Peter P Pan

**Peter P Pan** is .

## Background

**Peter Pan is a young boy who lives on the island of Neverland. He has a pixie called Tinker Bell who is his best friend and sidekick. He is the current leader of the Lost Boys. He spends most days going on adventures and battling the notorious pirate Captain Hook.** An earlier story idea involved Peter's birth and how he came to be. When he was an infant, fairies entered his home and took him away to Neverland. When Peter returned, he discovered another baby in his mother's bed. Feeling rejected and forgotten, Peter left and returned to Neverland - now his home. Eventually, Peter met Tinker Bell and gathered a group of younger kids and created the Lost Boys. The idea was dropped early in production as Walt Disney believed that how Peter came to be was another story.

### Personality

“*He flies without wings. His shadow leads a merry little life of its own. Face-to-face with the terrible Captain Hook, Peter dispatches that pirate with jaunty ease. Peter is at home with mermaids and understands their language. He is twelve years old forever simply because he refuses to grow up beyond that comfortable age. Most remarkable of all, he knows where Never Land is and how to get there.*”―Walt Disney

**Peter Pan is incredibly adventurous and daring. His favorite activities include battling pirates, engaging in friendly wars with the Indians, and listening to Wendy's stories of his adventures. Being a young boy, Peter can be rather impractical and conceited at times, but when it comes to rescue his friends, he is far more mature than any adult can be. He is respected and loved by nearly every inhabitant of Never Land, with the exception of Captain Hook (and his crew), who despises Peter for cutting off his left hand and feeding it to Tick-Tock the Crocodile during their first battle. Ever since, Peter and Hook have been at each other's throats constantly, battling in the hope that one would finally "walk the plank." One of the many things Peter discards is adulthood. This drove him to create a team of kids who also desire to stay young who he deems the Lost Boys. One can say Peter stands as a father figure for the group as well. Peter's most trusted companion is Tinker Bell. Even though they have a close best friend relationship, it is obvious Tink has strong feelings for Peter. Whether or not he is actually aware is currently unknown, although, in the first film, when Tink was close to death, Peter stated: "Don't you understand, Tink, you mean more to me than anything in the world!"** Despite being heroic and charming, Pan can be quite cocky, and being an immortal child somewhat, he can also be quite immature, and as such, he enjoys goofing off, listening to stories, playing "pretend", and parties with his friends. Peter's youthful nature symbolizes his place in childhood wonder. Even so, Peter can also be very adult. By the end of the film, despite proclaiming his hatred for adulthood with great intensity, Peter eventually comes to put his more childlike nature aside for the sake of protecting Tinker Bell, Wendy, her brothers, and the Lost Boys. With this, he brings himself to serve as a more adult figure, by risking his life for the sake of his loved ones, and selflessly escorting Wendy and her brothers home to London, despite his desire to have them stay. **This directly ties into his dynamic with Captain Hook who, despite Peter developing into a child with an adult mindset, is very much an adult with a more childish mindset, being loud, overly commanding, dependent on others, and prone to tantrums.**

### Physical appearance

Many of Walt Disney's envisioned characters went through an evolution of designs, and Peter Pan is no exception. Most model sheets depicted Peter as a small little boy but soon later changed into more of a fairytale-like creature. Finally, Peter was given the look of a nearly teenaged boy. He has fair skin, rosy cheeks, short red hair, thick red eyebrows, brown eyes, and pointy elf-like ears. His outfit resembles an elf's attire, consisting of a green short-sleeved tunic with a collar and a long V-cut neckline down to his heart, olive tights, and sienna-colored moccasin shoes. He wears a green Robin Hood-like hat (called a bycocket) with a red feather situated on the left-hand side, and has a brown belt around his waist which usually holds his dagger.

### Powers and abilities

* **Flight:** Peter's most unique trait is his ability to fly without any physical methods, he uses this to gain the advantage on those who cannot.
* **Semi-Immortality:** Peter cannot die of old age, but it is never stated whether or not he can survive death.
	+ **Eternal Youth:** Peter cannot age due to living in Neverland which his claims suggest that it prevents people from aging.
* **Dagger-Fighting:** Peter is very skilled with his trusty dagger, able to wield it with such skill he can fight a master swordsman, like his nemesis Captain Hook, and hold his own. However, Peter often fights while flying, which gives him an edge; when he fights Hook without flying, he is almost killed.
* **Voice Mimicry:** Peter has an uncanny talent for impersonating others' voices, as he does when he imitates Hook and tries to trick Mr. Smee into taking Tiger Lily back to her people. In *Kingdom Hearts*, he imitates Smee to lure out Hook, and in both cases, Smee and Hook are fooled.

## Biography

### *Peter Pan*

**Peter first appears returning to Wendy's home to retrieve his shadow (bringing Tinker Bell in tow), but accidentally wakes up Wendy, John, and Michael in the process while he is chasing it. After Wendy sews it back on, they begin to talk, during which time Wendy reveals she does not want to grow up. Peter then decides to take Wendy and her brothers to Never Land so she will never have to grow up, and for Wendy to be a mother of the Lost Boys. Once they arrive, they are attacked by Captain Hook, who assaults them with his cannon. While he distracts the pirates, Peter orders Tinker Bell to take the Darlings to safety, only to find that Tinker Bell had attempted to have the Lost Boys kill his new friend Wendy (by telling them that Pan told her Wendy was a terrible "Wendy bird" and that they were ordered to shoot her down). Peter swoops in just in time to save Wendy, and after chastising the boys, learns that Tinker Bell was the mastermind and they had been tricked. Peter angrily tells Tink she is banished permanently, though Wendy pleads him not to be that harsh. He tells her she can come back within a week, but Tink is already gone, still believing she can never return to Peter's side. After this, Peter takes Wendy to see the mermaids of Mermaid Lagoon. While there, they spy Captain Hook and his right-hand man, Mr. Smee, with the Indian princess Tiger Lily as a captive, rowing toward Skull Rock, where they plan to interrogate her.** Peter and Wendy investigate and find that Hook is planning to learn the location of Peter's hideout. Peter then fakes Hook's voice toward Smee to convince him to free the Princess, and Peter is able to rescue Tiger Lily. Although Smee proves to be gullible, Hook catches Peter and they begin a bout of swordplay. Ultimately, Peter's ability to fly gives him the upper hand, and he escapes with Tiger Lily and Wendy. For his bravery, Peter is rewarded by Tiger Lily's father the Indian Chief, who crowns Peter "Little Flying Eagle", thus making him another chief of the Indians. Peter then returns home with the Darlings and the Lost Boys. Peter realizes Wendy is ready to return home and, even worse for Peter, the Lost Boys wish to have a real mother and return home with Wendy. Peter tells them once they grow up, they can never return. Peter really does not worry knowing they will return eventually. Unbeknownst to Peter, however, his friends are actually kidnapped by Hook and his crew the moment they exit Hangman's Tree. **Peter is then a victim of Hook's newest scheme: Hook plants a bomb in Peter's home while he and Tinker Bell are inside it. While Peter has truly survived and unharmed, Tinker Bell is fatally injured and Hangman's Tree has been destroyed. While she tells Peter that Hook has Wendy and the boys and that he needs to save them, he refuses to leave her and begs her to stay alive, saying that he loves her more than anything. Together, Peter and Tinker Bell fly over to The *Jolly Roger* ship to battle the pirates. After the pirates are done with, Peter takes on Hook alone atop the ship. As Hook is about to strike Peter in the back while he is off guard letting out a triumphant crow, Wendy quickly warns him, having Peter fly out of the way and leaving Hook to plummet into the sea where he is chased away by the crocodile. The Lost Boys, Michael, John, Tinker Bell, and Wendy all celebrate Pan's victory. Peter commands Tink to cover the ship in pixie dust so that he may drop Wendy and her brothers off home to London.**

### *Return to Never Land*

Peter and Tinker Bell are out and about in Never Land and pay Hook a little visit, only to discover Hook has a girl being held captive, who the Captain claims to be Wendy. Pan becomes serious and battles the Captain to rescue his friend. After Hook is defeated, he frees the girl, but instead of reuniting with Wendy, he meets her daughter Jane, who unlike Wendy is rather practical. **He takes the newcomer to his hideout and introduces her to the Lost Boys. The boys begin to surround her, asking to play all sorts of games and activities, which causes Jane to lose her temper and storm off. Peter and Tinker Bell follow her and witness her collecting supplies and boarding them on a raft. After the failed attempt to ride off home, Peter informs her that the only way to go home is to fly. He takes her on a lesson, and oblivious to Peter, Captain Hook is spying on them and plans to use Jane's desires to get home against his enemies. Jane's first take-off fails. Peter finds her beloved notepad and begins playing rugby with it. It is accidentally eaten by Cubby, causing Jane to yet again go into a complete rage to the point where she declares that she does not believe in fairies, and storm away for good. Jane's non-belief causes Tinker Bell to become ill.** The only way to save Tink is to have Jane believe again in magic. The friends set off to find her, but she finds them instead. She suggests playing treasure hunt (as part of Hook's plan to retrieve his treasure in exchange for giving her a ride home), to which Peter agrees. She finds the treasure, but she changes her mind about Hook, but Tootles finds their communication whistle and unknowingly alerts Hook. Peter angrily calls Jane a traitor and warns her that Tink's light is going out. Jane rushes there while Peter and the boys are captured and taken to Hook's ship. **Peter, being strapped to an anchor, is about to walk the plank until Jane arrives with Tinker Bell fully charged. She frees Peter and the Lost Boys until Hook traps her by the neck with his hook. Peter returns the favor and cuts Hook loose falling through the ship and sinking with it until he and his crew are chased by the octopus. Peter personally escorts Jane back to London with the Lost Boys. Peter and Tink reunite with the now grown-up Wendy. Originally upset at the fact that Wendy has changed by growing up, Peter happily accepts it after Wendy assures him that even though she has grown up, she has not really changed and still believes in him. After the reunion, Peter and Tink watch Wendy and her children happily greet Jane's father as he returns from war, and they then fly back to Never Land.**

## Trivia

* Peter Pan, in the Disney movie, is one of the few adaptations of the J.M. Barrie play where he is played by a male actor. In most versions, he is played by a female actress to resemble the pre-pubescent vocal styles and build of a young boy.
	+ Anne Boonchuy can be seen wearing a Peter Pan costume during a play in the *Amphibia* episode "The First Temple".
* In Neverland, people never grow up. It is never confirmed how long Peter has been on the island or his actual age. It could be possible that Peter is hundreds or thousands of years old.
* J.M. Barrie had two inspirations for Peter Pan's name. The first is the mischievous Greek God, Pan. Peter's other namesake was Peter Llewelyn-Davies, who was one of the sons of his friend Sylvia Llewelyn-Davies. Peter and his brothers were the basis for Peter Pan and the Lost Boys.
* Peter Pan was nominated for AFI's 100 Year...100 Hero and Villain list, one of the three animated heroes and one of three Disney heroes, along with Buzz Lightyear, Mary Poppins and Belle. Unfortunately, none of them made the cut.
* Not counting Mr. and Mrs. Darling, Peter Pan, ironically enough, is the only main character in the film who does not sing. He does, however, sing for the first time in *House of Mouse*, in the episode "Donald Wants to Fly", and also sings in "Peter Pan Returns".