Miss Wendy Darling

“*Wendy, the eldest, not only believed. She was the supreme authority on Peter Pan and all his marvelous adventures.*”―The narrator introducing Wendy
**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.

### 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 blue short-sleeved nightgown with a matching blue ribbon tied into a bow that holds her ponytail and black flats.** 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. (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.** 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, 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. Although, 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, 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. 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. She still tells them stories about Peter Pan. However, when World War II hits, Edward leaves with the British army, 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, 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. She is last seen reuniting with Edward, who has returned home from the war.

## Trivia

* Wendy's facial features are extremely similar to Alice from *Alice in Wonderland*. It makes sense because both characters were voiced 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.