Never Grow Up: A Closer Look at Disney’s Peter Pan
Of all the Disney classic animated films, I’m not sure there’s one that captures the magic and overall essence of the Disney brand better than Peter Pan. It’s a well-known story of a flying, forever youthful boy named Peter who befriends three trusting children and leads them through adventures in Neverland. There are pirates, mermaids, fairies and flying boats. It’s whimsical fun and best viewed through childlike eyes, kind of like a trip to a Disney theme park.
This is no coincidence. Walt Disney embraced the same outlook on life that James Matthew Barrie portrayed in his classic tale. Today’s post covers the history of Peter Pan and its impact on Walt Disney’s work.
I’ve had enough of reality this week anyway, haven’t you? Perhaps a trip to Neverland and the interesting road that led there could do us both some good.
Screen shot of Disney’s Peter Pan
Let’s start from the beginning. James Matthew Barrie wrote Peter Pan as a screenplay in 1904. That’s 114 years ago, if you want to skip the math. The play was a success in England and quickly gained popularity around the world. In 1913, Walt Disney watched a stage production of Peter Pan in a small theater in his hometown of Marceline, Missouri. He loved the show so much, he took on the role of Peter himself in a school production a few years later. He even rigged a rope and pulley system on stage to enable his character to fly.
It was an early sign of things to come.
The timing of Walt Disney’s introduction to Peter Pan is significant. First, he was just twelve years old when he saw the play. According to Barrie, twelve is on the waning edge of childhood and the edge of disbelieving. Second, he viewed the play in Marceline, his favorite home town that inspired Main Street at Disneyland and other parks. This early introduction to the story of Peter Pan, and the concept of never growing old, resonated with Walt Disney. Childlike wonder was one of his trademarks. Believing you could fly, at least figuratively in terms of believing in your dreams, was another. Both themes appear repeatedly in Disney’s work.
Screenshot of Disney’s Peter Pan
If you’ve seen any version of Finding Neverland, you probably know that Barrie was inspired to write the story of Peter Pan during his relationship with the Llewelyn Davies family. The film portrayal with Johnny Depp isn’t entirely accurate, but it is true that Barrie befriended the Llewelyn Davies family and became the legal guardian of their children after both parents died of cancer. Perhaps this was part of the motivation for Barrie to donate the copyrights of Peter Pan to The Great Ormand Street Hospital in London in 1929. Although some of the copyrights have since expired, the hospital has greatly benefited from this gift over the years. The exact amount is unknown, because Barrie forbid disclosing the sum as a condition of the original donation.
Pretty magical, don’t you think? Companies pay the hospital to share a story about an imaginary boy who never grows up and in return the hospital helps real kids get a chance to reach adulthood.
Ten years after Barrie’s generous donation, Walt Disney approached the hospital to purchase the animated rights to Peter Pan. Animation was still fairly new at that point, but Walt wisely asked for exclusive rights to the medium. It took his company another fourteen years to finish the film, partly due to World War II and partly due to the limitations of animation technology at the time. Walt Disney wanted to capture the magic of Neverland, even if it meant waiting for the technology to evolve enough to match his vision.
Disney finally released Peter Pan in February 1953. If you’re keeping track, that places it right after Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland and just before Lady and the Tramp and Sleeping Beauty. The proximity of the film to Alice in Wonderland in particular is important, because many of the same artists worked on both. Icon Mary Blair developed concept art for both films. Actress Kathryn Beaumont provided live action modeling and voice talent for both Alice and Wendy. If you think the two characters look and sound a bit similar, as I did after a recent viewing, that’s why!
Screenshot of Disney’s Peter Pan
Disney’s version of Peter Pan is unique in a few ways. It was the first animated version of the story, even though Disney premiered the film fifty years after Barrie’s first stage show. Second, it was the first production of Peter Pan that cast a male in the role of Peter. Most stage productions up until that point had cast woman in the lead character because it was easier to find a female with the desired size and voice qualities. There were also laws in place at the time that restricted the use of children in evening plays. Third, Disney modified the story a bit. This wasn’t all that uncommon though. Barrie reworked the play multiple times in his lifetime too.
So what about the story?
As you probably know, Disney’s version of the story follows Peter and the three Darling children through adventures in Neverland. They battle pirates and meet mermaids. They get captured by island natives and soar through the air. It’s a little all over the place, frankly, despite it’s happy conclusion back in the Darling’s London home. That’s kind of like kids though, isn’t it? Flitting from one thing to the next with a sense of wide-eyed discovery?
I think one of the things that bothered me about the movie when I was a kid was the feeling that I was missing something. The story starts with Wendy Darling waiting for Peter Pan to return to her home so she can give him back his shadow. The rest of her family is aware of Peter Pan, although you get the sense that her father has forgotten or chosen to disbelieve over time.
My linear, logical mind always disliked the lack of detail. When did they first meet Peter? How did he arrive in Neverland? Why did he leave his shadow behind? It also bothered me that we didn’t get the full story on Captain Hook losing his arm. Peter jokes that he fed it to the crocodile, but he doesn’t elaborate when or why.
Image from The Disney Songbook. Hal Leonard/Random House Publishing.
As an adult, I realize glossing over the details and getting lost in the story is kind of the point. Leave your disbelief behind and embrace the magic. Barrie is quoted as stating “the moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.”
It could have just as easily been a quote from Walt Disney himself.
I don’t mean to overstate this, but I think there’s something to be learned from the general message of Peter Pan. As we get older we tend to give up on from the dreams we had as kids. Sometimes life demands it. Other times we just get too busy and forget.
Why not let your mind escape to another place today? Why not pursue that dream you’ve stopped believing in long ago?
I’m guessing you’ll return to reality better for it.
Add a little (pixie dust)) magic to your world!