| Peter Pan | |
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![]() 1953 release poster |
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| Directed by | Clyde Geronimi Wilfred Jackson Hamilton Luske |
| Produced by | Walt Disney |
| Written by | Milt Banta William Cottrell Winston Hibler Bill Peet Erdman Penner Joe Rinaldi Ted Sears Ralph Wright J. M. Barrie (Play) |
| Narrated by | Tom Conway |
| Starring | Bobby Driscoll Kathryn Beaumont Hans Conried Paul Collins Tommy Luske Bill Thompson Candy Candido Heather Angel Roland Dupree Don Barclay |
| Music by | Oliver Wallace |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Release date(s) | February 5, 1953 |
| Running time | 76 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4 million[citation needed] |
| Gross revenue | $87,404,651[citation needed] |
| Followed by | Return to Never Land (2002) |
Peter Pan is a 1953 American animated 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 fourteenth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and was originally released on February 5, 1953 by RKO 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.
The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.[1] A sequel titled Return to Never Land and a prequel titled Tinker Bell were released in 2002 and 2008 respectively.
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The film changes the original Barrie play by having the Darling children know all about Peter Pan before they ever meet him. Peter goes to the nursery window, not to hear Wendy's mother tell her the story of Cinderella, but to hear Wendy tell her brothers stories about Peter himself. The Lost Boys are not adopted at the end by the Darlings as in the play, television, and other film versions; they return to Never Land and stay there with Peter, never growing up. The Disney film also lightens the storyline by carefully eliminating all the potentially tragic overtones of the story, even going so far as to have the Darling children's absence from the nursery go completely unnoticed by their parents. (In the original play and its 1954 musical version, after Wendy, John and Michael go to Never Land with Peter, the parents are plunged into a period of mourning until the children return home.)
In Edwardian London in the neighborhood of Bloomsbury, George and Mary Darling's preparations to attend a party are disrupted by the antics of the boys John and Michael, acting out a story about Peter Pan and the pirates, told to them by their older sister Wendy. The father angrily declares that Wendy has gotten too old to continue staying in the nursery with them, and it's time for her to grow up. 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 he trembles when the crocodile that ate it arrives; it now stalks him hoping to taste more. The crew's restlessness is interrupted by the arrival of Peter and the Darlings. The children easily evade them, and despite a trick by jealous Tinker Bell to have Wendy killed, they meet up with the Lost Boys, six lads in animal-costume pajamas who look to Peter as their leader. John and Michael set off with the Lost Boys to find the island's Indians, who instead capture them, believing them responsible for taking the chief's daughter Tiger Lily.
Meanwhile, Peter takes Wendy to see the mermaids, where they see that Hook and Smee have captured Tiger Lily, to coerce her into revealing 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 assuming that all of them will 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. (This scene is completely different from Barrie's play; in the play, Captain Hook secretly poisons Peter's medicine, and Tinker bill drinks it to save his life. Peter then pleads with the audience to clap their hands if they believe in fairies. they do, and Tinker Bell is made well again.)
Peter rescues Tinker Bell from the rubble and together they confront the pirates, releasing the children before they can be forced to 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 with the aid of Tinker Bell's pixie dust, flies it to London with the children aboard. However, the Lost Boys decide to return o 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; John and Michael are asleep in their beds. The parents have no idea that the children have even been anywhere. Wendy wakes 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, as it breaks up into clouds itself.
Disney had been trying to buy the film rights to Barrie's play since 1935. He finally received them four years later, after he came to an arrangement with Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, to whom Barrie had bequeathed the rights to the play. His studio started the story development and character designs in the early-1940s, and intended Peter Pan as a follow-up to Bambi, but the Second World War forced the project to be put on hold. Just like Pinocchio before it, the original pre-war character designs for Peter Pan were very different from the final product. The original version actually had Nana go to Neverland with Pan and the Darling children, and had a much darker ending. It was not until after the war that the actual production of the film commenced.
Margaret Kerry was Tinker Bell's live-action reference model, contrary to rumors that it was Marilyn Monroe. Margaret Kerry posed for reference film shots on a soundstage; the footage was later used by supervising Tinker Bell animator Marc Davis and his team when they drew the character. Kerry also provided the voice of the red-haired mermaid in the film.
Like Kerry, Bobby Driscoll was both the live-action reference model, mainly used for the close-up scenes, and the voice actor for Peter Pan. Peter's flying and action reference shots, however, were provided by dancer and choreographer Roland Dupree.
Kathryn Beaumont, the voice of Wendy, eldest of the Darling children, also performed for the live action reference footage. In an interview, she said she had to hold out her arms and pretend to fly for all the scenes requiring it.
The movie was adapted by Milt Banta, William Cottrell, Winston Hibler, Bill Peet, Erdman Penner, Joe Rinaldi, Ted Sears, and Ralph Wright from the play and novel Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie. The film was directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske.
The songs in Peter Pan were composed by Sammy Fain, Sammy Cahn, Frank Churchill, Winston Hibler and Ted Sears. Oliver Wallace composed the incidental music score.
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".
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.
Michael Jackson has cited Peter Pan as being 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, and which was the site of much controversy before he moved away in 2005. Ronald D. Moore, one of the executive producers and developer of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, has cited this film as the inspiration for one of the recurring themes of the series concerning the cyclical nature of time. The first line of the film, "All of this has happened before and it will all happen again," has been featured prominently in the series as a piece of scripture often repeated by characters.
The New York Times gave the film a very mixed review, praising the animation itself, but also declaring that the film was not really true to the spirit of the original Barrie play. [5] Time Magazine, perhaps surprisingly, not only gave the film a highly favorable review, but also never mentioned the numerous essential plot changes that Disney made to the original play. [6]
Disney Fairies is a series of children's books published by Random House, which features Tinker Bell and her friends: Beck, Lily, Vidia, Rani, Prilla, Fira, and Bess. It also has a film series starting in 2008 with the self titled film about Tinker Bell.
Peter Pan’s Flight is a popular ride found at Disneyland,[7] Walt Disney World,[8] Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland.[9] Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee make appearances in the parades, as well as greetings throughout the theme parks.
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.[10]. 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.
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Peter Pan, an animated film based on J. M. Barrie's play of the same name, first released in February 1953 by the Disney Studios. It follows the Darling children as they encounter Peter Pan, the main character of one of their favorite bedtime stories, and the adventures they have when he takes them to his magical home: Neverland.
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The Indians' light-hearted musical number has in more recent times come under fire for its depiction of Native Americans.
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