytla was considered for the pirates, Norman Ferguson for the dog, Nana, (who also animated Pluto), and Fred Moore for Tinker Bell.

During this time, Disney explored many possibilities of how the story could be interpreted. In the earliest version of the story, the film started by telling Peter Pan's back story. But on May 20, 1940, during a story meeting, Disney said "We ought to get right into the story itself, where Peter Pan comes to the house to get his shadow. That's where the story picks up. How Peter came to be is really another story." Walt also explored the idea of opening the film in Neverland and Peter Pan coming to Wendy's house to kidnap her as a mother for the Lost Boys. Eventually, Disney decided that the "kidnapping" was too dark and went back to Barrie's original play where Peter comes to get his shadow and Wendy is eager to see Neverland.

Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States military took control of the studio and commissioned Walt Disney Productions to produce training and war propaganda films in which pre-production work on Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland were shelved. However, the Bank of America allowed production to continue during the war. After the war had concluded, work on the film resumed with Jack Kinney as director. At the time, Kinney had considered leaving Walt Disney Productions for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, but wartime restrictions prevented this. Because he did not want Kinney to get out of his contract, Disney appointed Kinney to direct Peter Pan.

During this same time, Disney talked to Mary Martin, who was appearing in a stage production of the play, about voicing Peter Pan, although Roy O. Disney complained that her voice was "too heavy, matured, and sophisticated." Jean Arthur contacted Walt about being considered for the role. Walt had also talked to Cary Grant about voicing Captain Hook, in which the actor replied the "idea intrigued him." As he was impatient with the delays, Disney asked Kinney to work on sequences consecutively rather than finish the entire script before it was storyboarded so that a scene would be approved at a morning story meeting and then immediately be put into development. Six months later, during a storyboarding meeting, Kinney presented a two-and-a-half presentation, in which Walt sat silently and stated, "You know, I've been thinking about Cinderella."

By 1947, Walt Disney Productions' financial health started to improve again. Around this time, Walt acknowledged the need for sound economic policies, but emphasized to the loaners that slashing production would be suicidal. In order to restore the studio to full financial health, he expressed his desire to return to producing full-length animated films. By then, three animated projects—Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan—were in development. Walt felt the characters in Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan were too cold while Cinderella contained elements similar to Snow White and decided to greenlit the project. Peter Pan was placed back into production in May 1949.

The scene in the nursery went through many alterations. For instance in one version, it was Mrs. Darling who found Peter Pan's shadow and showed it to Mr. Darling as in the original play. In another version of the film, Nana went to Neverland with Pan and the Darling children, and the story was told through her eyes. In other interpretations of the story, John Darling was left behind for being too serious, practical and boring, but story artist Ralph Wright convinced Disney to have John go with the others to Never Land. The film also included Wendy taking her Peter Pan Picture Book" and Peter and the children eating an "Imaginary Dinner". At one point, there was a party in Peter's hideout where Tinker Bell got humiliated and in her rage went and deliberately told Captain Hook the location of Peter Pan's hideout at her own free will. However, Walt felt that this was against Tinker Bell's character and that she had "gone too far" and changed it to Captain Hook kidnapping and persuading Tinker Bell to tell him. There is a point in Barrie's play where Captain Hook puts poison in Peter's dose of medicine and Tinker Bell saves Peter by drinking the poison herself only to be revived by the applause by the theater audience. After much debate Disney discarded this fearing it would be difficult to achieve in a film. In earlier scripts, there were more scenes involving the Pirates and the Mermaids that were similar to what Disney had previously done with the dwarfs in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Ultimately, these scenes were cut for pacing reasons. The film was also a little bit darker at one point since there were scenes involving Captain Hook being killed by the crocodile, the Darling family mourning over their lost children, and Pan and the children discovering the pirates' treasure which is loaded with booby traps.

Live-action reference

As with previous Disney animated features, a live-action version was filmed to serve as an aid to animators with the actors performing to a prerecorded dialogue track. Margaret Kerry received a call to audition to serve as the live-action reference for Tinker Bell. For the live-action reference, Kerry said she had to hold out her arms and pretend to fly for all the scenes requiring it. Additionally, Kerry served as reference for one of the mermaids along with Connie Hilton and June Foray. At the same time, the studio was looking for an actor to portray Peter Pan, in which Kerry suggested her dancing teacher Roland Dupree for the part. Dupree was interviewed and eventually won the role, in which he provided reference for the flying and action sequences. Bobby Driscoll also served as the live-action reference model for Peter Pan, although it was mainly used for the close-up scenes. Hans Conreid completed the voice work over the course of a few days, and served as the live-action reference for two-and-a-half years. Kathryn Beaumont, who was also the voice of Wendy, also performed for the live-action reference footage.

Character animation

Milt Kahl desired to animate Captain Hook, but was instead assigned to animate Peter Pan and the Darling children in which he claimed he was "outmaneuvered". During production, while animating Peter Pan, Kahl claimed that the hardest thing to animate was a character floating in mid-air. While observing the animation of Peter Pan, Disney complained that the animators let too much of Driscoll's facial features get into the character design. He told Kahl that "[t]hey are too masculine, too old. There is something wrong there." "You want to know what's wrong!?...What's wrong is that they don't have any talent in the place," Kahl replied.

The role of Captain Hook was instead assigned to Frank Thomas. The characterization of Hook proved to be conflicting as Thomas claimed story artist Ed Penner viewed him as "a very foppish, not strong, dandy-type, who loved all the finery. Kind of a con man. [Co-director Gerry] Geronimi saw him as an Ernest Torrence: a mean, heavy sort of character who used his hook menacingly." When Disney saw Thomas's first test scenes, he said, "Well, that last scene has something I like I think you're beginning to get him. I think we better wait and let Frank go on a little further." Because Thomas could not animate every scene of Hook, certain sequences were given to Wolfgang Reitherman who animated Hook's over-the-top scenes including when he tries to escape Tick-Tock the crocodile.

Ollie Johnston animated Mr. Smee. To best capture his comedic yet fear-ridden, sycophantic personality, Johnston used a variation of the Dwarf design from Snow White, and had Smee blink numerously. His former mentor, Fred Moore, worked in Johnston's unit as a character animator on minor scenes for Smee, as well as animated the mermaids and the Lost Boys. On November 22, 1952, both he and his second wife, Virginia, were injured in an auto accident on Mount Gleason Drive in Los Angeles. Moore died the following day at the St. Joseph's Hospital across from the Disney studios from a cerebral concussion.

Music

Frank Churchill wrote several songs for the film during the early 1940s, and Charles Walcott wrote additional songs in 1941. When work on Peter Pan resumed in 1944, Eliot Daniel composed songs for the film. However, this version of Peter Pan was shelved so the studio could complete Cinderella. The incidental music score for the movie is composed by Oliver Wallace.

Songs

"The Second Star to the Right" - Words by Sammy Cahn. Music by Sammy Fain. Background Vocals by The Jud Conlon Chorus and The Mellomen.

The melody for "The Second Star to the Right" was originally written for Alice in Wonderland as part of a song to be entitled "Beyond the Laughing Sky". Some Disneyland-issued compilations give the title as "Second Star to the Right" (no "The"); see, for example, 50 Happy Years of Disney Favorites (Disneyland Records, STER-3513, Side II).

"You Can Fly!" - Words by Sammy Cahn. Music by Sammy Fain. Talking Voices by Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Paul Collins, and Tommy Luske. Background Vocals by The Jud Conlon Chorus, and The Mellomen.

"A Pirate's Life" - Words by Ed Penner. Music by Oliver Wallace. Background Vocals by The Mellomen.

"Following the Leader" - Words by Winston Hibler and Ted Sears. All Vocals by Bobby Driscoll, Paul Collins, Tommy Luske, & the Lost Boys Cast

"What Made the Red Man Red?" - Words by Sammy Cahn. Music by Sammy Fain. Lead Vocals by Candy Candido. Background Vocals by The Mellomen.

This song became controversial due to its allegedly racist stereotypes of Native Americans.

"Your Mother and Mine" - Words by Sammy Cahn. Music by Sammy Fain. Lead Vocals by Kathryn Beaumont.

"The Elegant Captain Hook" - Words by Sammy Cahn. Music by Sammy Fain. Lead Vocals by Hans Conried & Bill Thompson. Background Vocals by The Mellomen.

"You Can Fly!" (reprise) - Words by Sammy Cahn. Music by Sammy Fain. Background Vocals by The Jud Conlon Chorus and The Mellomen.

"Never Smile at a Crocodile" - Words by Jack Lawrence. Music by Frank Churchill.

The lyrics were cut from the movie soundtrack, but were included for the 1997 Walt Disney Records CD release. The song, with lyrics, also appears in the Sing-Along Songs video series and the corresponding Canta Con Nosotros title, where it is titled "Al reptil no hay que sonreír."

Music releases

The CD compilation, Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic, contains the songs, "You Can Fly!" on the red disc, "The Second Star to the Right" on the blue disc, and "Following the Leader" on the green disc.

On "Disney's Greatest Hits", "You Can Fly!" is on the blue disc, and "The Second Star to the Right" is on the green disc.

The 1997 soundtrack release contains the bonus tracks "Never Smile at a Crocodile" with lyrics; and an early demo recording of "The Boatswain's Song."

"Second Star to the Right" (sic) appears on Side II of the 1973 Disneyland LP 50 Happy Years of Disney Favorites (Disneyland STER-3513).

Release

Peter Pan was first released in theaters on February 5, 1953. Peter Pan was re-released theatrically in 1958, 1969, 1976, 1982, and 1989. The film also had a special limited re-release at the Philadelphia Film Festival in 2003. It also played a limited engagement in select Cinemark Theatres from February 16–18, 2013.

Home video release

Peter Pan was first released on North American VHS in 1990 and UK VHS in 1993. A THX 45th anniversary limited edition of the film was then released on March 3, 1998, as part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection. Peter Pan was released on VHS and DVD on November 23, 1999, as a Walt Disney Limited Issue for a limited sixty-day time period before going into moratorium. Peter Pan was re-released as a Special Edition VHS and DVD in 2002 to promote the sequel, Return to Neverland. The DVD was accompanied with special features including a making-of documentary, a sing-along, a storybook, and a still-frame gallery of production artwork.

In 2007, Disney released a 2-disc Platinum Edition DVD of the film. A Blu-Ray Diamond Edition of the film was released on February 5, 2013, to celebrate the movie's 60th anniversary. A DVD and digital copy of the Diamond Edition was also released on August 20, 2013.

Critical reaction

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times criticized the film's lack of faithfulness to the original play claiming it "has the story but not the spirit of Peter Pan as it was plainly conceived by its author and is usually played on the stage." Nevertheless, he praised the colors are “more exciting and the technical features of the job, such as the synchronization of voices with the animation of lips, are very good.” However, Time gave the film a highly favorable review, making no reference to the changes from the original play. Mae Tinee of The Chicago Tribune wrote "The backgrounds are delightfully picturesque, the music only so-so. The film is designed for broad for broad effect, with the accent of comedy. I'm sure the youngsters who grow up with cartoons will be right at home with all the characters. Variety described the film as a "feature cartoon of enchanting quality. The music score is fine, highlighting the constant buzz of action and comedy, but the songs are less impressive than usually encountered in such a Disney presentation."

Contemporary reviews remained positive. Giving the film 3½ stars out of 4, Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune noted the "drawing of Tinkerbelle [sic] and the flamboyance of Captain Hook" as well as the "quality music mixed with appropriate animation" were the film's major highlights. Michael Jackson cited Peter Pan as his favorite movie of all time, from which he derived the name for his estate Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara, where he had a private amusement park. Ronald D. Moore, one of the executive producers of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, has cited this film as the inspiration for the series' theme of the cyclical nature of time, using the film's opening line, "All of this has happened before and it will all happen again," as a key tenet of the culture's scripture. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported the film received an approval rating of 76% based on 29 reviews with an average score of 7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though it doesn't delve deeply into the darkness of J.M. Barrie's tale, Peter Pan is a heartwarming, exuberant film with some great tunes.".

Controversy

Peter Pan has been seen as racist in recent years due to the way Disney portrayed the Native American "Indians" in the film. They are displayed as wild, savage, violent and speak in a stereotypical way. The characters often call them savages and at one point Captain Hook refers to them as "redskins". John, Michael and the Lost Boys go hunting them like animals - the Lost Boys mention lions and bears as other alternatives. In the song "What Made the Red Man Red?" the Indians themselves reflect on how they got the color of their skin; they maintain a permanent blush due to their ancestor's pursuit of a woman; and that asking "How?" is a major catalyst for Indian education. These stereotypes are present in J. M. Barrie's play. Marc Davis, one of the supervising animators of the film, said in an interview years after the production that "I'm not sure we would have done the Indians if we were making this movie now. And if we had we wouldn't do them the way we did back then."

Box office

During its initial box office run, the film grossed $7 million in domestic rentals. The movie has earned a lifetime domestic gross of $87.4 million. Adjusted for inflation, and incorporating subsequent releases, the film has had a lifetime gross of $405,593,100.

Disney Fairies

Disney Fairies is a series of children's books published by Random House, which features Tinker Bell and her friends. It also has a film series starting in 2008 with the self-titled film about Tinker Bell.

Theme parks

Peter Pan’s Flight is a popular ride found at Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland. Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee make appearances in the parades, as well as greetings throughout the theme parks.

Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, and the Pirates are featured in a scene during Disneyland's version of Fantasmic!

Ice shows

Disney on Ice began its touring production of Peter Pan in Fall 1989. The production went on to tour nationally & internationally, from 1989 - 1993. The production featured a pre-recorded soundtrack with all the film's songs and character voices.

A shortened version of the story is presented in the current Disney on Ice production Mickey & Minnie's Amazing Journey. The show began in Fall 2003 & is currently on tour nationally. It features the songs "You Can Fly!", "Following the Leader", "Your Mother and Mine", "A Pirate's Life", "The Elegant Captain Hook" & "The Second Star to the Right".

Video games

Neverland is a playable world in both Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, with Tinker Bell appearing as a summon. Peter Pan appears as a summon in the sequel, Kingdom Hearts II. Neverland also appears as a playable world in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and returns as a playable world in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.

Board game

Walt Disney's Peter Pan: A Game of Adventure (1953) is a Transogram Company Inc. track board game based upon the film. The game was one of many toys that exploited the popularity of Walt Disney's post-World War II movies. The object of the game is to be the first player to travel from the Darlings' house to Neverland and back to the Darlings' house.

Play begins at the Darlings' house in the upper left hand corner of the game board. Each player moves, in turn, the number of spaces along the track indicated by his spin of the dial. When a player reaches the Never Isle, he selects a character from the film (Peter, Wendy, Michael, or John) and receives the instruction card for that character. The player follows his chosen character's track on the board, obeying instructions upon the character's card. The player is also obligated to follow any instructions on those spaces he lands upon after spinning the dial during the course of his turn at play. The first player who travels from Never Land to Skull Rock and along the Stardust Trail to Captain Hook's ship, and returns to the Darlings' house is declared the winner.

The board game makes an appearance in the 1968 version of Yours, Mine and Ours as a Christmas present.

Musical

Disney's Peter Pan Jr is a one-hour children's musical based on the Disney Peter Pan movie with some updated material. It became available for school and children's theatre productions in 2013 after several pilot productions.

Sequels

This was Disney's first Peter Pan film. In the early 2000s, a Peter Pan franchise was spawned, involving a number of other animation projects:

Return to Never Land was released in 2002 as a sequel to this film.

The Tinker Bell film series, considered a spin-off, currently has six feature-length films as well as a short film.

The television series Jake and the Never Land Pirates includes Hook and Smee as main characters, as well as being set in Never Land.

Live-action remake

Following the studio's success of live-action adaptations of Disney cartoon films including Maleficent, Cinderella, The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast, Disney announced a similar movie that is in development: a live action Peter Pan movie with David Lowery directing and co-writing with Toby Halbrooks.

References

Peter Pan (1953 film) Wikipedia

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Peter Pan (1953 film) IMDb Peter Pan (1953 film) Rotten Tomatoes Peter Pan (1953 film) themoviedb.org

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