137 Wendy Darling

## Wendy Darling

**Wendy Darling** is the deuteragonist of Disney's 1953 animated feature film, *Peter Pan*. She is a young girl from London with a lifelong appreciation for the stories of Peter Pan, a flying boy from the isle of Neverland. Her veneration for these tales manifested in a desire to stay young forever—a dream that was nearly realized when she and her younger brothers, John and Michael, embarked on a fantastical adventure with Peter Pan himself.

## Background

Wendy is an English girl living in London during the Edwardian era. While her age isn't specified, she is usually portrayed as a preteen on the brink of adolescence. Throughout her childhood, she lived with her parents, George and Mary, her younger brothers, John and Michael, and their dog, Nana, who doubled as their nursemaid.

Being the eldest child of a middle-class family of the era, Wendy served as a heavy influence on John and Michael, specifically in regards to their love of Peter Pan and his lore. She would regularly tell them stories of his various adventures in the supposedly fictitious island of Neverland, most notably the stories of his battles with the villainous Captain Hook. To most people (George, for instance), he and the stories surrounding him were nothing more than a childish fantasy. To Wendy, John, and Michael, however, the legends of him were all too true, and his stories were used to maintain the fun and whimsy of their childhood, despite George and Mary encouraging the act of practical behavior.

### Voice

Wendy was originally voiced by Kathryn Beaumont who also voiced Alice in *Alice in Wonderland*. When she retired from voicing Wendy in 2005, Hynden Walch took over the role and has been Wendy's current voice actress ever since. Kat Cressida (the voice of the similarly-aged Dee Dee from *Dexter's Laboratory*) briefly voiced Wendy for a short period of time. Kath Soucie voiced adult Wendy while Harriet Owen, the voice of her daughter, Jane, also voices her in *Return to Never Land*. Maia Mitchell voiced her in *Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Battle for the Book*.

### Personality

Wendy is an imaginative, mature, and very maternal young lady. She loves to care for John and Michael and often tells the story of Peter Pan. Though her imagination is vivid and praised by them, her storytelling was initially looked down upon by their cantankerous and serious father, George, who found her stories and childlike nature to be immature and ridiculous and voiced his desire to have her abandon her childhood as soon as possible to prepare herself for eventual adulthood. Because of this, she grew a fear of growing up and found comfort in the stories of Peter Pan and Neverland.

Nevertheless, upon visiting Neverland for the first time, Wendy ironically found her maturity and motherly instincts surfacing and growing. During her brief time, yet life-changing experience on the island, it became a more prominent part of her character as all the adventurous events unfolded. This led her to finally accepting the fact that she will inevitably become an adult one day. Even so, she didn't allow this revelation to destroy her wondrous imagination.

As an adult (seen in *Return to Neverland*), Wendy hasn't lost her belief in Peter Pan and tells stories about him to her two children, Jane and Danny. She has grown into a caring, smart, kind, and beautiful woman.

### Physical appearance

Wendy is a pretty young girl with fair skin, pink lips, light brown hair styled into a ringlet ponytail, and blue eyes.

In *Peter Pan*, she wears a light blue short-sleeved nightgown with a matching blue ribbon tied into a bow that holds her ponytail and dark blue flats. This attire is kept in her few appearances in *Jake and the Never Land Pirates* as well.

In *Return to Neverland*, as an adult, she wears a blue dress with a white apron and blue robe as sleepwear.

## Appearances

### *Peter Pan*

Wendy is introduced as the eldest child of George and Mary Darling. According to the narrator, she is an expert on Peter Pan and the source of stories about him. However, when the practical George learns that she is once again telling stories to her two brothers John and Michael, he disciplines her, angrily telling her that it's time for her to grow up, and that night will be her last one in the nursery; the next, she will be forced to have a separate room from her younger brothers. (Dialogue between them strongly suggests that this has been going on for a while now, and him punishing her is an indication that he is fed up with her childish stories.) As Mary is tucking her into bed, Wendy tells her that she does not want to grow up. As Mary goes to close the window, Wendy warns her not to lock it. According to Wendy, she has Peter Pan's shadow, and she is certain that he will come back for it. George and Mary then leave for a party, while also securing Nana to her doghouse outside.

Later that night, Wendy is awakened and startled when Peter is trying to get his shadow on. Wendy offers to sew it on for him (as he is trying to reattach it with a bar of soap). Through conversation, she learns that he likes to hear her stories. However, when he learns that she is to "grow up" and leave the nursery for good, Peter offers to take her to Never Land where she would never have to grow up. There, she could be the mother of the Lost Boys who live there and tell them many stories. She tries to kiss Peter out of gratitude, but Tinker Bell, who is jealous, pulls her hair causing Peter to chase her around the room trying to shove her with his hat. By this time, John and Michael awaken and are allowed to go with them. Peter sprinkles them with pixie dust, and after a few false tries, they are able to fly by thinking happy thoughts. They then fly to Neverland.

When they arrive, they are attacked by Captain Hook. Tinker Bell is asked to lead Wendy, John, and Michael to safety, but soon leaves them behind. By the time Wendy catches up, she is shot at by the Lost Boys, mistaking her for a bird (also called a Wendy-Bird by them). Though she is not hit, she falls towards the ground before being saved by Peter. After scolding the Lost Boys, he introduces her as their new mother and banishes Tinker Bell from Neverland forever as a punishment for lying to the Lost Boys and trying to have Wendy killed by them out of jealousy, but at Wendy's urging, changes it to a week.

Later, Peter announces that Wendy should be the leader of the Lost Boys as she would know best how to capture Indians. However, she declines the offer as she believes that she'd get captured first. Therefore, Peter takes her to go meet the mermaids, who take a jealous dislike for her and attempt to pull her into the water with them and splash her with their tails. Angered, she picks up a seashell and is about to hit them in defense, but she is stopped by Peter who assures her that they were only playing. Suddenly, the lagoon darkens and Peter spots that Captain Hook is close by. Terrified upon learning Captain Hook is coming, the mermaids dive into the water and hide. Peter and Wendy follow Captain Hook to Skull Rock and discover that he has captured the Indian Chief's daughter, Tiger Lily. Wendy watches as Peter defeats him and rescues Tiger Lily, but is left behind when he flies off with Tiger Lily, but tries to keep up.

Wendy attends a celebration at the Indian Camp in honor of Peter's rescue of Tiger Lily. However, she is soon put to work gathering firewood. She leaves in a huff when she sees Tiger Lily flirting with Peter. At Hangman's Tree, Wendy decides to go home in the morning with John and Michael, much to Peter's anger. After talking to Michael, she realizes that he is forgetting what home is like, and sings to him about Mary. After hearing her song, "Your Mother and Mine", the Lost Boys decide to return with her, infuriating Peter, who believes they are going back to grow up, never to return.

As they go to leave, Wendy and the boys are captured by Captain Hook. Wendy remains faithful that Peter will save them until Captain Hook reveals that he has placed a bomb in Hangman's Tree. He gives them the option of joining his crew, but they refuse, with Wendy bravely and defiantly refusing Captain Hook's offer on behalf of her brothers and the Lost Boys, even after they witness the massive explosion from the bomb when it detonates and destroys Hangman's Tree. He then forces Wendy to walk the plank. As she drops, she is rescued in secret by Peter, who had been saved from the bomb by Tinker Bell. He frees Wendy and the boys and she watches them as they take on Captain Hook. After the battle, Peter reveals that he will take Wendy, John, and Michael home, which pleases Wendy. Tinker Bell uses pixie dust to make the Jolly Roger fly. Wendy is next seen asleep on the window seat, where George and Mary find her when they return home. She happily announces that she is ready to grow up, but George reveals that he has changed his mind and decided that she can stay in the nursery. He then notices a ship made of clouds sailing across the Moon and realizes that he saw it when he was young. Wendy is last seen looking at it through the window with him and Mary, as the wind breaks it into clouds itself.

### *Return to Never Land*

Wendy reappears as an adult in the sequel. By this time, she has married a man named Edward and has two children, Jane and Danny, and a dog named Nana II, who looks just like the original Nana, and still lives in her family home in London, but the whereabouts of George, Mary, John, Michael, and Nana are unknown. She still tells them stories about Peter Pan. However, when World War II hits, Edward leaves with the British army to face off against the Nazis and stop them from invading the UK, leaving her alone with them. Eventually, the war takes its toll on Jane, and she stops believing in Wendy's stories. One day, Wendy reveals to her and Danny that they must be sent to the countryside for safety after being told by a Royal Observer Corps air raid warden that her children are being evacuated to protect them from the Blitz, and asks her to tell stories to Danny. Angry, she ridicules Wendy's stories and their faith in them, in very much the same way as George did in the first film. Wendy appears again at the end of the film when Jane returns with Peter. While she is with Danny, Wendy is able to meet Peter again. He is distraught that she has grown up, but she assures him that she hasn't changed, despite being an adult now. She is last seen reuniting with Edward, who has returned home from the war with the Wehrmacht defeated and their focus now on the Soviet Union and the Red Army instead of Britain.

### *Tinker Bell*

A younger version of Wendy makes a cameo appearance as a little girl in the prequel. In the middle of the film, Tinker Bell finds a ballerina music box. In the end, Queen Clarion, the queen of the fairies, allows her to travel to the Main Land to return it. When she arrives in London, she leaves it by a window, where Wendy, as a little girl, arrives and takes it in.

### *Jake and the Never Land Pirates*

Wendy made a special appearance in the series. In it, Captain Hook learned of her beloved stories revolving around Peter and his adventures, which inevitably end with his defeat and humiliation. Embarrassed by his portrayal in the book, he, Smee, and his crew travel to London and steal it in an attempt to destroy it. However, more urgently, it served as the connection between Wendy and Neverland, and as a result, the more it is damaged, the more Wendy's memories of Peter and Neverland as a whole are obliterated, prompting Peter to rally a crew of wholesome Neverland pirates, Jake, Izzy, Cubby and Skully to help battle Captain Hook and save Wendy's memories. To help further the success, Wendy, John, Michael, and Nana tag along on the adventure as well.

Wendy returned in the series' finale, "Captain Hook's Last Stand!", where she, John, and Michael, now wearing pirate-themed clothing, travel to Neverland for Peter's homecoming. During the visit, Captain Hook harnesses the power of the Doom Stone, which grants him evil abilities. He uses said power to turn Peter into stone, finally eliminating his nemesis. Wendy, John, Michael, Jake, and his crew learn that Peter can only awaken with a kiss. They believe they must use an acorn that he had given Wendy when they first met (which he had called "a kiss"). After Captain Hook destroys it, however, they realize it is an actual kiss that's needed. Wendy kisses Peter, and this breaks the spell cast over him. Meanwhile, Captain Hook's use of the stone petrifies him, as well, though Wendy is able to free him with a kiss just the same.

### Other appearances

Wendy makes numerous cameo appearances in *House of Mouse* in her younger incarnation from the original film. She is usually seen flying with Peter, John, and Michael while George and Mary are nightclub patrons. She can be seen in *Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse*, during the finale song, with Peter, John, and Michael. She was seen with John and Michael during the headcount of all the guests in the episode "Ask Von Drake" In the episode "House of Scrooge", she was seen storming out of the club with the audience that is tired of Scrooge McDuck's budget cuts.

## Live-action appearances

In The Walt Disney Christmas Show, Kathryn Beaumont portrayed Wendy in live action.

### *Once Upon a Time*

Wendy and her family made an appearance on the second season of the ABC fairy tale drama, *Once Upon a Time*. She was played by Freya Tingley. She was dressed in a nightgown that is far more elaborate and frilly than the Disney version, having a yoke and colored white instead of blue; it more closely resembles the version from the 2003 film.

One day a boy named Baelfire comes to the Darlings' house to steal some bread. Wendy catches him but lets him eat as much as he likes. They soon become very good friends. She lets him stay in her house in secret, but George and Mary soon discover him. However, they decided to let him live with them after Wendy convinces George to let him stay. During this time, a shadow comes to the nursery window and takes her away to Neverland. The following morning she returns home after realizing how Neverland was not such a happy place after all. The Shadow also let her return home because it wanted to take a boy instead of a girl. She worries through tears that it will take John or Michael away and she will never see them again. That night, after Mary tucks them in for the night and leaves, they try to prevent it from coming but they are unsuccessful. It is about to kidnap Michael but Baelfire tells it to take him instead. It agrees and Wendy, John, and Michael then see him leave their home forever.

Some time later, despite Wendy's previous escape from Neverland, she had somehow become Peter's prisoner when she, John, and Michael had returned to Neverland. In exchange for her safety, John and Michael agreed to become Peter's servants. Due to imprisonment on Neverland, Wendy never aged while John and Michael returned home and grew older throughout the years. In the present day, she is used by Peter to cement Henry Mills' loyalty to him by posing as an ill member of the Lost Boys in order to make his goals appear benevolent by trying to help her and Neverland. While this does motivate him, Wendy dislikes lying to him, but he states it is necessary for the truest believer to believe in a goal, his goals. He quickly places her back in prison after she plays her part, indicating that this version cruelly mistreats her unlike the original story or the Disney version.

Wendy is eventually freed from Neverland and reunited with John and Michael in Storybrooke.

### *Peter Pan and Wendy*

Wendy will be portrayed by Ever Anderson in the upcoming live-action adaptation of the 1953 film.[1]

## Video games

### *Kingdom Hearts* series

Wendy appears in Neverland in *Kingdom Hearts* and *Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories*.

In the original game, Wendy was mistakenly believed to be one of the seven "Princesses of Heart", and was kidnapped by Captain Hook as a result. However, upon learning from Maleficent that she is not one of the chosen ones, Riku ordered him to leave all deadweight behind on Neverland, including Wendy, though he refused as a result of how much trouble it was to capture her. Meanwhile, Peter Pan arrives on the Jolly Roger to rescue her and does so after finding her unconscious in the middle of it.

After being escorted to London, Wendy awaits Peter's arrival at Big Ben, where they share a moment, with her asking him to stay with her in London, though she eventually agrees that Neverland is where he truly belongs and accepts his departure.

In *Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories*, Wendy appears as a figment of Sora's memories, where she's used as bait by Captain Hook in order to lure Peter to his doom.

### *You Can Fly with Tinker Bell*

Wendy makes appearances in the Disney Interactive game featuring characters from the film.

## Disney Parks

Wendy appears as a meetable character at the Disney theme parks, dressed as she appeared in the original film (blue hair ribbon holding her ringlet ponytail, light blue nightgown, and black bedroom ballet slippers). A longer-sleeved variation of her nightgown is worn during the cold winter months, more resembling a blue bathrobe than a nightgown or pajamas.

She used to be rare to meet at Disneyland but would appear semi-often at Walt Disney World (occasionally explaining that she often comes back from the nursery or Neverland).

### Disneyland Resort

Wendy appears as an audio-animatronic in Peter Pan's Flight. She plays the same role she did in the original film.

In the Disneyland version of Fantasmic!, Wendy is seen assisting Peter in his battle with Captain Hook and his crew during the *Peter Pan* segment.

### Walt Disney World

Wendy appeared in the former castle stage show, Dream Along With Mickey, in the Magic Kingdom. She, along with Peter, help fulfill Goofy's dream of becoming a pirate, and battles Captain Hook and Smee. She is last seen during the finale "Any Dream is Possible". In the show, her nightgown was much more elaborate, resembling an actual one with frills and lace.

### Tokyo Disney Resort

Wendy can sometimes be found for meet-and-greets in Tokyo Disneyland's Fantasyland. She also makes a brief appearance during the "You Can Fly" sequence of the Once Upon a Time castle show.

### Disneyland Paris

In France, Wendy can be seen in Disney Dreams!. Here, she and Peter are about to take a flight when his shadow escapes and releases the magic from the Second Star to the Right. After he finds it and restores the magic, they enjoy their postponed flight.

## Trivia

* Wendy's facial features are extremely similar to Alice from *Alice in Wonderland*. It makes sense because both characters were voiced by and modeled after Kathryn Beaumont.
* Wendy's name comes from one of J.M. Barrie's friends in adulthood, Margaret Henley who died at age five-and-a-half. She called him her "friendy," which came out pronounced "f*wendy*".
* In some Disney storybooks, Wendy's nightgown and hair ribbon are pink instead of blue.
* Most illustrations and depictions of Wendy show her wearing nightgowns that have long sleeves; the film and *Once Upon a Time* are the only two known versions that have her wearing short-sleeved/hemmed ones.
* Despite not making an appearance in *Kinect: Disneyland Adventures*, Wendy is mentioned several times by Peter Pan.
* Kathryn Beaumont was originally supposed to reprise her role as Wendy in *Return to Neverland*, but was replaced by Kath Soucie for unknown reasons.
* Wendy's nightgown has been turned into actual sleepwear for girls numerous times to promote the film.
* Curiously, every time Wendy meets Peter, she is in her sleepwear (the entirety of the first film in her nightgown, and a robe at the end of the sequel).
* Wendy is one out of the five unofficial Disney Princesses to get a Classic doll at the Disney store in 2020, alongside Alice, Tinker Bell, Esmeralda, and Megara.

## References

1. ↑ Character Training for Gaston and Wendy