Information AboutPeter Pan |
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]] Peter Pan is a Fictional Character created by Scottish novelist and playwright, James Matthew Barrie ( 1860 – 1937 ), as well as the title of a Stage Play and Novel based on the character. A mischievous little boy who refuses to Grow Up , Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as leader of his gang, the Lost Boys. STORYLINE J. M. Barrie wrote three works involving Peter Pan:
Several sequels, adaptations, and spinoffs have emerged since then, all with slightly modified storylines. Peter and Wendy Later renamed Peter Pan. This is the portion of J. M. Barrie's mythos of Peter Pan that is best known to most readers. In both the play and the novel, Peter invites the girl Wendy Darling to the Neverland to be a mother for his gang of Lost Boys. Her brothers John and Michael come along. Many adventures ensue, including the near-death of the fairy Tinker Bell , and a climactic confrontation with Peter's nemesis, the pirate Captain Hook of the pirate ship the Jolly Roger. In the end, Wendy decides that her place is at home, and brings all the boys back to London. Peter remains in the Neverland, and Wendy grows up. BACKGROUND Barrie created Peter Pan in stories he told to the sons of his friend Sylvia Llewelyn-Davies , with whom he had forged a special relationship while both were married. The character's name comes from two sources: Peter Llewelyn-Davies , at the time the youngest of the boys, and Pan , the mischievous Greek god of the woodlands. Mrs. Llewelyn-Davies' death from cancer came within a few years of the death of her husband. Barrie was named as co-guardian of the boys and unofficially adopted them. It has also been suggested that the inspiration for the character was Barrie's elder brother David, whose death in a skating accident at the age of thirteen deeply affected their mother. According to Andrew Birkin, author of ''J.M. Barrie and the Lost Boys'', the death was "a catastrophe beyond belief, and one from which she never fully recovered . . . If Margaret Ogilvy mother as the heroine of his 1896 novel of that title drew a measure of comfort from the notion that David, in dying a boy, would remain a boy for ever, Barrie drew inspiration." as Peter in an early stage production]] Peter Pan first appeared in print in a 1902 book called ''The Little White Bird'', a fictionalised version of Barrie's relationship with the Llewelyn Davies children, and was then used in a very successful Stage Play , ''Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'', which premiered in London on December 27 , 1904 . In 1906 , the portion of ''The Little White Bird'' which featured Peter Pan was published as the book ''Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens'', with illustrations by Arthur Rackham . Barrie then adapted the play into the 1911 novel ''Peter and Wendy'' (most often now published simply as ''Peter Pan''). There are seven Statue s of Peter Pan playing a set of pipes, cast from a mold by sculptor George Frampton , following an original commission by Barrie. The statues are in Kensington Gardens in London , in Liverpool , in Brussels , in Camden, New Jersey , in Perth , in Toronto , and in Bowring Park in St. John's, Newfoundland . WENDY Barrie is sometimes said to have "invented" the name ''Wendy'' with this story. Barrie's friend, poet William Henley called Barrie "friend" but Henley's 4-year-old daughter Margaret could only pronounce that as "My Fweiendy" or "Fwendy-Wendy". In fact, the name was already in use in both the United States and the United Kingdom , but was extremely rare. The Peter Pan stories popularized the name, at first in the UK. ''Wendy'' is related to the Welsh name ''Gwendolyn'', and was used by Barrie at a time when Welsh names were making a resurgence in England . THEMES The most apparent thematic thread in the story concerns "growing up" (or not), with the character of Peter wanting to remain a child forever in order to avoid the responsibilities of Adulthood . " Peter Pan Syndrome " has become a psychiatric term named by Dr. Dan Kiley to describe an adult who is afraid of commitment and/or refuses to act his age. It is also sometimes used to positively describe an innocent, childlike approach to life. Along with the theme of "growing up" is the theme of death and innocence. Barrie's tale is intricately tied to the real Llewelyn-Davies boys and the deaths of both their mother and father. Peter and Wendy form a contrast between childhood and maturity. Peter Pan remains a child in mind because he cannot feel pain of death affecting him or those around him. Peter has one emotion only: Gladness , and occasionally to that he adds childish fury. He forgets soon after the fact anything that is not happy and lighthearted: "I always forget them after I kill them". There is a slight romantic aspect to the story, which is sometimes played down, or omitted completely, in the movie adaptations. Wendy's flirtatious (by standards of the day) desire to kiss Peter, his desire for a mother figure, his conflicting feelings for Wendy , Tiger Lily and Tinker Bell (each representing different female archetypes), and the symbolism of his fight with Captain Hook (traditionally played by the same actor as Wendy's father), all could possibly hint at a Freudian interpretation (see Oedipus Complex ). Most "children's adaptations" of the play omit any romantic themes between Wendy and Peter, but Barrie's 1904 original, his 1911 novelization of it, and most musicals certainly do. ADAPTATIONS ''Peter Pan'' has been adapted for stage and screen many times. Following the example of Barrie's original stage version, Peter usually - but not always - has been played by an adult female. This is because the harness used to lift Peter wraps around the Waist and Groin area, which would cause significant discomfort if the player was male. Paramount Pictures released the first film version of '' Peter Pan '' in 1924 , a silent movie starring Betty Bronson as Peter and Ernest Torrence as Hook. Several Musical versions of the play have been produced, of which the best known are Leonard Bernstein 's 1950 version, and, especially, the 1954 version mounted by Jerome Robbins (originally to have only a few incidental songs with music by Moose Charlap and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh , but evolved into a full Broadway show with additional music by Jule Styne and lyrics by the team of Betty Comden and Adolph Green ). The 1954 version became widely known as a vehicle for Mary Martin and later for a series of female gymnasts, including Cathy Rigby . The 1954 version was restaged for television by NBC as part of its monthly high-quality dramatic series ''Producers' Showcase'' and broadcast on March 7 , 1955 as a historic, live Color Television event. The production was so well received that ''Producers' Showcase'' remounted a second live version on January 9 , 1956 . Mary Martin played TV's Peter Pan for the third time on December 8 , 1960 and it is this version, recorded on color Videotape that was repeated in 1963 , 1966 and 1973 . Subsequently it was presumed lost and not broadcast again until March of 1989 . In the meantime, a new TV musical production was broadcast on NBC 's Hallmark Hall Of Fame on December 12 , 1976 . It starred Mia Farrow as Peter and Danny Kaye as Captain Hook. Notably, it had a brand new score, with music and lyrics by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse . The recorded voice of Julie Andrews was also a part of the production, singing one of the numbers. However, it was a quick failure which remains forgotten today. On February 5 , 1953 , Disney released its Animated Film version of '' Peter Pan '' with music by Sammy Cahn , Frank Churchill, Sammy Fain , and Ted Sears. 15-year-old film actor Bobby Driscoll supplied the voice of Peter. In the film, a visual reference is made to Peter's ties to the Pan of Greek Mythology by showing him absentmindedly playing the Pan Pipes (also called panflute), which the nature spirit was famous for playing. The 1979 stage version starred Broadway and television actress Sandy Duncan . In 2000, the Cathy Rigby version, featuring almost all of the songs used in the 1954 version, was telecast by A&E on cable television. Both the Mary Martin and Cathy Rigby versions were eventually released on VHS and DVD, but sadly, the Mary Martin version, which many consider far superior to the Rigby one despite its technical limitations, has gone out of print, and as of now, no company is making any efforts to reissue it. P. J. Hogan 's 2003 live-action film version '' Peter Pan '' is notable for being the first film to cast a young teenage boy ( Jeremy Sumpter ) to portray Peter. Wendy was played by Rachel Hurd-Wood and Hook by Jason Isaacs , who also plays the role of the Darling children's father. SEQUELS There have been several additions to Peter Pan's story created, both authorised and not. Gilbert Adair 's novel '' Peter Pan And The Only Children '' was published in 1987. It has Peter living with a new gang of Lost Boys under the ocean, recruiting children who fall from passing ships as new members. In 1989, Nippon Studios released an Anime version, ''Peeta Pan no Bouken'', as part of its World Masterpiece Theater series. The first 23 episodes are a loose adaptation of Barrie's story, while the latter half of the series introduces a completely original arc with new supporting characters. Takashi Nakamura, chief animator of Akira , did the character design for this project. In 1990, Fox Studios released the short-lived cartoon series Peter Pan And The Pirates , about the daily adventures of Peter, Wendy, and the Lost Boys. Voice talents in the cast included Jason Marsden as Peter and Tim Curry as Captain Hook. Curry won an Emmy for his performance. The series is notable for drawing much of its characterization from the original book and play, particularly Captain Hook and his henchman Smee, so that they are not one-dimensional villains but complex, even ambiguous figures. In 1990, French artist Regis Loisel began a series of comic books titled ''Peter Pan'', which constitute a bawdy, violent prequel to Barrie's work, and give Peter Pan's backstory a distinctly Dickensian flavor. The series consists of six volumes. Steven Spielberg 's 1991 Film '' Hook '' has a grown-up Peter (played by Robin Williams ) lured back to Neverland by Tinker Bell ( Julia Roberts ) to fight the returned Captain Hook ( Dustin Hoffman ). ( Robert DeNiro had been considered for the role of Captain Hook prior to the casting of Hoffman) '' in 2001. It is set in modern times, and tells of Peter's reaction to a world that has grown to neglect him, and his rescue by three children who teach him that it's OK to grow up. In October, 2001, R. Scott Leatherwood's ''Neverland: the Early Adventures of Peter Pan'' was released. It attempted to answer seventeen questions about Peter's life before meeting the Darling children. In 2002, Disney released '' Return To Neverland '', a sequel to the 1953 Disney adaptation, in which Wendy's daughter Jane becomes involved with Peter Pan. This sequel is set during The Blitz , and deals with the issue of children being forced to grow up too fast. Peter Pan plays an important part as a background character in the 2002 novel ''The League of Heroes'' by Xavier Maumejean. The story is set in an Alternate Universe in which Neverland has materialized in Kensington Gardens. The Fairy folk are commonplace in London, as are pirates and Indians. Peter Pan is considered an enemy of the repressive government and is pursued by the League whose members include Lord Admiral Hook ( Captain Hook ), Sherlock Holmes , and Lord Greystoke ( Tarzan ). Hyperion Books (a subsidiary of Disney) published the 2004 book '' Peter And The Starcatchers '' by humorist Dave Barry and suspense writer Ridley Pearson . It is an unofficial prequel to the story of Peter and Wendy, set on a ship called ''Never Land''. In 2005, the publisher announced plans by Disney to adapt the book as a digitally animated movie, and to publish a sequel to it entitled ''Peter and the Shadow Thieves'' and a series of five Chapter Book s titled ''The Never Land Adventures'', the first two of which—''Escape from the Carnivale'' and ''Cave of the Dark Wind''—are planned to be released in Fall 2006. Another related series published by Disney Press was released in late 2005. The Disney Fairy series began with "Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg" by Newbery Award winning author Gail Carson Levine . It introduces a new cast of Neverland fairies, one of whom is Tinker Bell. Peter Pan and Captain Hook are mentioned in the book, but play very minor roles. Additional books in the series are intended for younger readers, and were written by various authors, focusing on the different characters invented by Carson Levine. In 2004, Karen Wallace's ''Wendy'' hit the stands. Supposedly a prequel to the events in ''Peter Pan'', it is an attempt to justify the Darling children's willingness to fly away with Peter on the grounds that their home life, up to shortly before Peter appeared, had been filled with abuse and tragedy: a cruel nanny, a criminally irresponsible father, a suggestion of insanity in the family. In 2005, James V. Hart published the book '' Capt. Hook '' by arrangement with Great Ormond Street Hospital. The book details the history of 15-year old James Matthew, young Oppidian Scholar and future Captain Hook. The book portrays the villainous youth in a sympathetic light. Also in 2005, Great Ormond Street Hospital announced that Geraldine McCaughrean had been chosen to write a hospital-authorised sequel to Barrie's novel. Her book is entitled 'Peter Pan in Scarlet' and will be published simultaneously in the UK, the US and around 20 other countries on October 5th 2006. OTHER REFERENCES IN ENTERTAINMENT Very likely as a piggyback to the Mary Martin production, the Overtones , a radio drama group consisting of Carol Beth and Rickey Rood and a small orchestra, recorded a 45rpm two-part adaptation of the Peter Pan story for Cricket Records . The script and music were entirely original and were based on the book, not on the Disney film or the musical. Kate Bush 's 1978 album Lionheart includes the song "In Search of Peter Pan". In 1980, Petula Clark starred in ''Never Never Land'' as a woman whose niece, captivated by Barrie's tale, runs away and takes refuge with a group of "lost boys" squatting in a deserted London townhouse. The 1987 Joel Schumacher film The Lost Boys featured several teen actors as ageless vampires, loosely styled after the lost boys of ''Peter Pan''. In 1991, Robin Williams starred in the film ''Hook,'' in which Peter Pan ''does'' grow up and forgets about his adventures in Neverland until Captain Hook kidnaps his kids and Peter must go back and remember how to be Peter Pan in order to save them. The 1997 Comic Book mini-series ''The Lost'' by Marc Andreyko and Jay Geldhof starred a vampiric boy hustler named Peter who leads a small group of vampire boys, and lures a girl named Wendy to join them. The 1990s animated series '' The Mask '' included a character named "Skillet", who didn't age, dressed in green, could fly, and had a detachable shadow. However, he was a villain, and sent his shadow out to absorb the youth of other people. Skillet's name was presumably based on "pan" as a cooking utensil. Though it should be noted that the character also borrowed elements from ''Superman'' villain Mr. Mxyzptlk as well. '' Finding Neverland '', a 2004 film starring Johnny Depp as Barrie and Kate Winslet as Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, was a somewhat fictionalized account of their relationship and how it led to the development of ''Peter Pan''. It was based on the 1998 play ''The Man Who Was Peter Pan'' by Allan Knee . The Disney version of Peter Pan also appeared in the 2002 Sora finds himself in a facsimilie of Captain Hook's ship. Peter is there to rescue Wendy, but initially abandons her when he hears that she wants to return to London, afraid that she will forget him. He, however, rescues Wendy when Captain Hook holds her hostage, and after Hook's defeat, Sora convinces him that Wendy will remember him. In 2003 New Media Entertainment released '' Neverland '', a modern punk version of the Peter Pan saga with homosexual undertones. It features Wil Wheaton as John Darling. New Line Cinema have greenlit a movie project entitled "Pan", which casts Peter in his most controversial role yet...that of a psychopathic killer stalked by a John McClane -style Captain Hook in the present day. The 2004 album " Marbles " and the 2006 album " Blind Guardian " clearly references Peter Pan in their lyrics. In Dreamworks' '' Shrek '', Peter Pan is shown briefly while in line to sell Tinkerbell. His only line is the famous "He can fly!" In The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy , Grim sees Peter and calls him, "That kid in tights who sprinkles farie dust on everything". COPYRIGHT STATUS The copyright status of Peter Pan varies from one jurisdiction to another, and is disputed in at least one of them. The question is complicated somewhat by the various versions in which the story has been published. For example, elements introduced in the earliest versions of the story by Barrie may be in Public Domain in a given jurisdiction, but elements introduced in later editions or adaptations might not. For example, Disney holds the copyright for the character designs, songs, etc. introduced in the 1953 animated film, but not for the characters themselves. European Union Great Ormond Street Hospital (to which Barrie assigned the copyright as a gift before his death) claims full copyright in the European Union until the end of 2007 . In the 1990s, the term of copyrights was standardised throughout the EU (see Directive On Harmonising The Term Of Copyright Protection ) to extend 70 years after the creator's death. Although ''Peter Pan'' was considered Public Domain in some jurisdictions at that time, this provision placed it back under copyright protection. United Kingdom The U.K. copyright for ''Peter Pan'' originally expired at the end of 1987 (50 years after Barrie's death), but was reestablished through 2007 by the European Union directive. Additionally, in 1988 the government had enacted a perpetual extension of some of the rights to the work, entitling the hospital to royalties for any performance or publication of the work. This is not a true Perpetual Copyright , however, as it does not grant the hospital creative control nor the right to refuse permission. Nor does it cover the Peter Pan sections of ''The Little White Bird'', which pre-dates the play. The exact phrasing is in section 301 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988: 301. The provisions of Schedule 6 have effect for conferring on trustees for the benefit of the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, London, a right to a royalty in respect of the public performance, commercial publication, broadcasting or inclusion in a cable programme service of the play 'Peter Pan' by Sir James Matthew Barrie, or of any adaptation of that work, notwithstanding that copyright in the work expired on 31 December 1987 . ( {Link without Title} ) United States The conversion of U.S. copyright terms from a fixed number of years following publication, to an extending number of years following the creator's death, has introduced confusion over Peter Pan's copyright status. Great Ormond Street Hospital claims that U.S. Legislation Effective In 1978 and Again In 1998 extended their copyright until 2023. Their claim is based on the copyright for the play script for Peter Pan, which was not published until 1928. By then, the character of Peter Pan had appeared in three previously published books, the copyrights of which have since expired. GOSH's claim is contested by various parties, including Disney, who had cooperated with the hospital previously, but in 2004 published Dave Barry's and Ridley Pearson's ''Peter and the Starcatchers'' without permission or royalty payments. The Library of Congress catalog states that the original edition of ''Peter and Wendy'' was published in 1911, and Disney asserts that that material, like any other work published before 1923, was already in the public domain at the time of these extensions, and was therefore ineligible to be extended. A dispute between the hospital and writer J.E. Somma over the U.S. publication of her sequel ''After the Rain'', was settled out of court in March 2005. GOSH and Somma issued a joint statement which characterized her novel as " Fair Use " of the hospital's "U.S. intellectual property rights". Their confidential settlement does not set any legal precedent, however. {Link without Title} Other jurisdictions The original versions of Peter Pan are in the public domain in Australia and in Canada (where Somma's book was first published without incident). CONTROVERSY Like many other works of Fiction from the era (such as the works of Rudyard Kipling and Mark Twain ), the Peter Pan canon contains much material which is likely to be construed as offensive to modern audiences. Specifically, the books have been accused of both Racism and Sexism . The former charge primarily concerns the portrayal of Native Americans in ''Peter and Wendy''--the portrayal is highly stereotypical, with Native Americans being shown as warlike primitives who speak in guttural tones. Barrie's treatment of female characters has also been criticized by modern readers--most of the female characters in ''Peter and Wendy'' (Wendy, Tinker Bell, Tiger Lily, and the mermaids) fawn after Peter Pan (and Tinker Bell makes several attempts on Wendy's life out of jealousy), yet Peter ignores all of their affections. This criticism is also leveled against several more recent adaptations of the story; most notably the 1953 Disney film. The film contains a song often criticized as offensive, namely ''What Makes The Red Man Red?'', a catalog of Native American stereotypes. Until the 2002 release of the DVD version of this film (which included all of the allegedly offensive content, uncensored), it was widely speculated that Disney's ''Peter Pan'' would meet the same fate as the film version of Song Of The South , which has heretofore been withheld (by Disney) from the United States market on the grounds that it is racist. Many authors of recent adaptations of ''Peter Pan'' (as well as virtually all of the modern "sequels") have chosen to soften (or eliminate altogether) the harsh portrayal of Native Americans. The 2003 Film Version directed by P. J. Hogan has been noted for going to the opposite extreme; several reviewers have criticized it for being excessively Politically Correct . The Disney sequel, '' Return To Neverland '', features a heroine (Wendy's daughter Jane) who, rather than being a passive "damsel in distress", is fully capable of defending herself (and saving Peter from the clutches of Captain Hook). It should also be noted that in this sequel, no Native Americans are actually seen, only alluded to in a scene where flying over Neverland, Jane sees a tipi with smoke rising out of it. SEE ALSO
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