An Michael Darling

**Michael Darling** is George and Mary's youngest child and Wendy and John's brother in Disney's 1953 animated feature film, *Peter Pan*.

## Background

### Personality

Michael is clumsy, innocent, observant, and playful. He looks up to his older siblings, John and Wendy. He is also very sensitive as seen at the beginning of the film, he cries when their father, George, declares that night is Wendy's last night in the nursery and kicks Nana out of the house and in the climax when he, John, Peter Pan, and the Lost Boys returned to their hideout he starts to feel homesick after Wendy sings "Your Mother and Mine" and he cries in her arms.

### Physical appearance

Michael has strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. He wears pink footie pajamas and carries a brown teddy bear.

## Appearances

### *Peter Pan*

Michael is a supporting character in the film. It is explained that he and his older brother, John, believe that Peter Pan, whom they have learned about from Wendy's stories, is a real person. Thus, they often make-believe that they are Captain Hook and Peter Pan in their nursery games.

At the beginning of the film, Michael and John are playing one of these games, with Michael as Peter Pan. They are having a fake sword fight, as George comes in looking for his cufflinks, as he is getting ready for a party. John realizes that the cufflinks were used as a buried treasure in their game, but they can't remember where they are and they have lost the treasure map they made. George finds the map, which turns out to have been made out of his shirt front, much to his horror. This upsets George, and he begins scolding all the children for having their heads filled with silly stories. Michael's older sister, Wendy, protests, and as a result she is told that she will no longer be allowed to stay in the nursery, which upsets him. As George goes to leave, he trips over Nana, and thus ties her up outside, which greatly upsets Michael. His mother, Mary, comforts him as she tucks him in bed. As she goes to leave, he hands over the cufflinks and two rings belonging to her.

When Peter Pan appears later, Michael is asleep but awakens as Peter Pan chases after Tinker Bell. He is allowed to accompany Peter Pan, Wendy, and John to Neverland and chooses to bring his teddy bear. Nana sees this, terrified, and tries to stop them. Michael sees this and spreads some of Tinker Bell's pixie dust at Nana, causing her to fly, and he calls her to follow, but not realizing that she's being held back by the leash still attached to her collar and is left behind waving at him. In Neverland, he goes off to hunt Indians with John and the Lost Boys. After finding a feather and tomahawk, he plays with them for a bit but realizes they are about to be ambushed by the Indians. He tries to warn the others, but they don't listen and the entire group is captured by the Indians. They are taken to the Indian Camp, where the Chief reveals that they are being held responsible for the capture of his daughter, Tiger Lily. Though he threatens to burn them at the stake if she is not returned, this punishment is avoided thanks to Peter Pan rescuing her from Captain Hook, the real kidnapper.

Michael parties with the Lost Boys, while Wendy is forced to do chores, and he returns late at night. Wendy, annoyed with Peter Pan, proclaims they will go home the next day, and that they need to sleep. After talking with Michael, it becomes apparent that Michael is starting to forget what home was like, as he at first thinks that Wendy, then Nana, was his mother. Wendy is able to remind him who she was, and he agrees to go home, accompanied by the Lost Boys, who wanted to go after hearing about Mary. However, as they go to leave, the entire group is captured by Captain Hook. He offers to allow them to either join his crew or walk the plank. The boys almost take his offer but are stopped by Wendy. They're then forced to watch as she walks the plank. However, she is saved and they're freed thanks to the timely arrival of Peter Pan. A large fight breaks out, and Michael participates by banging a pirate on the head with his teddy bear, which is revealed to have been stuffed with a cannonball. Afterward, he returns home on the Jolly Roger and is asleep by the time George and Mary return home.

### *Return to Never Land*

Michael didn't appear in the sequel and wasn't mentioned by any of the characters, including Wendy. However, he made a couple of shadowy cameos on some starry night clouds that light up by Tinker Bell, to begin with (flying with Wendy and John and tagging along with John and the Lost Boys to the Indian Camp). His nephew, Danny, seems to strongly resemble him in appearance and personality.