Captain Hook

**Captain Hook** is the main antagonist Disney's 1953 animated feature film, *Peter Pan*. He is a bloodthirsty pirate that commands *The Jolly Roger*. Hook has long since abandoned sailing the high seas in favor of having revenge on Peter Pan for cutting off his left hand and feeding it to a crocodile, who has since been in constant pursuit of the captain. While a worthy opponent for Peter, Hook is destined to fail—sometimes because of Peter Pan's ability to fly, but more often through the bumbling incompetence of his first mate, Mr. Smee.

Hook's frustrations are understandable; he lost a hand to his opponent, is constantly pursued by the crocodile, and is unable to fly. These factors arguably make him one of the most sympathetic Disney villains. His antics with the crocodile are considered by many to be the funniest animated scenes ever created by Disney, according to Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston in the book *The Disney Villain*.

As one of the most recognizable and popular villains in Disney's animated library, Captain Hook is also a primary member of the *Disney Villains* franchise. As well as its many adaptations, including the Disney franchise (which is the version this article describes). He is the leader of his pirate crew and nemesis of Peter Pan, as well as a Heartless General hired by Maleficent and Xehanort to kill Sora and his crew, Peter Pan and any who try to stop him. He is voiced by Corey Burton.

## Background

### History

*Jake and the Never Land Pirates* reveals that Hook had a rather miserable childhood. As a young buccaneer, he was trained in the ways of a piracy by his mother, Mama Hook, so that he would one day become a feared captain, much like her. However, according to Mama Hook, James was a pitiful pirate during his training and seemed hopeless for many years. It was also revealed that James was heavily ostracized as a child, not having any birthday parties in his honor, or having any child-like fun as children should have. These factors all seem to play a part in Captain Hook's cruelty. Despite his negative upbringing, Hook occasionally received joy from some treasures, like his stuffed bear, in which he dubbed "Captain Cuddly Bear," his prized trumpet, and Nanny Nell, who babysat James in his childhood.

In *The Pirate Fairy*, James mentions that he was educated at Eton College in England, and it is also revealed that he met Smee after losing his original crew and becoming stranded in the middle of the sea, to which Smee comes in and rescues him.

Following his meeting with Smee, James came into the possession of *Jolly Roger*, of which he would command as captain with Mr. Smee as his first mate. With a new crew at his disposal, James would plunder and pillage the seas with pride. He would eventually cross paths with Peter Pan, a young boy from Neverland with the ability to fly. As a "childish prank", Peter cut off James' left hand and fed it to an enormous crocodile. James would replace his lost hand with a hook, but the crocodile enjoyed the taste of the captain so well that it followed the *Jolly Roger* ever since, hoping to devour the rest of James. Infuriated by the loss of his hand and the threat of the crocodile, a vengeful James—now known as Captain Hook—vowed to never leave Neverland's shores until he has killed Peter Pan.

Throughout the series, it is also revealed that Captain Hook is rather infamous throughout the Never Sea. As several characters encountered by the Jake and his crew all seem to have some history with the villainous captain, though it's always a negative one. Various other pirate characters such as the daring Captain Flynn and the regal Pirate Princess all have shown to have a hatred for Hook proceeding their respective debut episodes. Interestingly enough, Hook himself never seems to recognize them.

## Appearance

Captain Hook is a thin man with curly, black, shoulder-length hair that drapes over his shoulders, a large, hooked nose, a thin, black mustache that angles upward sharply, and a large chin. He wears a frilly, white shirt underneath a red coat with gold lining and maroon cuffs. Each of these cuffs sports two yellow buttons. He also wears an orange sash over his right shoulder that holds his sword scabbard at his left hip.

Hook wears maroon pants and white, knee-high socks, as well as black shoes with a pink circle decorating each one. The tongues of his shoes are enormous, reaching halfway up his shins. He wears a large, maroon hat with a huge, white feather stuck in it. He carries a rapier with a gold handle and guard as a weapon.

## Personality

Captain Hook is emotionally vulnerable. Due to this, he has made a fool of himself quite often. On the contrary, he typically acts as a menacing and cunning villain who never gives up on his pursuits particularly his desire to get revenge on Peter Pan. He is also a murderous character, almost to an extreme extent, as at one point in the film, he callously shot and killed one of his crew members because of his annoying singing. Later in the film, he viciously threw one of his pirates overboard using only his hook. While comically and occasionally bumbling, Hook is a force to be reckoned with, both physically and mentally. With his temper extremely fragile, those around him are often at risk, with Peter Pan being the only individual truly skilled enough to take on the villainous captain.

Hook is extremely intelligent and manipulative and aided by his charming and suave personality. He is able to trick anyone even those who are more than aware that he is not to be trusted. Captain Hook also seems to have a tendency to find loopholes in agreements or contracts, or show obedience to the letter of the law, rather than the spirit of the law. For instance, when Hook was made to promise that he would not lay a finger or a hook on Peter Pan, he agreed, but instead he planted a bomb disguised as a present in Peter's hideout.

Captain Hook is one of few villains that view their sidekick as not only a minion but as a friend. While Hook is incredibly cruel, deadly, short tempered and shows no care for his crew, he seems to only tolerate the bumbling actions of Mr. Smee. It has been shown that Hook murders his crew members out of irritation and aggravation but despite the constant annoyance from Smee, Hook has never shown any desire to kill him (though he has attempted to pummel Smee for his stupidity, but he is always interrupted). Aside from this, Captain Hook also views Smee as his confidant, sharing personal thoughts with Smee as well being the first person he turns to when scared which is not common for a villain of Hook's acclaim.

Captain Hook is a power-hungry, greedy, short-tempered, evil, tyrannical, ruthless and cruel pirate captain. He hates being told what to do by those he declares lower than him, including his own crew, and Mr. Smee. Hook is very egotistical, which often motivates his crimes, and leads to his downfall. He is shown to be far more cunning than his crew members, and is very quick to temper when his crew messes up or fails to understand his plans; however, he is still frequently outsmarted by Jake and his crew usually as they use his ego and emotions against him. What he desires most is treasure, with no one to stand in his way. He despises Jake and his crew, as they are the physical opposite of everything that Hook is, and he cannot stand them due to there kindness, contently foiling his schemes, treasure finding skill and being allies to his greatest enemy Peter Pan. This antipathy not only distracts him, but also drives him over the edge to take the treasure away from the young pirates. But they manage to outwit Hook at every turn and even reclaim the stolen treasure leaving the captain humiliated. Hook blames Jake and his crew as the sole threat to his plans and ruling Never Land in Pan's absence. He is arrogant and can be easily distracted when he believes he has the upper hand in a situation. Hook's anger can also be his drive to focus completely on the task at hand, for instance when he realized Wendy and her brothers where recalling tales of Hook's various defeats by Peter Pan. But that sneaky snook Hook hates to look like a bumbling fool, so he decides to fly to London, steals Wendy's storybook, and destroy her stories once and for all. He tends to hold a grudge against Peter Pan for stealing his hand and feeding it to the Tick-Tock Croc. He is an excellent manipulator and liar. An example of this is when he manipulated Brewster the Beast Trapper, in "Tick Tock Trap". He is cowardly and sometimes acts like a wimp, particularly when he hears the sound of the Tick-Tock Croc coming close by. However, he is also an excellent sword fighting expert, making him a challenge in combat.

Despite his justly deserved reputation as a feared pirate captain and all above traits, Hook is exceedingly immature, prone to throwing temper tantrums and reacting irrationally to even the slightest grievance. His behavior thus, at times, resembles that of a cranky child rather than a nefarious pirate captain. Captain Hook is in love with Red Jessica.

Captain Hook is very arrogant and full of himself, and gets angry if someone insults him. He tends to hold a grudge against Peter Pan for stealing his hand and feeding it to the crocodile. In the Disney movies, he is portrayed as an excellent manipulator and liar. Three examples are when he manipulated Tinker Bell in the first movie and Jane, Wendy's daughter in the second movie, and Terra in *Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep*.

He is cowardly and sometimes acts like a wimp, particularly when he hears the sound of the Crocodile coming close by. However, he is also an excellent sword fighter and a bomb expert, which makes him quite a challenge for Sora and Ventus when they fight him.

## Powers and Abilities

* **Swordsmanship:** As featured in the original film, Disney Junior Live-Pirate & Princess Adventure, "Battle of the Book", "The Creature of Doubloon Lagoon" and "The Legion of Pirate Villains!", Hook has displayed considerable skill in the use of a sword. He can be incredibly swift and agile due to his training of being feared across the Never Sea. Captain Hook is a skilled swordsman, rivaled only by Peter Pan. He is light on his feet and stealthy, making him a dangerous adversary. The use of his hook during duels tends to give him an occasional upper hand, as well.
* **Fluency in Fairy Language:** Hook is one of the few characters to exhibit the ability to understand and speak to fairies. In *Peter Pan*, he was able to communicate directly with Tinker Bell, while in *The Pirate Fairy*, he is seen conversing with Zarina as though she were speaking English, and translating for the rest of his crew.
* **Flight:** James briefly harnessed the power of pixie dust in *The Pirate Fairy*, allowing him to soar through the air. Though rocky at first, he got the hang of it fairly quickly, even being able to sword fight while in midair.
* **Super Strength:** Despite his thin build, James appears to possess incredible physical strength, demonstrated when he lifts Smee and holds him upside down solely with his hook, and when he uses one arm to throw Mr. Starkey overboard.
* **Fairy Communication:** Captain Hook is one of the few human inhabitants of Never Land that is capable of understanding fairy speech, which is difficult for humans to understand; to them, all fairies sound like the jingling of bells.
* **Various hooks:** As mentioned, Hook's main objective throughout the series is to collect as much treasure as possible, even if it means stealing it from someone else. To achieve this goal, Hook often uses one of his special hooks, created for treasure hunting. Some of the hooks include a propeller hook to give the captain flight, a plunger hook to grasp treasure, and even a butterfly net hook.

## Role in Sora’s Adventures

Hook is the Heartless General of Never Land, where he commands his pirate Heartless to kill Sora and his crew. He does not get along with Davy Jones, the general of The Caribbean, and the two argue over who is superior. He is approached by Luxord and Vexen and the Legion of Pirate Villains to kidnapped Wendy and Izzy

## Trivia

* In *Jake and the Never Land Pirates*, it is revealed that Hook occasionally gets seasick.
* Hook's full name was revealed to be James Bartholomew Hook.
* Captain Hook can't sleep without his carious childhood teddy bear Captain Cuddly Bear.
* Captain Hook suffers from arachnophobia (a fear of spiders).
* Captain Hook suffers from ophidiophobia (a fear of snakes).